The Taste Fairy Explores...Yogurt Vs. Sour Cream

This past weekend, while creating Nicole's cupcake order I decided to try an ingredient I had been recently playing with in my baking: Greek yogurt. I know, some purists out there would laugh at my attempts to make a "healthy" cake. I mean, it IS cake after all, right!? My theory is, if you don't treat yourself, you cheat yourself...but that doesn't mean DELETE yourself! Haha...I know. Corny.
In any case, I LOVE adding sour cream to my pound cakes and cupcakes...it makes them so moist and so tender. Not to mention, the flavor it imparts. Mmmm. BUT, it is sour cream and per tablespoon, has almost as much fat as butter and 8 times the fat as Greek yogurt. And Greek yogurt, is every bit as creamy and thick as sour cream. Mind you, I tried using light sour creams but they were watery in texture and yeah, watery in taste...
A trainer at my gym once told me about the benefits of Greek yogurt (low fat, HIGH in protein) which is why I began eating it daily. I perused the supermarket dairy aisle every couple of days, buying different brands until I settled on 2 that I love, for their creaminess as well as their texture (some seemed powdery on the tongue--ew).
I have found that the yogurt (plain or vanilla flavor) is a perfect replacement for the sour cream I use in my sour cream pound cake cupcakes. However, I found when using the same yogurt to make pound cake, I needed an extra 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Without it, my cakes are on the gummy side and do not rise.Note that even with the 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the cake still seems a little rich, or dense to me but for a coffee or breakfast cake, this would be ideal, or so I am told....anyway, try either one in your favorite butter or pound cake recipe and let me know what you think!