It’s A Bake-off With Yoghurt!
As the nation settles back on its sofa and devours another series of The Great British Bake Off one thing is guaranteed – everyone from Arthur to Martha will be cooking up a storm trying to imitate Mary Berry’s sumptuous culinary sorcery. Cakes are very much in vogue, and the thought that your moist morsel might make Paul Hollywood water at the mouth is enough oomph to get anyone in the kitchen, dusting off their oven gloves. But while we love the old favourites, they can get a tad repetitive, so why not try a new take on old favourites, and bake with yoghurt instead of milk and cream? It’s easy, it’s healthy(ish!), and you never know, it could get you to that Bake Off tent next year…
Lemon Drizzle Cake
A moist delicious cake with a sugary blanket of sticky icing, it’s very moreish so it won’t be around for long!
INGREDIENTS
175g unsalted butter,
175g caster sugar, Grated zest & juice of 2 lemons,
120g Rachel’s Greek Style natural low fat yogurt,
2 large eggs, beaten,
175 self-raising flour,
3tbsp caster sugar,
150g icing sugar, sifted ,
½ tbsp water
Makes: 1 large cake Preparation time: 15 mins Cooking time: 35 mins
METHOD
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a round 15cm/6” loose bottom cake tin
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy
3. Add the grated zest of lemons and yogurt then add the eggs
4. Add the flour, mix well and spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, ensure a level surface
5. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown or until a skewer comes out clean then transfer to a cooling wire
6. In a small saucepan add the juice of the lemons with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and allow to reduce on a high heat. Leave to cool slightly
7. Using a skewer or cocktail stick prick the cake all over and then pour the lemon sugar syrup all over the top, allow it to soak in
8. Leave to cool completely before icing
10. Mix the icing sugar with the water until a runny paste consistency is achieved. Using a spoon drizzle the icing liberally backwards and forwards over the cake
Carrot Cake
Our carrot cake recipe is light and moist with a creamy cheese and yogurt frosting
INGREDIENTS
150g light brown sugar
150ml vegetable oil
3 large eggs, beaten
150g self-raising flour, sifted
1tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
250g carrots, peeled and grated
100g raisins
100g Rachel’s low fat vanilla yogurt
Frosting:
200g soft cheese
75g icing sugar
70g Rachel’s low fat vanilla yogurt
Makes: 1 cake Preparation time: 30 mins Cooking time: 50 mins
METHOD
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 18cm/7inch round loose bottom tin.
2. Using a mixer with a balloon whisk, whisk the sugar with the vegetable oil and then gradually add in the eggs.
3. Fold in the flour, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda. Add the carrots, raisins and yogurt and mix thoroughly.
4. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40 – 50 minutes until firm to touch. Insert a skewer into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean the cake is cooked. Transfer to a cooling rack.
5. To make the frosting, beat the soft cheese with the icing sugar and yogurt until smooth.
6. Decorate the cake with the frosting using a knife or the back of a spoon and spread to the sides. Transfer to a serving plate and slice.
Blueberry & Lavender Cake
A moist, spring bake bursting with fresh blueberries and scented with lavender
INGREDIENTS
175g unsalted butter, room temperature
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g self raising flour, sieved
150g Rachel’s Greek Style low fat natural yogurt
150g fresh blueberries
Lavender Syrup:
60g caster sugar
40ml water 3 sprigs of fresh lavender including flowers
Lavender & Blueberry Icing:
250g unsalted butter, room temperature
750g icing sugar, sieved
75g Rachel’s fat free blueberry yogurt
Drop of milk
10g food colouring (violet food gel, we used Dr Oetker)
To Decorate: Fresh Lavender or lavender sugar Serves: 12 Preparation time: 1 ½hr Cooking time: 25 minutes
METHOD
1. Grease three 6” (15.2cm) round loose bottom cake tins and line with parchment paper. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to whisk after each addition. Add the vanilla extract followed by the flour
3. Fold in the yogurt and blueberries ensuring good distribution
4. Pour the mixture into the cake tins evenly and bake until risen, golden brown and springy to touch. Insert a cake tester into the centre of each cake and if it comes out clean the cakes are cooked
5. Transfer the cakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before removing from the tins
6. To make the lavender syrup, take a small pan and add all the ingredients, simmer on high heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool
7. To make the lavender and blueberry icing, beat the butter with the icing sugar until a paste is formed. Add the yogurt and mix in. If the icing paste seems stiff, add a drop of milk. Add the food colouring and continue to beat on high speed ensuring all the colour is incorporated and the mixture is not streaky
8. To assemble take each cake, remove the parchment paper and place onto the serving plate, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of lavender syrup, allow to soak into the cake then spread a quarter of the icing onto the cake, spreading it to the edges, using a palette knife. Repeat this process with the second and third cake, layering with syrup and then icing. With the remaining icing – ice the top and sides of the cake and spread smoothly
9. Decorate with fresh lavender sprigs (if available) or with lavender sugar (widely available in stores such as Lakeland or major supermarkets)
Strawberry Éclairs
Enjoy traditional afternoon tea with a fruity twist
INGREDIENTS
150ml cold water
50g, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
80g strong white plain flour
1 tsp caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
For the filling:
225g Rachel’s low fat strawberry yogurt
300ml double cream
For the icing:
500g icing sugar (we recommend Tate & Lyle fondant icing)
75ml water Few drops of pink food colouring
Preparation & cooking time: 1 hour Makes: 12
METHOD
1. Pre-heat oven to 200C/ 392F/ Gas Mark 6
2. Add the water to the pan together with the butter. Sieve the flour and keep to one side. Allow the butter to melt and when the mixture comes to the boil remove from the heat immediately and add the flour
3. Vigorously mix the flour and sugar with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer if preferred. Beat until you have a smooth paste and it has left the sides of the saucepan. Then beat in the eggs one by one until you have a smooth glossy paste
4. Line and grease one baking tray with baking parchment. Place the choux pastry into a piping bag with a plain nozzle 1cm/ ½ inch and pipe lengths approximately 6-7cm/3 inches
5. Bake the éclairs on a high shelf of the oven for 10 minutes and then increase the temperature of the oven to 220C/Gas Mark 7 for a further 10 minutes until golden and puffed up
6. Remove them from the baking tray to a cooling rack and make a small slit in each to let the steam escape
7. For the filling, whip together the yogurt and cream until stiff. Using another piping back, pipe the cream & yogurt mixture into the side of each éclair
8. To prepare the fondant icing beat together the icing sugar, water and food colouring, and mix until smooth and glossy. Either pipe down each éclair or dip the tops in the icing letting the excess dribble down
Baked Lemon Cheesecake
This delicious cheesecake with its luscious lemon filling is a summer showstopper
INGREDIENTS
85g butter, melted
140g oat biscuits, crushed (we used McVities Hobnobs)
1 tbsp granulated sugar 3 x 300g full fat soft cheese
175g golden caster sugar
120g plain flour
1tsp vanilla extract
1 lemon, juice and zest
3 large eggs plus 1 yolk
280g Rachel’s Greek Style Lemon Yogurt
60g lemon curd
Serves: 8 – 10 Preparation & Cooking Time: 1 hour plus 2 hours cooling
METHOD
1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. Line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin with parchment paper. Brush the sides with a little melted butter to grease
2. To make the cheesecake base, melt the butter and add the crushed biscuits and granulated sugar, stirring well to ensure the crumb is moistened by the butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of the tin. Tip: Use a potato masher for an even finish
3. Using a food mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the soft cheese until creamy and smooth. Gradually add the caster sugar, fold in the flour, vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest. Between each addition ensure you scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the ingredients and achieve a smooth glossy mixture
4. Beat in each egg one at a time with the yolk, again ensuring you scrape the sides of the bowl with each addition.
5. Stir in the yogurt. Whisk, taking care not to over blend the mixture, it should be light and airy
6. Pour the mixture into the tin, level the surface with a spatula and place the tin on a baking tray. Using a teaspoon add small blobs of lemon curd over the cheesecake mixture in a circle formation using the back of the teaspoon or knife to draw the lemon curd in a swivel formation to make curd swirls
7. Bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce the oven temperature to 110°C/225°F/Gas Mark 2 and bake for a further 25 minutes. Then turn off the oven – the cheesecake should have a slight wobble – and leave to cool in the oven for 2 hours
8. After 2 hours cooling, place the cheesecake in a refrigerator to chill overnight
