Yoghurt cake
Could you guess what the other two ingredients in this cake are? It’s pretty obvious yoghurt is one of the main ingredients, it’s in the name, so that doesn’t count. Do you give up yet? Ok fine, I will put you out of your misery and tell you because you would certainly have never guessed that these three ingredients after one hour in the oven would result in something so tasty. The other two ingredients are eggs and cornstarch. This cake looks a lot like a cheesecake but the texture is not the same. The texture is similar to custard, but more firm. It is both creamy and firm and a little chewy around the edges.
Making this cake was super exciting. The anticipation which lasted an hour waiting for my timer to go off to indicate the cakes readiness was quite unnerving. I’ve done some pretty daring things like making an eggless cake on a stove top, but this trumped that experience and had me slightly on edge. Ring, ring, ring! The timer goes off and I remove a beautiful golden puffed up cake from the oven. I snap a couple of shots of it like that because I know in a little bit it will deflate as it cools down. After cooling, it needs to sit in the fridge for two hours before serving.
Again I can hardly wait. I had thought of buying some fresh fruit or making compote to top the cake but decided against it. Because this was an experiment, I wanted to appreciate it without altering the original execution, flavours and textures. Next time I make this dessert, I’ll be doing the most with it. Colour, colour and more colour. It’s already beautiful without extras, but with a pop of colour it’d be a marvellous centre of attention.
How was it received? The kids were a little taken aback. I think because I had called it a cake; in their minds they expected a traditional cake. When it came out looking different they started to judge it, they tasted it and thought it was tasteless, shame it was not the cake texture they are used to. Bae and I tasted it later and I was happy with it. He noted and could appreciate the low carb and reduced sugar characteristic of it but was a bit indifferent as he was also expecting a sweet dessert. Ba rata sukiri too much batho ba... Ah!
This creamy, custard-like cake is just three ingredients and doesn’t require flour, butter or oil! It’s a miracle! The batter takes only five minutes to prepare and you do it by hand, all in one bowl. Make sure you get a copy of The Monitor every Monday and follow our Facebook page ChellzKitchen for more desserts this October. October is dessert month! Share your desserts made with any Danone products and you could WIN cash prizes!!!
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (375 g) Nutriday plain yoghurt
4 large eggs
5 tbsp (44g) corn-starch
Instructions
Preheat oven 182 °C
Line a round pan with a large sheet of parchment paper so that it completely covers the interior of the cake pan and comes up slightly above the pan. Press and crease the parchment paper as needed so that it sticks to the interior edges.
Use a single sheet of parchment paper. It is okay that the parchment paper will be wrinkled and uneven around the edges.
Just try your best to press it flatly against the sides and bottom. This adds to be a rustic-aesthetic cake so the cake edges will not be perfectly round.
In a bowl add yoghurt. If you are using sugar, add it now and whisk it in.
Add eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition until the egg is completely blended into the plain yoghurt. When you are finished, you should have a smooth batter.
Sift the corn-starch into the batter. You can do this using a mesh strainer. Whisk the corn-starch into the batter, until there are no lumps.
Pour the batter into baking tin. Bake for 40mins to one hour or until cake is puffed up, no longer wet on top and the surfaces has a caramelised appearance. When the cake comes out of the oven, it will begin to deflate and wrinkle. Don’t worry, it’s supposed to. Be camera ready if you’re about that life!
Let the cake cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before placing it into the fridge for at least two hours before serving.
Remove the cake from the fridge about 15 minutes before serving so that it can come back to room temperature, which will make it less firm and creamier.
This cake looks a lot like a cheesecake but the texture is not the same