Olivier's Dead Easy Yoghurt Cake

 

 

 

GÂTEAU AU YAOURT ET FRUIT DE MAMAN

MY MUM’S YOGHURT CAKE WITH FRUIT

Serves 8. Prep: 15 mins Cook: 40 mins

INGREDIENTS

1 175g pot natural yoghurt

2 pots caster sugar
3 eggs
3 pots self-raising flour 3⁄4 pot vegetable oil 

10g baking powder

3 Pink Lady apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes

Unsalted butter, softened (for greasing)

In a mixing bowl, simply mix the yoghurt and caster sugar together well. Add 1 egg and 1 pot of flour and mix well again. Repeat this process twice with the remaining eggs and flour. Stir in the oil, followed by the baking powder.

Finally, fold through the apple and leave the mix to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment or buttered greaseproof paper (note: if you use a smaller cake tin, the cake will be thicker and will require further cooking time).

Pour the cake mix into the lined tin and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4 for about 30-40 minutes. 

To check the cake is cooked, insert a small knife into the middle of the cake. If no sponge mix remains on the knife when it’s removed, it’s ready. Take it out of the oven and place a cloth over it to keep it moist. When it’s cooled, you should be able to remove it from the cake tin without any problem.

To serve, just slice as desired. You don’t need anything else with it. 

 

This is the official recipe - it's dead easy. But I made a few notes, so bear with me:

1. Olivier uses the pot the yoghurt came in as his measure. (This means less washing up!) If they don't sell yoghurt in little pots, the measures are: 175 natural (or any other yoghurt you want)., 300gr caster/granulated sugar, 450 self-raising flour, 175ml vegetable oil; note that he uses both self-raising flour and a sachet/10 gr baking powder as well, to make it nice and fluffy. (He also uses a bowl and a spatula to mix it, again less washing up! The batter will be quite runny, don't worry)

2. He uses Pink Lady Apples because he likes the flavour - you can use any apple you like or, indeed, any fruit you like, even tinned but make sure it's well drained. It mustn't be soggy like rhubarb. (You can use the syrup to glaze the top afterwards. You reduce it and mix it with a little water to glaze, with some fruit on top.)

3. He says "cube" the apples but actually he means dice, and as small as possible. The larger the fruit, the chance that it will sink into the cake. 

4. He bakes the cake on the middle shelf of the oven. The smaller the cake tin, the longer the cake will take to bake. His cake is only ±1.5 inch/4cm deep. Timings vary per oven.

The cake is best the following day - if you can resist eating it!

He also makes a Fraisier using the above cake recipe but without the apple. The bakes it, cuts it in half and puts strawberries and a Genoise cream in between and all over it. The Genoise cream is a mixture of crême patissière and cream. If you want this recipe, Ill give it to you separately!

Scones

 Not exactly a healthy option but if you wanted to make scones then this is the best recipe: 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/classic-scones-jam-clotted-cream

Very easy and quick. Can easily be transformed into vegan. And you can also skip clotted cream of course, they are delicious with just a lick of butter and jam. (Unless you're skinny like Emile or Juno, in which case definitely go for clotted cream because it's delicious on these.)

Carrot Hummus

I ripped this recipe out of a magazine about six (?) months ago, today I have made it, but just the hummus part. Here's the full page if you want to make it as a dinner or part of a dinner:

 Here's just the hummus part, adapted:

1 pound orange carrots cleaned/peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

2 tablespoons tahini (if separated in jar, mix before using)

1-2 tablespoons water

optional: 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Bring 1 inch water to a boil in a medium saucepan with steamer basket over medium-high heat. Cut the carrots into chunky rounds, place in steamer basket and cover. Steam until just tender, about 15-20 mins. 

2. While carrots are steaming, combine olive oil, smoked paprika, lemon juice and salt.

3. Place steamed carrots in a food processor with S blade (chopping/mixing blade) and process until chopped.  Drizzle in the flavored olive oil/lemon juice, add the tahini and water, and process until smooth.

 

Cool to at least room temperature, or in fridge, before serving, or transfer to jar/container.

Banana oat muffins (vegan)

 These are very easy to make and a great use of overripe bananas (which I keep in the freezer for such occasions). Just throw all ingredients together, lightly mix with a spatula, oven at approx 180-200°C for about 20-30 mins. This recipe makes 18. Don't eat too fast because they are quite filling and of course contain carbs (although healthy ones and many other good sources of nutrition). They are also really good after sitting a while. 

I modified the original recipe a bit. First, I never use coconut oil as in the original recipe,  as it is high in saturated fat. Really don't understand why a lot of 'healthy' recipes choose it. Instead, use flaxseed oil, which is high in omega 3. I also add frozen fruit such as bosvruchten or blueberries but walnuts (high in protein) are also good. 

I didn't have baking soda so just used 1 bag of baking powder (7g), which was fine. I also halved the sugar and added a pinch of salt. In all, these are very quick to make if you feel like something different for eg a tasty and not super unhealthy Sunday breakfast, just add some fresh oranges at the side and voilà! 

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons mashed banana (approx. 2–3 bananas)
• ¼ cup flaxseed oil
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax + 6 tablespoons water, whisk together, set for 15 mins)
• ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• dry ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups oat flour or wholegrain flour
• 1 ¼ cups oats
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or more of course)
• pinch of salt

Original recipe: https://beamingbaker.com/gluten-free-banana-oat-muffins-vegan/ 

Rick Stein's Marinated Olives

This was delicious and so easy. If you don't have 3 hours to set it aside, then set it aside for as long as you have!

I think I might put a bit of chili in there next time... Maybe a bit of feta...

Ingredients

• 225g/8oz each of black and green olives
• 4 tbsp extra virgin oil
• 3 small sprigs each of fresh thyme, rosemary and oregano
• 4 small fresh bay leaves
• 1 large clove of garlic, sliced thinly
• 2 lemon slices, quartered

Method

1. Simply mix everything together, cover and set aside for 3-4 hours before serving.
   
   
   
   
   
   

Roasted Butternut Squash

You probably know all this but I used it to decorate my dish of green lentils for my guests, along with pea puree, for the colour.

• "After the squash is cubed, toss it with olive oil and then add in the flava! Smoked paprika, which is arguably the best ingredient on the planet, adds tons of major smoky flavor without adding calories. Then I also toss in some turmeric, which is a great inflammation fighter. Lastly, just a touch of garlic, because that helps everything taste better. I used garlic powder so it wouldn’t burn.
• Once the squash is coated in the seasoning, spread it out on a large sheet pan. I really love a nice heavy aluminum “half sheet” pan.
• Roast the butternut squash at 375 degrees. A hotter oven will over-brown the squash before it is tender all the way through. That is due to the naturally occurring sugars in the squash.
• Once it comes out of the oven, add on some parsley for a bit of color if you like."

I found this on healthy seasonalrecipes.com, then used whatever bits of it I wanted. I cooked it at 190ºC/GM5 for 30-50 mins. 

I'm going to try to torch it for a bit more colour before serving tonight...