This Low Fat Blueberry Yoghurt Cake is creamy, tangy and bursting with blueberry flavour. Look at that deep, purple coloured filling, topped with the pristine white icing. Not only an impressive dessert, this Cake is super healthy, too!
Is Low-Fat Blueberry Yoghurt Cake Healthy?
This recipe for Low-Fat Blueberry Yoghurt Cake is SUPER healthy, compared to it’s cousin, the Cheesecake. This is because it primarily consists of yoghurt, not cream cheese, and so it is lower in fat and higher in healthy probiotics and vitamins.
This Blueberry Yoghurt Cake also contains no sugar, making it easy on your waistline. Sugar is the opposite of healthy, so it is best to steer clear of it whenever possible. With this Low-fat Blueberry Yoghurt cake, you can have your sweet treat without all the sugar!
Is this cake Vegan Friendly?
Since it uses yoghurt, cream cheese and gelatin, in is not vegan. I know, I know – a Simply Home and Health Cake that is not Vegan? But, hear me out! The reason I gravitate towards vegan cakes is because they are cheaper to make.
I wanted to create a cheesecake that was cheap, light and low-fat. My Coconut Cheesecakes are pretty decadent, and one cannot indulge in these all the time. I wanted to have a go at transforming yoghurt into a cheesecake because I have oodles of homemade yoghurt, so I knew I could have a pretty cheap dessert if I could achieve this.
And here is the result, hurrah! Eat this cake and you will be healthier – don’t you love desserts that do this! Your sweet treats are literally noursihing your body – now that is a win!
Although not technically vegan, this cake is egg-free and refined-sugar free. It is also gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats.
How to Make the Blueberry Filling:
First up, Prepare the Yoghurt
If you do not have SUPER thick Greek Yoghurt, you will need to start this cake the night before by straining your yoghurt.
Because my homemade yoghurt is not stand-on-it’s-own thick, I like to strain it overnight so that it gets cheesey. You can do this by placing a sieve over the bowl and lining it with a tea towel. Pour the yoghurt in and place in the fridge over night.
Note: to get 1 kg of thick yoghurt, you will need to start out with about 2 kgs of regular yoghurt, to be on the safe side.
Also note that you do not HAVE to use super thick yoghurt, as the gelatin is the magic ingredient that allows this cake to set. If you do not have oodles of yoghurt to use up (like me), you scan use regular spoon – able yoghurt. It just won’t have the same texture as cheesecake (but it will definitely firm up).
Prepare the Blueberries
For the blueberry flavour, you need to make a Blueberry compote that is thickened with gelatin.
To do this, you will boil together Blueberries and Truvia. The blueberries will breakdown and boil in their own juices. There is no need to add any water, as they will eventually completely disintegrate and thicken.
Add the gelatin by dissolving 2 tablespoons in about 3 tablespoons of the blueberry liquid. Add this mixture to the bubbling blueberries, and boil for 5 minutes longer. You want to ensure that the gelatin is completely melted into the blueberries, otherwise you will get unpleasant lumps throughout the cake.
Once the blueberry mixture has cooled, you can whip it up, much like marshmallow mixture. The bottom of the pot should be cool enough to hold your hand to without burning.
There is no need to whip it till stiff, just so the mixture has lightened and increased in volume. This makes the cake texture fluffier and more cheese-cakey.
Then, fold through the thickened Greek yoghurt, and return to the fridge to set.
Like no bake cheesecake? check out these recipes
How long does the Low-Fat Blueberry Yoghurt Cake take to Set?
Unlike my coconut cheesecakes, this magical cake does not use fat to get firm. Instead, it uses gelatin, which sets pretty instantly when cool.
If your cake has not begun to set after 1 hour, then it probably isn’t going to. This has happened to me before. It simply means that there is not enough gelatin to stabilise all that liquid!
If your cake has not set, don’t cry – there is an easy way to fix this. Simply pour the cake batter into a mixing bowl. Then, bloom another tablespoon of gelatin in lemon juice. Make sure it is super smooth – it is easy to get lumps into the cake by adding gelatin to a cold mixture (and you cannot heat it up again because of the yoghurt).
Beat the bloomed gelatin through the cake mixture thoroughly. Pour it back into the tin, and return to the fridge. Check on it in another hour, and repeat if necessary. Add enough gelatin and you will get there!
How to make the Cream Cheese Topping:
Once the Low-fat Blueberry Yoghurt Cake has set, you can begin to make that pristine white topping.
I have used cream cheese for the white topping layer, but it is perfectly fine to leave this out and just use super thick, sweetened Greek yoghurt. If you are only going to use yoghurt for the topping, it needs to be cheese-like so that it slices cleanly.
Beat the cream cheese till fluffy, and then mix through the yoghurt and the sweetener. Add lemon juice and zest for added tang (unnecessary, but if you have a lemon, go for it!). Spread over the blueberry filling. It will firm up, but it won’t set hard.
How to Serve This Low-Fat Blueberry Yoghurt Cake
I love the white cream cheese layer because it adds that creaminess, which compliments the blueberry filling perfectly. It is sweet, yet plain; and balances out the fruitiness of the Blueberry filling without the need for any extra garnish.
Because of this, I find that this cake needs no other accompaniment because the topping does the job that a dollop of whipped cream or yoghurt would do.
Low-Fat Blueberry Yoghurt Cake
This Low-Fat Blueberry Yoghurt Cake is so healthy, you could have it for breakfast! With a peanutty, oaty base, and a smooth blueberry yoghurt filling, this makes for a refreshing dessert. Top it with a creamy Greek Yoghurt topping, and make it a feast for the eyes as well as your belly!
Ingredients
- 1 litre of thick Greek Yoghurt
- 500g Blueberries, fresh or frozen.
- 8 Tablespoons of Truvia (3 for the filling, 3 for the base, 2 for the yoghurt topping)
- 2 Tablespoons Gelatin
- 1 cup Desiccated Coconut, blended to butter
- 1 cup Oats, blended into flour.
- 3 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 4 Tablespoons Cream Cheese (for the topping)
Instructions
The night before, prepare the Yoghurt
- If you do not have thick Greek yoghurt (for best results it should be like a cream cheese thickness), you can thicken it yourself.
- To ensure it thickens in time, prepare this the night before.
- Place a sieve over a bowl. Line it with a tea-towel. Pour the yoghurt into the lined sieve.
- Place the whole thing in the fridge to strain over night.
- In the morning, you should have lovely thick yoghurt to fold through the blueberry mixture!
Prepare the Blueberries
- Stew the blueberries. Pour the fresh or frozen berries into a pot, and sprinkle over the Truvia. Do NOT add any water, unless you want to dilute the flavour of the blueberries.
- Bring to the boil, stirring, to release the natural juices of the blueberries. You can squash the blueberries to help the process along.
- While the blueberries are boiling, prepare the gelatin. Spoon out some hot blueberry juice (about 2-3 tablespoons) into a little bowl. Add the gelatin, stirring quickly so no clumps from.
- Pour the gelatin mixture into the boiling blueberry mixture, stirring all the time. Boil for a further 5 minutes, to ensure the gelatin is completely dissolved.
- Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
Make the base:
- In a blender, blitz the desiccated coconut until it is runny like peanut butter. Transfer to a bowl.
- Blitz the oats into a flour.
- Add to the coconut along with the sweetener, peanut butter and salt.
- Bring together with your hands until completely combined and there are no dry bits of oat flour.
- Press into a lined cake tin, and pop it into the fridge.
Make the filling:
- Once the blueberry mixture has cooled sufficiently (you should be able to place your palm on the bottom of the pot without needing to take it away), whip it up with an electric whisk. It should thicken and puff up beautifully, like marshmallow.
- Fold 3/4 of the thick Greek yoghurt (about 750g) through the thickened blueberry mixture.
- Pour over the base and return to the fridge to set (should take at least 1 hour, overnight is best).
- Once set, combine the cream cheese, the remaining Greek yoghurt and sweetener.
- Spread this white mixture over the filling, and store in the fridge until you are ready to eat!
Serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- This cake is not vegan, since it uses yoghurt, cream cheese and gelatin. This does not make it unhealthy, though! Yoghurt is full of probiotics and vitamins, plus the blueberries are a powerful superfood. Eat this cake and you will be healthier - I love desserts that do this!
- This cake is egg free and refined sugar free. It is also gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats.
- The blueberries will breakdown and boil in their own juices. There is no need to add any water. The blueberries will eventually completely disintegrate and thicken.
- Although cream-cheese- like yoghurt makes the best texture for this cake, it is not necessary to have your yoghurt that thick. The gelatin is the magic ingredient that allows this cake to set, so you can just use regular spoon - able yoghurt (not super runny).
- I have used cream cheese for the white topping layer, but it is perfectly fine to leave this out and just use super thick, sweetened Greek yoghurt.
- If you are only going to use yoghurt for the topping, it needs to be cheese-like so that it slices cleanly.
- I love this white layer because it adds a creaminess that compliments the blueberry filling perfectly. I find that this cake needs no other accompaniment because the topping does the job that a dollop of whipped cream or yoghurt would do.
- If your cake has not begun to set after 1 hour, then it probably isn't going to. Gelatin sets pretty instantly and firms up for a few hours. If this has happened, you can easy help it along by blooming another tablespoon of gelatin in lemon juice, and beating that through the cake mixture, making sure there are no lumps. Check on it in another hour.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 222Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 296mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 3gSugar: 13gProtein: 9g
