Tag: low-calorie

Categories
Dessert

Put this ‘four’midable cake on your list for this week

This cake is made with only four ingredients—yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and cornstarch. It’s a lightly sweet dessert that pairs well with fruit, honey or maple syrup and has a consistency a bit like a custard.
This cake is made with only four ingredients—yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and cornstarch. It’s a lightly sweet dessert that pairs well with fruit, honey or maple syrup and has a consistency a bit like a custard.

I was recently given the opportunity to speak to the Newton Kiwanis about the many projects I have been working on at the newspaper.

We enjoyed a great lunch and good conversation before I spent a bit talking about my job, including my over 10-year expedition into writing this column.

I noted to them that sometimes the recipes I try these days get a little weird, because I often feel like I’m running out of ideas for something new each week.

This week was definitely one of those weeks, but it was also one of those recipes that once I saw it online, I had to try it. It’s a cake that is billed as having only three ingredients. It actually has four, though, if you don’t count the toppings, so I decided to change the name. (See? There is accuracy in journalism.) Regardless, the combination sounded super strange, and I couldn’t resist.

This recipe comes from the blog “The Modern Nonna.” You can find the original post at https://themodernnonna.com/3-ingredient-yogurt-cake/. I doubled the vanilla in my version below.

Print

Four-Ingredient Yogurt Cake

This cake is made with only four ingredients—yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and cornstarch. It’s a lightly sweet dessert that pairs well with fruit, honey or maple syrup and has a consistency a bit like a custard.
Course Dessert
Keyword cornstarch, easy dessert, eggs, low-calorie, low-fat, vanilla, yogurt

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 5 tablespoons cornstarch
  • Optional toppings: fruit honey, maple syrup, powdered sugar

Instructions

  • Line a nine-by-five-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, letting the excess hang over the edges a bit so you can remove the cake easily when it’s done.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt and eggs until they are smooth.
  • Whisk in the vanilla and cornstarch, and continue stirring until everything is well combined.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Let the cake cool, gently remove it from the pan using the parchment paper, and transfer to a serving plate. Top with fruit, honey or maple syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Slice and serve.
  • Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container.

This. Was. Weird. It had a bit of a custard consistency, but it was firm enough to slice easily, too. I opted for honey and powdered sugar on mine, and it was very lightly sweet. Joey and I agreed it would have been even better with some fresh berries on top. The flavor profile reminded me a little bit of tapioca pudding.

Also, be ready for this to puff up a whole lot and then fall to being about two inches tall.

The recipe’s author also noted that you can use any other flavor of yogurt that sounds good, too, so if you’re in the mood to experiment even further, you have tons of options.

I really enjoyed my time with the Kiwanis, although no one seemed particularly excited by my explanation of this week’s weird recipe.

To each their own, I suppose.

This piece first appeared in print on March 14, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

There is no point(s) to this easy ‘cheesecake’

Zero-point cheesecake is a low-sugar, low-calorie dessert that can satisfy your sweet tooth even if you’re trying to stick to a healthy diet.
Zero-point cheesecake is a low-sugar, low-calorie dessert that can satisfy your sweet tooth even if you’re trying to stick to a healthy diet.

Although I have never joined an official weight loss program—tracking points, writing down my calorie counts and eating only pre-portioned foods delivered to my door—I have always been fascinated how they work for so many people to slim down.

For me, when working on trying to eat healthier, I normally just follow the rules of “eat more veggies” and “eat less sugar.”

But I am definitely addicted to sweets, and it’s a struggle some days to keep myself from indulging—especially since I know how to bake, and my pantry is well-stocked with supplies.

This week, though, I took a page out of the weight loss program handbook and tried a “zero-point” dessert, which for those unfamiliar, means that a person on Weight Watchers could eat it with no penalties on their diet for the day. It’s low fat, low sugar and low calorie.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog, “Our Wabi Sabi Life.” You can find the original post at https://ourwabisabilife.com/0-point-weight-watchers-cheesecake/. I chose to add some fruit to our cheesecake, doubled the vanilla, and I substituted the cheesecake-flavored pudding mix for a vanilla one, because my local grocery store didn’t have it.

Print

Zero-point Cheesecake

Zero-point cheesecake is a low-sugar, low-calorie dessert that can satisfy your sweet tooth even if you’re trying to stick to a healthy diet.
Course Dessert
Keyword cheesecake, diet dessert, eggs, instant pudding, low-calorie, low-fat, low-sugar, non-fat Greek yogurt, Splenda, sugar substitute, vanilla, Weight Watchers

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tablespoons sugar substitute
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 cups plain fat-free Greek yogurt
  • 3.4 to 3.9 ounce box instant sugar-free pudding (cheesecake flavor or just your favorite)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a glass pie dish by lightly greasing it with butter or margarine.
  • In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar substitute and vanilla extract until everything is combined well.
  • Beat in the yogurt and pudding mix, and once the mixture is smooth, pour it into your prepared dish.
  • Bake for 30 minutes. Once the cheesecake cools enough to handle it, place it in the refrigerator for at least two hours or overnight.
  • Serve with fresh fruit. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

This was decently good. I would not say that it was a perfect substitute for full-fat cheesecake, although it might have been a bit closer in flavor if I would have had access to cheesecake-flavored pudding.

That being said, it was a bit like a custard texture, and especially with some fresh cherries I had in my freezer from this summer, it was a nice, guilt-free option. It would also be a nice option for people who are low-sugar.

I wondered if it would be good with a lemon or chocolate pudding mix, too, or even with a fat-free Greek yogurt with some flavoring to it. The possibilities are vast.

I still don’t think I want to jump into a structured diet plan, but it’s nice to have some recipes in my repertoire for those times when depending on my own willpower isn’t hacking it.

And, yeah, I know there’s irony in the fact that I’ll probably share something high-calorie, high-fat and delicious with you in this space again very soon. Sometimes you just have to live a little.

This piece first appeared in print on Oct. 5, 2023.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Exit mobile version