Italian Yoghurt pot Cake & Breakfast Ideas

Hello everyone, I hope your all having a nice week?

This week I wanted to post a lovely cake recipe and some healthy breakfast ideas for those of you on a health kick at the moment. January is a difficult month, mainly due to the fact that its five weeks long wich feels like forever, its constantly dark, no one has any money and I know a lot of people that have given up drinking for the whole month (its beyond me why january is the month to do that, surely a drink makes all of the above better?)  

Its also when people start a fresh with their eating and drinking habits, which is something we all need after the christmas indulgence right? The best thing you can do for healthy eating is to get into the habit of having breakfast. I know, that you would rather have ten more minutes in bed, but you wont regret it when your up and about, your blood sugar is level and your concentration level is higher than normal.  

Like many people, my other half can't eat first thing in the morning. I've tried and failed to get him to eat breakfast for years. The overnight pots (above) seem to have done the trick. They are a variation of a bircher muesli. porridge oats, chia seeds, berries (of any sort) and almond milk left over night in a washed out jam jar. The jam jar is so that I can make them up ahead for the week on a sunday night. The jar also makes the porridge easy to take to work, so you can eat them when you have had time to settle into the day. 

Also, I said in the last post that I was going to try and make a loaf of bread every week or as needed as we don't actually eat a lot in the house. Above is a picture of the first one, made with whole grain spelt flour. It was bigger than I had anticipated, but tasted good, so I will keep you updated on the progress.

The cake that I wanted to show you this week is a Italian Yoghurt pot cake. Its a dense, not too bad for you, smooth cake, perfect in the afternoon with a coffee. The recipe I used was from Nigellisima, by Nigella Lawson, you can find the original recipe here. I differed mine slightly, as I didn't have an lemons in the house at the time. Instead I used red grapefruit zest and a little of the juice instead. I also swapped the vegetable oil for some extra virgin olive oil as I feel it gives it a nicer flavor. 

Here is my song of the week- Sia Elastic Heart, An incredible video, an incredible song.

recipe

• 150 grams plain yoghurt
• 150 ml vegetable oil (plus some for greasing)
• 3 eggs
• 250 grams caster sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• zest of ½ unwaxed lemon (I used Grapefruit zest with 1TSP of juice) 
• 175 grams plain flour
• 75 grams cornflour
• 1 teaspoon icing sugar (to serve)
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• Method
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• I know this cake best in a ring shape, ciambella (pronounced “chambella”) as it’s known in Italy, I used a bundt tin, as its the only round one I had. but you can use a shallow round tin. don't use a deep tin as the cake won't cook evenly, you need to get a nice even bake. 
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 and grease your ring mould (or springform tin); you can use the oil for this.
• Separate the eggs and put the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Whisk the whites until you have firm peaks, then set aside while you get on with the rest of the cake.
• Scrape the yogurt out of its pot and on to the egg yolks, then use the emptied yogurt pot to measure out your other ingredients – so, next, add 2 pots (just) of sugar and whisk with the egg yolks and yogurt until airy and light.
• Now fill your yogurt pot up with vegetable oil and, beating all the while, slowly add this to the egg yolk mixture. Then beat in 2 capfuls/teaspoons of vanilla extract and the zest of half a lemon.
• Still beating, add 2 yogurt potfuls of flour followed by 1 yogurt potful of cornflour or potato starch, then scrape down and fold in with a rubber or silicone spatula. Now, with a large metal spoon, dollop in the whisked egg whites, and fold them in with the spatula.
• Fill the prepared ring mould with the smooth, soft batter – it will come right to the top – and bake in the oven for 30–35 minutes; when cooked, the sides will be coming away at the edges and a cake tester will come out clean.
• Remove it from the oven to a wire rack, letting the cake sit in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out.
• Once cooled (although I love this still slightly warm), transfer it to a serving plate or stand and dust with icing sugar. Traditionally, this cake would be placed on the plate with the smooth side uppermost, but I rather like it turned back up the way it was baked, with its rustic cracks and uneven surface visible. Enjoy with a dollop of yoghurt or a scoop of ice cream if your serving as a desert.