Makeover: Lemon Yoghurt Cake

With just a quarter of the kilojoules and fat of the original version,
without compromising on taste, I think my simple swaps make
this recipe one to try!

I love Donna Hay. Her cake recipes are always delicious (if not so great on the waistline). So I decided to have a go at altering her recipe so I didn't feel quite so guilty when I ate it. The result, with just a few small changes, was equally scrumptious but the numbers were staggering. This new version had just a quarter of the kilojoules and a quarter of the fat of the original version (plus a sizeable sugar reduction)!

Simple changes I made to the recipe:

• Swapped regular-fat Greek-style yoghurt for Yoplait Forme Greek No Added Fat or Sugar plain yoghurt
• Replaced 3/4 C vegetable oil with 1/4 C macadamia oil (for healthy monounsaturated fats), 1/4 C skim milk and an extra 1/4 C yoghurt (which rounded it out to a nice even 2 tubs!)
• Reduced 1 and 3/4 C castor sugar to 1/3 C castor sugar (believe me, with a yoghurt that already has some sweetness, you don't need all the extra sugar)
• Cut the icing out altogether
• Increased the number of serves you get out of the cake from 11 to 16 which reduced the portion size of each slice

Nutritional Information of Donna Hay's Lemon Yoghurt Cake (per slice):

Energy= 1952kJ

Total Fat= 18.1g

Saturated Fat= 3.0g

Carbohydrates (including sugars)= 69.7g

Nutritional Information of my Lemon Yoghurt Cake (per slice):

Energy= 557

Total Fat= 4.5g

Saturated Fat= 0.8g

Carbohydrates (including sugars)= 18.1g

The combination of sour citrus and sweet yoghurt makes for a
perfect afternoon tea cake. It's especially good straight out of
the oven!

My Lemon Yoghurt Cake

¼ C oil (e.g. macadamia)

¼ C skim milk

2 eggs

Zest of 2 lemons

~1/4 C lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)

300g (1 ¼ C) Yoplait Forme Greek plain yoghurt (or other reduced fat & sugar Greek style yoghurt)

1/3 C castor sugar

2 C self-raising flour

      1.     Preheat oven to 160°C.

      2.     Place oil, milk, eggs, lemon zest and juice, yoghurt and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

      3.     Sift in flour and stir until smooth. Pour into a greased 24cm bundt tin.

      4.     Bake for 50-55mins or until lightly golden and a skewer comes out clean.

      TIP: Still fill like you're missing out without the icing? Serve with a dollop of extra yoghurt mixed with a teaspoon of lemon juice for that extra sweet and creamy taste.

      

Have a go at altering your favourite cake recipe, it may take a bit of trial and error, but you'll be surprised how much of a difference you can make to the nutritional content with such little change in taste! For more ideas on simple swaps to make in the kitchen, click here.