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Archives for October 2019

Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake

October 30, 2019 //  by mezza//  Leave a Comment

Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake: Earlier on this year, I was tempted to make Smitten Kitchen’s “Lemon Yogurt Anything Cake” after seeing it on a friend’s Instagram feed. My first attempt, whilst very tasty and perfectly edible, had a few issues. I found it was too “wet”, too sweet, very oily and a bit heavy. I played around with the recipe, making many cakes over the course of a few months and found my perfect formula.

The main changes I made to address the excessive wetness of the cake are to use slightly less fruit and yogurt and a tad more flour. I use less fat and a zero or low fat yogurt to reduce the oiliness. Most or the time, I always use less sugar than a recipe calls for – with this recipe I use less sugar in the mix but also omit the sugary drizzle on the top. Beating the eggs until frothy and very carefully folding in the flour to trap air helps reduce the density & heaviness of the cake. To help with an even & quicker bake, because my oven isn’t very good, I prefer to use a bundt cake ring/tin.

I think 98% of my friends and family have now eaten my version of the “Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake” and those that bake always ask for the recipe. So, here it is!

three images - ingredients for the lemon yogurt anything cake, whisking eggs, adding wet ingredients to whisked egg

Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake Recipe

Ingredients

  • 100g/100ml coconut oil
  • 200g plain low fat or zero fat yogurt (I use Total Zero Fat Greek Yogurt)
  • zest of 1 (unwaxed) lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 220g plain flour
  • 2tsp baking powder
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 250g of blueberries

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl (I LOVE my Mason Cash bowl)
  • Smaller mixing bowl
  • Sieve
  • Hand whisk
  • Bundt tin (I use a silicon one)

Method

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 356F / Gas Mark 4.
  • Grease and flour your cake ring. I put a dab of coconut oil on a bit of kitchen roll and rub it into the cake mould.
  • Gently heat the coconut oil in a pan until melted. Take off the heat.
  • In the smaller bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Add the yogurt, lemon zest, vanilla and sugar to the pan with the coconut oil and mix together well.
  • Rinse and dry your blueberries (if necessary) and then toss them in about 1 tablespoon of flour.
  • In the large bowl, whisk the eggs vigorously until frothy.
  • Gently mix in the liquid ingredients (coconut oil, yogurt, etc.) – taking care not to beat out all the air bubbles from the eggs.
  • Now add the flour and fold in as carefully as possible.
  • Next, fold in the fruit.
  • Bake in the middle of the oven for between 35-45 minutes.

It’s delicious eaten whilst warm but I actually prefer it the next day. Lasts for 3 days in an airtight container on the kitchen counter.

This is an extremely versatile cake recipe because you can switch out the fruit and flavours with so many other options. Here are some examples that I have tried:

Apple & Cinnamon : use thinly sliced apple instead of blueberries, raisins instead of lemon and cinnamon instead of vanilla.
Plum & Almond : use small pieces of plum & replace 50g of flour with 50g of ground almonds.
Mixed Berries : gather together all the left over bits of soft fruit from the punnets in the fridge – I made a lovely cake with a few raspberries, blueberries & cherries that added up to 250g. Make sure to chop up the larger fruits to roughly match the size of the blueberries.

If you make my Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake, please do let me know how you got on! You can tag me on Instagram, if you use it : mezzamay

three images - first image shows a close up of a sugar drizzlr glaze on a cake, second image shows blueberries, raspberries and cherries in a bowl, third image shows a bundt cake witg a slice removed

Disclosure : my posts can contain affiliated links from which I may receive a small referral fee should you happen to purchase anything.

Category: BakingTag: cake recipe

How to Make a Mini Skein – No Calculations!

October 5, 2019 //  by mezza//  Leave a Comment

mini skein of hand dyed yarn from Lottie Knits - purples, blues and greens

I’m going to show you how to make a mini skein – no calculations, measuring or complicated maths. You’ll just need a swift and a set of reasonably accurate scales.

I’m taking part in the Posh Yarn Advent Swap 2019. This is a really fun swap that takes place on the Posh group on Ravelry. Each participant winds 24 x 10g of Posh 4ply/Sock yarn into balls or mini skeins, wraps them up (preferably in a festive fashion) and sends them off to the organiser. Each participant then receives a delicious parcel with 24 little packages of beautiful, hand dyed yarn which can be opened, one each day, just like an advent calendar.

I took part last year and I thoroughly enjoyed it, however, at the time, I didn’t know how to make a mini skein so hand winding 24 little balls of yarns was a real bore.

This year, I decided to get to grips with making mini skeins. As we all do, I had a quick look on you tube… it seemed so complicated to get a specific weight and yardage. In the end, I came up with this simple method for making a mini skein – no calculations involved!

How To Make A Mini Skein

You’ll need:

  • A swift. Any kind of swift will work – I have a simple Sunflower Swift (no longer made). An umbrella swift is also good.
  • A set of accurate scales (I’m using my digital kitchen scales).
  • Scissors.

Before you start, you’ll need to make sure that your hank of yarn has been wound into a cake or ball. If you’ve wound it into a ball, you’ll also need a bowl to put it in, so that it doesn’t roll off the table and bounce round the room!

Instructions

  1. Place your cake (or ball AND bowl) on your scales.
  2. Tare the scales, i.e. set to zero. On mine, I have to hold the “on” button down for a couple of seconds.
  3. Set your swift to the desired size – this will effect the length of your mini skein. I’ve set mine with a radius of about 10″/26cm.
  4. Secure the end of the yarn to the swift.
Three images. First image - scales, ball of yarn, scissors and swift. Image two - scales set to zero with yarn on. Image three - end of yarn attached to swift

5. Start winding the yarn onto the swift, keeping an eye on the scales.
6. When the scales are minus the desired weight (e.g. 10g), stop, ending at the point where you secured the end of the yarn.
7. Cut the yarn, wrap the two ends around each other and then wrap one end around all the strands and fasten off.

Swift with yarn, yarn cake on scales, tying off yarn.

8. Carefully remove the yarn from the swift, making sure the strands are kept together, using your index fingers.
9. Extend your arms and start to twist each end in opposite directions, being careful that the yarn doesn’t slip off your fingers!

Woman in white crochet top, twisting yarn

10. Twist until it’s quite tight. I needed to twist 11 times. If it’s too loose the skein ends up looking messy and if you over-twist, you could accidentally damage the yarn by overstretching it. You might need a few goes to get this just right.
11. Draw your hands towards each other. The yarn should naturally start twisting together.
12. Transfer the loop off yarn off one finger to join the other.

woman in white top twisting a mini skein of hand dyed yarn

13. Gently pull and massage the twist to make the “twizzle” uniform.
14. You might need to give each end a couple of extra twists if they are not as tight as the rest of the mini skein.

woman twisting yarn into mini skeins

15. Now you’re going to tuck one end into the other.
15. That’s it! You should now have a cute little mini skein!

woman's hands holding a mini skein of yarn

Need to SEE this being done?

I also have a You Tube video “How To Make A Mini Skein” :

Disclosure : I sometimes use affiliate links for my favourite yarns and other accessories!

Category: Tips and TutorialsTag: crochet

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