Today’s post is more than a simple recipe.  It is about utilizing a simple ingredient (in this case yoghurt) to create a unlimited variety of dessert options for any palette. Often relegated to breakfasts, and lunch boxes, yoghurt is frequently overlooked when it comes to dessert.  But not only can it be served alone, yougurt also can be integrated into sweeter desserts (such as baked goos), offering moisture and tartness, while maintaining it’s fruity quality.



I know I never considered serving it as a mouse or ice cream alternative before, but then I was given the opportunity to savor the wonderful flavors of noosa® yoghurt** and I knew immediately that they would be the perfect dessert treat.The yoghurt itself is thick, rich and creamy, just like a fruit custard.  It is decadant enough to serve, dressed up in a martini or margarita glass, as an after dinner palette cleanser:

And it doesn’t need any bells and whistles, the grown-up flavors of noosa® are unique enough to stand on their own.  (In this case I served the coconut flavor along with simple toasted coconut):

Of course, not everyone likes such a savory dessert, but that doesn’t mean yoghurt still isn’t a good option.  Since it is filled with a fresh real fruit flavor and is robust enough to stand up to the sweetness of cake, it is the perfect easy substitution when using boxed cake mixes.  Plus it savory and creamy enough to create a simple icing as well.   Almost anywhere you can use butter in a recipe, you can typically substitute yoghurt.

In this case I’m going to give you the recipe for strawberry rhubarb cupcakes with blueberry frosting, but there are UNLIMITED possibilities when you substitute yoghurt in place of the wet ingredients when using a cake mix.

The ingredients couldn’t be simpler:

1 Box of Cake Mix (I chose white so I could bring out the flavor of whichever yoghurt flavor I chose)
1 Cup of yoghurt (I chose noosa® in strawberry rhubarb.)
1 Cup of Water
Seriously.. that is IT!  No eggs, no oil! Just yoghurt!

Mix the Ingredients together and bake according to instructions on the box.
The texture of the batter will be pretty much exactly like you would expect.  Except in my case, the white cake mix turned pink from the REAL strawberry in the yoghurt.

They bake up beautifully.  They are super moist and tangy and not overly sweet.  And the taste of the fruit just comes through.

I went ahead and frosted mine with yoghurt® blueberry yoghurt icing (the recipe for that is below).

But here is what is AWESOME about this recipe.  You can pretty much DO ANYTHING with the flavor combinations.  Fruity or savory or even sour.   The key is finding yoghurt flavors that are unique and unlike any other! 

noosa® has some of the most sophisticated flavors of yoghurt on the market.  Things you rarely see in supermarket yoghurt, like pumpkin, passionfruit and coconut.. even cranberry apple (wouldn’t that be DEVINE in a spice cake mix!!)

My brain is just racing thinking of the combinations.   Their 14 other flavors include: honey, blueberry, mango, raspberry, strawberry rhubarb, peach, lemon, tart cherry, plain, and pineapple.

And when you add the combination of any flavor icing (ooh.. Coconut icing on a tart vanilla cupcake!!) the options truly are infinite.  Plus you can feel good using noosa® yoghurt since it is made locally, (right next door to me in Colorado)

The icing is just as easy as the cupcakes themselves.

You need powdered sugar, a little salt and yoghurt. That is it. 
The ratio of sugar to yoghurt is 10 to 1.  So if you want to make a lot of frosting (say, for a cake) you would use 5 cups of powdered sugar to 1 cup of yoghurt.  You use 1 tsp of salt for every cup of yoghurt.

In my case I used 1/4 cup yoghurt (noosa® Blueberry) and 2.5 Cups powered sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt. 

The icing is pretty soft. Like a glaze almost.  But it is pretty sweet so you don’t need much. I applied it with a zip top bag that had a hole cut in the bottom:

Eventually it does harden, so you want to spread it immediately so it doesn’t seize up on you.
I ended up with a Strawberry Rhubarb cupcake with a Blueberry Frosting.  PERFECTION!

Now I can’t wait to try the next flavor combination.

You can try any of the noosa® flavors with the coupon below (click graphic to download)