This may be the easiest dessert you will ever make. There are many ways in which to enjoy my easily prepared Caramelised Yoghurt Cream. Use it as a dessert with fruit on the side, or serve it, as you would cream, with a slice of cake.
Line a fine-meshed sieve with dampened cheesecloth*. Place the sieve over a medium-sized bowl.Turn the yoghurt into the cheesecloth. Fold over the edges of the cheesecloth to cover the yoghurt.Place the bowl, sieve and yoghurt into the refrigerator and strain for a minimum of 6 hours.*
Turn the strained yoghurt into a medium-sized bowl*.Using hand-held electric beaters or a whisk, whip the cream to soft peaks*.
Using a large rubber spatula or a large spoon, gently fold ⅓ of the cream through the yoghurt to slacken it a little. This makes it easier to fold in the remaining cream.Fold through another ⅓ of the cream, and then the final ⅓.
Place the combined cream and yoghurt into a wide, shallow bowl or into individual serving bowls.*
Smooth the top as evenly as possible and sprinkle generously with soft brown sugar, covering the yoghurt and cream mixture as much as possible. Add more sugar if necessary.Place the bowl in the refrigerator.
The sugar will take about 2 hours to completely melt.Serve the yoghurt cream with berries, poached fruit, grilled figs or alongside a plain cake.
Notes
*Australian thickened cream is also known as whipping cream and contains 35% milk fat.
*The Australian tablespoon is 20ml (4 tsps). In many other countries, a tablespoon is 15ml.
The amount of sugar required will depend on the diameter of the bowl that you use. It is important to use a wide, shallow bowl to have as much caramelised surface as possible.
*On occasion, when I don’t have cheesecloth, I have used a clean, white linen, table napkin.
*I generally set the strained yoghurt, whilst still in the sieve, aside and drain the whey from the bowl. Then, to save washing up, I turn the strained yoghurt back into the same bowl.
*You can drink the whey instead of discarding it, it is full of probiotics. If you find the flavour not to your taste, add it to a smoothie, use it when making pancakes or as part of a marinade for chicken or meat.
*Do not over whip the cream. Just whip to gentle, soft peaks. If it’s too stiff it will be difficult to fold into the yoghurt.
*When folding one ingredient into another, you want to avoid knocking out too much air. I like to use a large rubber spatula but a large metal spoon is also ideal. The lighter mixture, in this case cream, is added to the heavier mixture. I start by adding ⅓ of the cream to slacken the yoghurt. Run the spatula, or spoon, around the side of the bowl and then along the base. Fold the mixture over onto itself. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the technique until the cream is folded in. Fold in the remaining ⅔ of the cream, repeating the method for folding, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.