SMALL HOUSEHOLDS: EXOTIC SKINNIER ETON MESS...OR SOMETHING VERY LIKE IT: Skinnier indulgence with opt for full-fat

SUMMER INDULGENCE THAT'S A JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES

A no-recipe treat that wows the crowds and is healthier, too

first posted 2015

This recipe isn't really a recipe at all.  It's a combination of dessert ingredients that suits your mood, what's in your fridge or what's best value at your supermarket. 

The essentials are yoghurt (strained 0-fat or Greek low-fat), vanilla, soft fruit and something crunchy.  

Cream is optional but 67goingon50 prefers at least some cream -- up to equal the amount of yoghurt -- because it is, after all, a dessert and an indulgence. 

For those with cholesterol or weight worries, go for the 100% yoghurt option, or a 25% cream to 75% yoghurt mix.  

This particular recipe has a 50-50 yoghurt-cream mix, raspberries and crunchy oatmeal toasted with a little sugar. You could easily use the strawberries and crushed macaroons of a conventional Eton Mess or go off-piste with blueberries, crushed gingernuts and a little fresh grated ginger. There is so much wonderful soft fruit around now, ring the changes.  

Cost: £2'ish (7/24) dep. on ingredients

Feeds: 2-3, recipe multiplies easily

Ingred:

45 gm Ultra Granola or crushed macaroons or biscuits
1-2 tbsp soft brown sugar 

100ml thick/strained Zero-fat or Greek low-fat yoghurt
Up to 100 ml single, whipping, double or clotted cream (depending on personal cholesterol levels!)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract Or seeds of 1/4 vanilla pod
up to 100 gm fresh fruit

(opt) sugared ginger or finely chopped ginger in syrup

Method

1. Toast Granola in a wide frying pan over medium heat until it turns golden brown, watching closely.  Add sugar and continue cooking, stirring, until the sugar melts into the oatmeal and starts to smell divine.  Tip onto a plate. Cool.
2. Hand-whisk or beat together yoghurt and cream (the cream can first be whipped to a soft-peak stage if there's time and energy). Stir in vanilla.
3. Layer yoghurt-cream, toasted granola and fresh fruit in glasses, ending with a layer of yoghurt cream and a berry or 2.
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Comment:  'I had this with yoghurt-cream for breakfast and it was divine; I'm looking forward to another fruit combo with (a little) thick clotted cream!'

Tip:

for the budget conscious, buy the least expensive own-brand yoghurt from a supermarket you trust and strain it yourself.  Instructions below: 

Note: 

67goingon70 has promoted yoghurt-mayonnaise (or cream) to help digestion and reduce fat and cholesterol without losing taste or texture. Thick 0-fat Greek yoghurts can be used as a base but straining your own takes little effort and is very budget-friendly.  0-fat yoghurt cost as little as £1 for a large punnet;  straining removes liquid and ensures it doesn't separate in cooking.

Straining Yoghurt

1. 

   Straining 0-fat  Yoghurt

1. Rinse a clean j-cloth to remove starch from the fibres.
2. Line a fine sieve (the kind used to sift flour) and place it over a deep bowl (or use Food Network's Anna Olsen's example and use a paper coffee filter) 
3. Pour yoghurt into the sieve. 
4. Leave at least 4 hours or overnight.  
5. Discard liquid at the bottom of the bowl.  
6. For yoghurt mayonnaise, the yoghurt should be the texture of mayonnaise.  For yoghurt-cream, the texture should be similar to that of the cream that will be used

This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.