Yoghurt chocolate cake

Sour cream and yoghurt are just some of the products you can make at home that taste so much better than the commercial brands. They're also cheaper. You don't need any special equipment to make these things, just some good milk or cream to start with and then add a couple of table spoons of a fresh commercial sour cream or yoghurt containing live cultures. There is an old post here about how to make yoghurt.

One of the benefits of making these dairy products at home is that you can make them exactly to your taste. If you want a tart taste just let them sit out of the fridge longer to develop the taste. You can also make yoghurt into ice blocks or simple cheese, or use it in your daily cooking. I love using yoghurt or sour cream in cakes. It gives you a beautifully tender cake batter and the cake is lovely and moist. One of these cakes will last, moist and delicious, in the fridge for four or five days; if it lasts that long. This recipe is for a chocolate cake but the basic recipe could quite easily be modified to produce a coffee, lemon, orange or vanilla cake. The good thing about this cake is that it's made using natural ingredients and probiotics but if you put it down before most people, all they'll see and taste is chocolate cake.

CHOCOLATE YOGHURT CAKE
125g/1 stick soft butter

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

1½ cups self-raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa
¾ cup natural yoghurt

1. Cream the butter and sugar.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time. When this is nice and fluffy, add the sifted flour and cocoa and fold in. 
3. Add the yoghurt and fold in. 
4. The batter should be fairly thick, but this will depend on the type of yoghurt you add. If it's too thick, add a little water.
5. Bake in a greased and lined 20cm/9" round cake tin on 180C/350F for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Hanno and I will be out and about in the next few weeks. Next week we'll be at the Farm Fantastic expo at Caboolture. We'll be in the Food for Thought marquee from 2pm. I'll be cooking with leftovers, demonstrating how to make laundry liquid and talking about sustainability. On Friday 27 July, I'm guest speaker at Maleny's CWA AGM. I'm really looking forward to meeting the ladies again. The following day I'll be speaking at the Non-Fiction Literary Festival at Noosa.

On 18 August, we'll be out at Bell again! This time it's a workshop on making buttermilk and yoghurt scones, five minute bread and cold process soap. We're both looking forward to Bell, the women there were really lovely and I like the way they're helping build their community. The workshop is $50 for the day, which includes your freshly baked morning tea and lunch. Phone Pips 'n' Cherries on 07 4663 1184 to make a booking. The following week, Permaculture Noosa will be visiting us here to look at the garden. It's going to be a busy month.