ISO Yogurt Substitute

[lyndalou]

I made a cake last weekend and the recipe called for whole milk yogurt. I could not find that ingredient anywhere. I used lo fat and the texture was off. What would any of you substituted for the yogurt?

[Zereh]

I would have reached for the sour cream and something to thin it out a bit with - either butter milk or half-n-half/cream.

[taxlady]

For cakes, I use full fat yogourt and sour cream interchangeably with good results.

Okay, there is a sour cream coffee cake that I wouldn't substitute yogourt, but if I didn't have any sour cream, I would try using yogourt and add some butter for the fat.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by lyndalou

I made a cake last weekend and the recipe called for whole milk yogurt. I could not find that ingredient anywhere. I used lo fat and the texture was off. What would any of you substituted for the yogurt?

I would have not made the recipe until I could find the yogurt.

[taxlady]

It just occurs to me that the texture problem may have been due to additives that are usually added to low fat yogourts to make them thicker.

[lyndalou]

Thanks everybody. I had thought of the sour cream as a sub but only after I made the darned cake. Andy, you re so right.

[Oldvine]

I agree with Andy too. Why bother with a recipe that has substitutes? It's a whole new recipe with substitutes. I try to be a baker/cook not a chemist.

[CraigC]

Mexican crema has about the same texture as yogurt.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by CraigC

Mexican crema has about the same texture as yogurt.

Once you get past the crust, creme brulee has about the same texture too. Taste may be an issue though.

[BlueMoods]

Next time, use Greek yogurt, low fat but not fat free. It works perfectly where whole milk yogurt is called for. It's thickened simply by removing some of the water so, it lacks the starches regular yogurt often has in low fat or fat free varieties.

Yes those added starches can ruin the texture of a lot of things. In a cake, the starches will bind up more fat and moisture as they are heated, so you get a drier, more crumbly cake with a not quite fine enough crumb.

If the Greek yogurt is a bit tart for you, add a bit of sugar or agave nectar to it (start with 1/2 tsp per cup and adjust to your taste to tame the stuff if needed.)

[merstar]

I use lowfat plain yogurt frequently in baking as a substitute for full fat yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, etc. I've been baking for eons, from cakes to muffins to quickbreads, etc., and I've always had great results using the low fat yogurt, both in texture and taste.

[CraigC]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

Once you get past the crust, creme brulee has about the same texture too. Taste may be an issue though.

Not so much as crema has a similar taste to sour cream.

[GLC]

If you do not find crema in the dairy case, you may find this, usually stocked with such things as evaporated milk. It's pretty close in thickness to yogurts that have not been artificially thickened or strained. It is not a replacement for yogurt for all purposes. It has a higher butterfat content and a different pH, since it has not been fermented to produce the lactic acid of yogurt. If a recipe uses baking soda, it may be prudent, when using plain cream in place of yogurt, to add an acid component, like lemon juice, to work with the soda, or adapt the recipe to baking powder.