Yogurt Cream with Strawberries – A Crowd Pleaser

Sometimes you just don’t have the time to bake an old-school German cake, perhaps because your friends just told you they will come over tonight or because you have a bigger party to serve in a limited amount of time. We have encountered the latter issue quite a few times. A few years ago when we were looking for volunteer opportunities for the whole family we came across the wonderful Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House provides families whose children need hospital care a place to stay while their children are being treated. Together with some close friends we started volunteering as a dinner and baking group. About eight times a year, we cook dinner for the families staying at the House. We usually cook for about 80 guests in about 2 ½ hours. As the focus is on cooking a healthy dinner there is not much time to make dessert. Thus, we have to come up with delicious desserts that are quick to make. And as the ovens are usually in use for the main course, a no-bake dessert is the perfect choice.

This no-bake dessert is the perfect combination of creamy texture with the lightness of yogurt and the tanginess of lemon and strawberries. It also happens to be gluten-free which can be an advantage when serving larger crowds. If you use lactose-free products you can also tick off that box. Furthermore, this recipe is flexible in terms of the sweetener that is used. I use real sugar but if dietary restrictions require a different type of sweetener it is no problem to replace the sugar. You can also replace the strawberries with other berries or different fruit. If you are preparing the dessert for a party you can prepare it a day in advance and store it in a refrigerator. This crowd pleaser is incredibly easy to make and is a great choice if you don’t have much time to impress your guests.

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Recipe

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Ingredients (for 10 servings):

400g whipping cream

1 pack WhipIt!

400g plain yogurt

400g Greek yogurt

100g sugar

2 packs vanilla sugar (or some vanilla aroma or the beans of one vanilla pod)

1 lemon (juice of)

Instructions:

1) Beat the whipping cream, the vanilla sugar and WhipIt using an electric whisk. Mix the ingredients first on a low setting and then beat on high until the cream is stiff.

2) Mix the yogurt, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and sugar using an electric whisk on a low setting.

3) Fold the cream under the yogurt mixture.

4) Cut the strawberries into quarters. You could also puree the strawberries at this point.

5) Layer the cream and strawberries. You can also decorate with a wafer or cookie.

Variations:

You can use many different types of fruit for this dessert. Berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) work very well. In the winter when you cannot get fresh local produce you can also use drained canned fruit such as pineapple or mandarins.

You can use this recipe to make a summery strawberry tiramisu. Dunk lady fingers into some orange juice and layer in a baking or casserole dish. Spread the yogurt cream over the ladyfingers and top with pureed strawberries. Repeat to make a beautifully light strawberry tiramisu. Because this tiramisu does not require the use of mascarpone it is a much lighter dessert.

You can also decorate this dessert for special occasions. In the picture below you see a version of it with mandarins and chocolate sprinkles that we decorated for Easter at the Ronald McDonald House.