Have you heard or known of any handmade local natural yoghurt in Singapore? Honestly I have not known of any till Alvas Dairy Pte Ltd had contacted me to try their yoghurt. They are a local company that have been producing freshly hand made local natural yoghurt for the past 10 years. Alvas ensures customers bring home fresh, natural yoghurt as every batch of yoghurt that they produce reaches the store within 24 hours of production. The handmade local yoghurt is sugar-free with no preservatives and addictives.
This first thing that came across my mind is the taste for sugar free yoghurt. I had tried Greek yoghurt before and due to removing of whey (watery part of milk that remains when milk is curdled); this result in less sugar and thicker creamier yoghurt. Greek yoghurt is incredibly sour when eaten on its own. On the other hand, those yoghurt brands sold in supermarkets are high in sugars and this is not healthy despite of tasting great.
Upon knowing Alvas Dairy Pte Ltd, I can’t wait for the yoghurt to be delivered to me for tasting! At first sight upon receiving the yoghurt, the packaging did not attract me as it is not very attractive nor appealing. I am sceptical of the taste initially.
Setting the packaging aside, the more important question is, will it taste good?
First, it is incredibly rich, dense and creamy. It taste a lot tangier and sour that normal yoghurt. However the sourness faded after my first bite and I was able to taste the yoghurt natural flavor.
I love to eat yoghurt mix with granola and fruits for breakfast. A high fiber meal to kick starts the day!
Now I can even make overnight oat yoghurt or cakes with Alvas yoghurt.
I love to use yoghurt as one of the ingredients in making cakes as it makes the texture of the cake lighter and tanginess that the yoghurt flavours the cake. I love the lemon yoghurt cake recipe by Tan Hsueh Yun that is easy to bake. There is no need to use electric mixer for this recipe. All you need is a whisk and spatula to mix the batter, flour and oil together. I had changed the recipe by using orange instead and reduce the sugar to 200g. I had also included 1.5 tbsp of orange juice to the batter to enhance the orange flavor.
Orange Yoghurt Cake
Ingredients:
1. 200g plain flour
2. 2 tsp double-acting baking powder
3. 1/2 tsp sea salt
4. 250g Alvas yoghurt
5. 200g sugar
6. 3 large eggs
7. Zest of 2 oranges
8. 1.5 tbsp of orange juice
9. 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
10. 125ml vegetable oil
For orange syrup:
1. 80ml orange juice
2. 2 tbsp sugars
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease and flour a 21.5 by 11cm loaf pan.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl, add salt and set aside.
3. To a large mixing bowl, add the yoghurt, sugar, eggs, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract. Whisk together until smooth. Whisk in the flour mixture slowly.
4. Pour in the oil and fold it into the mixture gently using a rubber spatula. The batter will curdle but just keep at it until the batter is thick and smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
6. While the cake is baking, make the orange syrup: Combine the sugar and orange juice in a saucepan and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Take off the heat and set aside.
7. When the cake is done, stand it on a metal rack set over a foil-lined tray and let it cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes. Using a blunt knife, loosen the cake gently from the sides of the pan. Remove cake from pan and place over the metal rack.
8. Drizzle the orange syrup over the warm cake and let it cool completely before serving.
Alvas yoghurt (200mL – $1.20, 500mL – $2.80 and 1L – $5.40) is available at Sheng Siong outlets island wide and to many HDB minimarts throughout Singapore. Alternatively, you can email Alvas Diary at [email protected] and they can search the nearest store at your area. Go and try the Alvas Yoghurt!
Happy Long Weekend To All!
