Yogurt Pie with Strawberry-Balsamic Topping

Okay, so I’m a wee bit embarrassed about the last post. 

I know you come here for the pretty food pictures and the (seemingly) healthy recipes...and here I was, being completely useless, whining and drowning in self-pity. Not to mention, shoving that ghastly picture of my bloated visage in your face. 

Not cool. Not cool at all.

But I’ll make it up to you, I promise. How? I have a master plan. A fool-proof plan involving crunchy oatmeal, creamy yogurt and…strawberries.

Do I see you smiling already? 

This is almost as good as the best cheesecake you’ve ever had, minus the butter in the crust, the cream and egg yolks, and lo, even the cream cheese!

Okay, so maybe we can’t call it a cheesecake…but you’ve got to trust me on this. If there is any way you are going to pass up on loading carbs with an actual cheesecake, this is it. This is you one-way ticket to low-calorie dessert bliss. (Melodrama, much?!)

 For starters, you have oatmeal instead of graham crackers. Applesauce instead of butter. And a fat-free, healthy crust which is just as crumbly as the conventional cracker crust.

For the filling, we have low-fat yogurt. Sweetened with vanilla and sugar, with some dissolved gelatine to hold its shape.

And then…STRAWBERRIES. Loads of them, macerated with raspberries, sugar, mint and balsamic vinegar. Sweet, sour, tangy goodness.

Go on, make a pie, share a slice, spread the love. 

Enjoy! 

Yogurt Pie with Strawberry-Balsamic topping

For pie crust:

1 and ½ cups old-fashioned oats

2 packed tbsps. brown sugar

¼ cup applesauce

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
•  Process the oats, brown sugar and cinnamon in a food processor for about 30 seconds until the oats are crushed and all of it is incorporated together
• Add applesauce to the oats mixture and stir until it is coated evenly
• Press mixture into a 8 or 9 inch pie dish and bake for 10-11 minutes until brown.
• Take the pie crust out of the oven and let cool completely

For filling:

2 cups Greek yogurt (or normal yogurt drained of excess water)

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 envelopes of unflavoured gelatine

• Dissolve the gelatin in three tablespoons of cold water
• Boil water in a pan and reduce to a light simmer. Place a heat-proof bowl over the pan to create a double-boiler.
• Empty the yogurt onto the double-boiler, add sugar, vanilla and stir until dissolved completely. Add the dissolved gelatin to the yogurt mixture and stir again until incorporated fully. Remove from heat and let it cool
• Optional: For a richer filling (and a texture closer to that of cheesecake), you can whip 1 and ½ cups of heavy cream and fold in the whipped cream into the yogurt mixture. This would make the pie lighter and less dense. (I skipped this step as I didn’t want to keep it as healthy as possible- was already going crazy with the sugar, didn’t want to add cream to weigh on my conscience later!)
• Pour filling into pie crust, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until the yogurt is set.

For topping:

2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved

1 cup raspberries

¼ cup sugar

1/8 cup balsamic vinegar (you could substitute it with lemon juice, if you don’t have vinegar at hand)

A few mint leaves

• Take half of the strawberries and raspberries and mash them to an almost-pulp consistency with a fork.
• Add the sugar, vinegar and julienned mint leaves to the mashed fruit and mix well.
• Finally, add the rest of the fruit, stir everything together and refrigerate.
• When the pie is set, cut wedges and serve with the macerated fruit on top.

Get cooking already!