Recipes for Coconut and Dairy Yoghurt

I have always loved yoghurt. Not just to eat how it comes out of the tub, but by how versatile it can be. My hubby Mr Normal (Mr N from now on) does not eat diary, so I had to make a fantastic thick coconut yoghurt to substitute in the recipes that he loves, so I didn’t have to buy Coyo at $10 for 500g.

Whether you are using cow’s milk or coconut cream, the premise for yoghurt is the same. Below are my recipes and variations.
Please note I have tried this method in the Easy Yo, however the initial heat of the boiling water is too hot and kills the probiotic capsules and has never worked properly for either cow’s milk or coconut cream.

For those on the LCHF or KETO way of eating, the coconut yoghurt is a fantastic source of good fat and if you would like to use a low carb berry (Mr N loves strawberries) for the coulis, just sweeten with your sweetener of choice. My preference is for erythritol as it is a fruit sugar anyway.

What You Need To Know – READ FIRST
1. Use UHT cows milk as it has already been preheated so you then miss a step in the process. If you want to use fresh cows milk, heat the milk to 90°c then wait until it returns to 37°c, then start the process from step 1. Coles has an Organic UHT Milk for $1.90, it is the only place that sells organic milk in UHT format that I know of.

2. When making Coconut Yoghurt always check the label of the coconut cream that is has 100% coconut. Ayam is the only readily available brand that is 100% coconut. Buy it from your loan asian grocery at they sell it in a 500g can and 1 litre tetra packs which are much cheaper than the 240g can from the supermarkets. You can also buy coconut milk powder at the supermarkets and Asian grocery stores, but again always check the labels to make sure they are 100% coconut, especially if you are dairy intolerant.

3. If you want thicker yoghurt, milk powder will always make it thicker because it absorbs some of the whey/liquid that is left when the milk/cream starts to separate because of the bacteria. That is why many types of yoghurt will have skim milk powder in the ingredients, because they want it thicker without more fat content.

4. If you want it really thick. When your yoghurt is finished and completely cold in the fridge, pour the yoghurt into a sieve lined with cheesecloth or muslin and leave it for 12 – 24 hours. This will allow the extra whey to drain off and then you can put your very thick yoghurt into a container and enjoy. It is how the shop purchased yoghurts still manage to make it nice and thick.

This is the amount of liquid after only 8 hours of straining a store bought, pot set, greek yogurt.

5. Labna is a yoghurt cheese, made the same as point 4 but leave it for 3-4 days, it will be so thick that you will be able to roll it into a ball, cover with oil that is flavoured with garlic and aromatics.

My marinating labna

6. I always say 2-3 probiotic capsules as it depends on how old they and the quality of the probiotic as to how effective they are. Always start with 3 and if you find the yogurt too tart, use 2 the next batch you make. If you don’t have capsules you can always substitute 150g of good quality natural yoghurt or natural coconut yoghurt, but I find that it is much easy to have the capsules on hand rather than remembering to leave some yoghurt in the bottom of the jar for the next batch.

7. Sugar can be added to any yoghurt, as the recipes below (if you aren’t use to them) will be very tart. I would start with a tablespoon of sugar (the amount in the average flavoured yoghurt) and then begin to ween yourself off with a little less in every batch. Before you know it, you wont need any sugar at all. I have also included fruit yoghurt variations, which can be made with your sweetener of choice. Do not use artificial sweeteners when making yoghurt as these will kill the good bacteria and the yoghurt won’t work.

Ingredients – Yoghurt Variations

Thick Natural Cow’s Milk Yoghurt – TM31, TM5, TM6
1000g UHT Organic Milk
2-3 Probiotic Capsules
60g Milk Powder (optional, but it will make it thicker)

Creamy Natural Cow’s Milk Yoghurt – TM31, TM5, TM6
800g UHT Organic Milk
200g pure cream
2-3 Probiotic Capsules
60g Milk Powder (optional, but it will make it thicker)

Coconut Yoghurt – TM31, TM5, TM6
1000g AYAM Coconut Cream
2-3 Probiotic Capsules
50g Coconut Milk Powder (optional, but it will make it thicker)

Thermomix Method – TM31, TM5 and TM6 manual mode
Please read “What You Need To Know” before making yoghurt.
1. Place all ingredients of your choice into the mixing bowl and warm 10 minutes/37/speed 3.
2. Boil the kettle and fill a Thermoserver with boiling water.
3. Remove hot water and completely dry Thermoserver with a CLEAN tea towel and place on top of a large towel or blanket that will be able to completely wrap around it.

4. Pour contents of the mixing bowl into the warm dry Thermoserver, place the lid on top, wrap up and leave for 10-12 hours.

5. Remove from large towel or blanket and refrigerate for 8 hours. It is really important not to take the lid off until it is completely cold.

What You Need To Know For TM6 Fermentation Mode
1. Calculate the total amount of liquid your jars will hold minus 50g (it expands a bit) then minus the weight of the other ingredients you are using… milk powder, fruit coulis etc.. then that is your starting amount of milk/cream. Below is the basic for the 4 Weck Jars I use. Thermomix in Australia has jars in their Mixit shop, K- Mart has small jars that also fit, but any small glass jars with lids will work.
2. If using fruit coulis it goes on the bottom. If you want it on the top too, don’t fill your yoghurt to the top and when it has finished the 12 hours of fermentation, carefully take the lid off and gently pour some more of the coulis on the top of the set yoghurt before you refrigerate.

Please note that the yoghurt will thicken as it get colder, If you want thicker yogurt read “What You Need to Know” for more information, but I do find that pot set yogurt fermented in the TM6 has been consistently thicker.

Ingredients

Coconut Yoghurt – TM6 Fermentation Mode
900g AYAM Coconut Cream
2-3 Probiotic Capsules
50g Coconut Milk Powder

Natural Thick Yoghurt – TM6 Fermentation Mode
900g UHT Organic Milk (I purchase it from Coles for $1.90)
2-3 Probiotic Capsules
60g Milk Powder
(obviously you could make is creamier by subbing some of the milk out for cream)

Fruit Flavoured Pot Set Yogurt
800g UHT Organic Milk or AYAM Coconut Cream
2-3 Probiotic Capsules
50g Milk/Coconut Milk Powder
100 – 200g Fruit Coulis (amount depends on your jars, just adjust the amount of milk/cream you use)

This is dairy strawberry yoghurt when I have stirred through the strawberry coulis that was sitting on the bottom of the pot set yoghurt. It was absolutely delicious!

Thermomix Method
TM6 Fermentation Mode
1. Place all ingredients into the mixing bowl and warm 10 minutes/37/speed 3.
2. Pour the yoghurt ingredients evenly between the pots.
3. Press fermentation function on the TM6 and follow the instructions re the water and lemon juice into the bowl. Place Jars (with lids on) into the bottom of the Varoma. Place the lid on top, change time to 12 hours and start.
4. When completed carefully remove jars from Varoma and place in the refrigerate until completely cold (around 6 hours)

For Fruit Flavour Yoghurt
At Step 2. Distribute 50g or 100g of fruit coulis (or as much as you want) evenly into the bottom of the jars and pour the yoghurt ingredients evenly between the pots. Make sure you have left room for more coulis on the top after the fermentation process (if that is what you are doing).

At Step 4. When completed carefully remove lid and even pour the rest of the coulis evenly over the top of the jars, carefully place lids back on and refrigerate until completely cold (around 6 hours)

Ingredients – Fruit Coulis
200g – 250g fresh fruit of your choice
5g – 40g Sweetener of choice (40g = 2 tablespoons, which is very sweet)

Thermomix Coulis Method
1. Weigh ingredients into mixing bowl and blend 5 seconds/speed 6.
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat if necessary
3. Cook 5 minutes/100/speed 1.
4. Allow to cool and use as needed.

Conventional Yoghurt Method
1. Combine milk and milk powder and stir over a low heat with a thermometer in the milk. Allow the milk to get to 37 degrees C. If it does over take it off the heat and stir until it returns to 37. Sit in the contents of the probiotitic capsules (discard the outside) and stir to combine.
2. Boil the kettle and fill a stainless steel bowl (that has a lid) or large thermos with boiling water.
3. Remove hot water and completely dry container with a CLEAN tea towel and place on top of a large towel or blanket that will be able to completely wrap around it.
4. Pour ingredients into the warm dry stainless steel bowl or thermos, place the lid on top and leave for 10-12 hours
5. Remove from large towel or blanket and refrigerate for 8 hours. It is really important not to take the lid off until it is completely cold.

Conventional Coulis Method
1. Crush or blend fruit and place into a pot on a medium heat with sugar.
2. Bring to the boil, making sure all the sugar is dissolved.
3. Allow to cool and use as needed.

So basically how ever you choose to make yoghurt, it is easy and much cheaper than the store bought one and a whole lot less sugar.

If you have another questions feel free to comment here and I will answer as soon as I can!

Thanks so much for reading, Happy Cooking!

Liz xx

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Elizabeth Connolly

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I have been cooking since I can remember. I am a Thermomix consultant, so now (whenever possible) try to give you Conventional AND Thermomix methods for the recipes. I like to share tips on how to save money and how making food from scratch isn't really that hard (especially with a Thermomix). If you have any questions about the Thermomix or cooking/food in general please email me as I'm happy to chat.
Liz xx
P.S Don't forget to subscribe to receive your 3 free e-Books.