I got some comments and quite a few emails about my locker room post. Yes, I sit and change in a locker room…with men. I have played in men’s league hockey for about 13 years now (in fact I am the captain of my men’s league team). As well as 13 years of men’s league rugby (though there really isn’t a locker room for that). I have seen a lot of naked men. A lot. I can’t tell you which guy is which. I mean technically I could, based on how they are shaped in their clothing but other than MDP (shhh don’t tell my dad) I couldn’t actually recall what any of them look like without clothing.
Ironically while at the gym yesterday (which side note aka lesson learned: while getting extra exercise by walking home from the gym, first make sure you didn’t drive there) they had ESPN on as they often do. The topic was women reporters in locker rooms. It wasn’t a debate as should or shouldn’t they it was more of how far women have come in that area. They had players on there commenting that nowadays they simply see them as reporters not female reporters vs male reporters…just reporters. This is how it is as players. I see the female and male players on my team as players. Period. And the guys on the team feel that way too. The one guy we had on our team that didn’t differentiate between that was kicked off the team.
That’s not to say that outside of the locker room we don’t recognize that we are men and women. Obviously I noticed that with MDP…we play hockey together. But oddly enough when we play hockey I don’t think of him that way, I think of him as a fellow player. I joke and say “good goal honey” when he scores but that is almost ribbing because then the team pipes up and shouts back “yeah, good goal honey”. Though interestingly enough when I watch him play hockey when I am not playing with him (he plays in an upper league as a sub from time to time) I most definitely notice that he is a man. A mighty sexy hockey playing man. 😉
So not related to my story at all is the Greek yogurt craze. I’m going to be hipster and say that I was using Greek yogurt before Greek yogurt was cool. From years ago when I would make French yogurt cakes. Then I started subbing sour cream on my baked potato with plain Greek yogurt. People thought I was weird. They don’t think that now. It’s almost become interchangeable now.
So when Voskos Greek Yogurt asked if I would be interested in receiving some of their Greek Yogurt I went online and looked them up (I’ll be honest in saying I hadn’t heard of it) and was like ohhh, organic milk, 13 grams of protein for each serving (that’s A LOT), and when I read ingredients for the plain (which I tend to use the most for its savory or sweet opportunities)which read Grade A Pasteurized Milk, Cream, Non-Fat Milk, Live and Active Cultures. And that is it. No GMO’s either. I said yes send that my way. I got to pick my flavors (Exotic Fig??? Yes!!!! And the Honey Vanilla Bean…yum!).
It’s very thick and creamy. And we guinea pigged MDP. MDP is lactose intolerant. Voskos says on their website that their yogurt has a ton of live and active cultures. Yogurt is something that lactose intolerant people can eat. MDP seems to be hit or miss with yogurt. So I made him experiment with how this would affect him. Now I can’t say that if you have lactose issues that you can eat this (everyone is different) but MDP had no issues, which means I will be cooking with the Voskos Greek Yogurt when sour cream or other dairy is called for in a recipe.
I decided to see how Voskos Greek Yogurt would work in one of my favorite sour cream coffee cakes…with a new twist of course. I ditched the cinnamon that traditional coffee cake tends to have and added chocolate chips, coconut, and dried cherries. In a perfect world I would have remembered to coat them in flour so as not to sink to the bottom. But considering the fact that I forgot I parked at the gym and walked home this week we can all tell that the brain is not working all that well. 😀
Do you substitute Greek Yogurt for anything? If so, please tell me what in the comments down below. Check out Voskos Facebook Page as well as their website to see where you can get their yogurt (get the fig, get the fig!)
*Disclaimer: Voskos did compensate me for making a recipe on my blog using their Greek yogurt, but the opinions and content are all mine.
Greek Yogurt Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chips, Dried Cherries, and Coconut
Crumb Topping:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 TBSP melted unsalted butter
Cake:
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
16 ounces Voskos Greek Yogurt (I used plain…preferably full fat)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or extract)
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup sweetened coconut
½ cup dried cherries
Crumb Topping:
In a medium bowl add the ingredients together. Mix with a spoon (or hands…that’s how I do it) until fully combined and you have wet crumbs about the same size.
Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Spray baking spray into a 9×13-inch baking pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Scrape down bowl and add sugar.
Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl as needed.
Add the Greek yogurt and vanilla bean paste and beat just until incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not overmix!
Pour one half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips, coconut, and cherries over the batter, covering the entire surface of the batter.
Spoon remaining batter over the chocolate, cherry, and coconut mixture and spread it evenly.
Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top of the batter.
Bake in the center of the oven for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Serves 12-16 depending on how you cut it.
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan Baking: From My Home to Yours
Renee @ Awesome on $20 says
I was a dancer for ages, and when you’re working in a small theater, there’s often only one dressing room. Not to mention that I’ve had to quick change in front of countless stage hands. Nobody bats an eye. They’re just bodies. I didn’t think it was weird at all.
Amanda Joy says
I use greek yogurt in banana bread and any of the pancake concoctions we make instead of oil. It is especially good with the banana nutella pancakes my kids love… they get the extra protein from the yogurt, and the fruit from banana. It’s a winwin for us::)
Kristi says
I did do a second (read) when you were talking about the locker room, but then I thought… meh… she must feel comfortable around men, and vice versa.
KB says
I grew up home-schooled (no gym class or sports with a locker room and a bunch of other girls) and only shared a bedroom with my older brother until I was ten. The result is that I’m not comfortable changing in front of ANYONE and the thought of changing in a locker room in front of a bunch of people, even girls, terrifies me, so I’m pretty impressed at how you handle it. Maybe I should get out more. 😛
I’ve been eating Greek yogurt with a spoon to boost my protein intake for four or five years, so I’m pro-yogurt! I didn’t know that some lactose-intolerant people could eat it, but I’m definitely passing that on to my lactose-intolerant aunt! I use it in muffins and coffee cake whenever I have it on hand, and I’ve used it in other cakes that call for sour cream or even buttermilk with high success. I also use it in dips sometimes. It packs a really nice tang but it still feels light.
Heather of Kitchen Concoctions says
A few weeks ago, after a long day, I went to the grocery store and walked out and couldn’t find my car. That happens to a lot of people, I know, but I literally walked by my car for 20 minutes not thinking it was mine because of a mark on the side that I had never noticed before! I went straight home and went to bed after that! LOL! I have been craving coffee cake so this is perfect!
Shellina says
Hey… So I’ve tried to use Greek yogurt in my cooking, and for baked goods, it’s awesome. But I can’t seem to get it to work on the savory side yet. It always… Curdles? I think that’s what you’d call it. Unlike sour cream (in a stroganoff, for example) it doesn’t melt nicely into the sauce. It bunches up into little bubbles of yogurt, and for the life of me, I can’t get it smooth. Tastes great, looks sketch. Suggestions?
Peabody says
Hmmm- I have yet to do any savory with this yogurt yet so I’ll maybe make done stroganoff and let you know how it goes
Christi @ Love From The Oven says
Wow, that looks amazing, can’t wait to try it. Those stats are ingredient for Voskos. Yeah, all the sudden it’s like Greek yogurt is the new cool thing, and I keep thinking people, hello, been using it for-ever and y’all just thought I was crazy (though you sure had no problem eating all the stuff I made with it).
Becca from Cookie Jar Treats says
I’m ok with changing in front of girls due to 3 years of gym in middle school and another 3 semesters in high school. But tell me to change in front of a guy, I will probably do every maneuver in the book to make sure as little skin is showing as possible. You know like taking your arms out of your current shirt and sticking your arms in another shirt and seamlessly change shirts in .01 seconds. Yeah. Haha.
This cake looks awesome! I use greek yogurt in a couple things. Not much, though. have seen a few images saying things you can swap greek yogurt for (like butter, oil, sour cream, etc.) I can understand swapping out sour cream for yogurt because essentially that are the same thing (they look the same, have the same consistency kind of…) but changing out yogurt for butter is very odd in my opinion.
Karen says
I like to use Greek yogurt in oatcakes and waffles to get my kids more protein as neither eats much meat. This cakes looks great!
Erika says
I am eating Voskos Greek Strawberry yogurt as I was reading this post, with a little vanilla almond granola – yum! I’m usually an organic only yogurt girl, but tried Voskos b/c it was on sale at[ Publix. I really like it – love that it is GMO free.
Voskos, are you listening??? Why not offer some of Peabody’s readers some free yogurt??? 😉
I haven’t really tried swapping yogurt for sour cream, etc. Maybe I should get on the bandwagon.
Carey says
I love using greek yogurt as half the mayo in many of my creamy dressings, love the flavor it adds. Especially yummy in coleslaw with lemon juice as the acid. I have been meaning to try it in a sugar cookie that I have that calls for sour cream but it is too hot to crank the oven on in my neck of the woods. Thanks as always for a fun & entertaining post.
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Yum I love adding greek yogurt to baked goods. Haven’t tried it in coffee cake yet.
Chris says
Ode to Greek yogurt…..I could write one! I eat it nearly every day! I make a killer black bean salad and this thing I call Turkey Tex-Mex with peppers, onions, garlic, Mexican stewed tomatoes, corn, black beans, spices, etc. I chill everything and mix the Greek yogurt with salsa and “dress” these salad with crunchy Romaine (and, in the case of the black bean salad, fresh tomatoes.) I use it in this kind of salad dressing and in a buttermilk/chive dressing which we use on chicken wraps! I bake with it, too…but mostly I just eat it! My favorite way is with frozen blueberries, a mashed frozen banana, and I usually add cinnamon (and Chia seeds because I like the crunch.) It makes everything all “freeze-y” and more like a super-fruited frozen yogurt! Hey, a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do, right?? Instant happiness!!
Kelly says
Mmmm, love coffee cake. And I always have greek yogurt on hand, not so much sour cream – I’ll have to remember that for some of my favorite sour cream recipes!
Laurie A. says
I adore Greek yogurt and eat a lot of it. Voskos is my favorite. My favorite flavor is strawberry so I eat their strawberry one all the time. Unfortunately, not all the grocery stores in my neighborhood carry Voskos. I really prefer the texture of Voskos compared to Chobani and others. In the meantime, I sometimes swap out the sour cream for the plain yogurt in my potato cakes. I make a version of the Potatocakes that were at Claim Jumper (they took them off the menu, so I just make my own). I also use the plain yogurt in some of my Jewish dishes (especially at Passover). Gonna have to try this recipe soon!
Nutmeg nanny says
Oh yum! This coffee cake looks heavenly 🙂 I bet it is perfect!