Do not forget the barbecue deserts! Carnation shows us how!

With all the meat to cook, the salads, dips and savoury snacks to prepare, it is all too easy to forget that those with a sweet tooth might feel a bit marginalised and forgotten about at the barbecue. But there's no fear of that happening if you follow these recipes, very helpfully created in the kitchens of Carnation Milk!

Low Fat Strawberry Cheesecake Pots

Recipe

Serves 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Chilling time: 1 hour

Recipe

85g (3oz) light digestive biscuits

150g tub 0%fat Greek yogurt

150g (5½oz) extra light cream cheese

200g (7oz) Carnation Condensed Milk Light

Zest and juice 1 lemon                                                                                                                                                   

250g (9oz) fresh strawberries

3tbsp strawberry jam

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1.    Crumble 75g (3oz) light digestive biscuits into a bowl, not too fine.  Divide the crumbs between 6 wine glasses or small tumblers. 

2.    Place 200g (7oz) Carnation Condensed Milk Light (half a can) into a bowl and add the zest and juice of 1 lemon and 1tsp vanilla extract (optional).  Stir together until the mixture has thickened.

3.    Whisk 150g (5½oz) extra light cream cheese and 150g tub 0%fat Greek yogurt in a small bowl until smooth then fold into the thickened condensed milk, don’t over beat.  Spoon the creamy mixture over the biscuits.  Chill for at least 30minutes to 1 hour.

4.    Chop 250g (9oz) fresh strawberries, mix with 3tbsp strawberry jam and top the cheesecakes with the fruit to serve.

Or how about this gorgeous recipe?

Lime and Coconut Cake

Recipe:

Serves 12

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 55-65 minutes

Cake:

175g (6oz) butter, softened

3 large eggs, beaten

250g (7oz) Carnation Condensed Milk

55g (2oz) desiccated coconut

finely grated zest and juice 1 lime

175g (6oz) self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

Icing:

100g (3½oz) icing sugar

Long strands lime zest and juice 1 lime

Method

1.    Preheat the oven to 170°C, (150°C for fan ovens), Gas Mark 3.

2.    Grease and base line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment.

3.    Place all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat using an electric hand whisk until just smooth and pale. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for 55-65 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.  If the top becomes too brown near the end of the cooking time, cover with a piece of parchment.  Leave the cake to cool slightly then remove from the tin and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

4.    For the icing – simply mix the lime juice into the icing sugar until you have a thick pouring consistency – drizzle over the cake and finish with strands of lime zest.

Cooks tip

Using Carnation Condensed Milk will help the creaming process, combining the eggs, flour and butter for a super smooth batter and a moist sponge finish.

Further tips

For a super fresh taste – microwave a slice of cake for 10 seconds to have that warm from the oven effect!

If you have any cake left over make an exotic simple trifle – lay pieces of the cake at the bottom of a dish and sprinkle over some orange juice or sherry, top with tropical fruits such as mango and pineapple, then top with Greek yogurt sweetened with condensed milk and finish with some toasted desiccated coconut.