Matt Preston heads into the kitchen to try some of the hottest recipes currently trending on social media. Are they worth the hype? Or should you just keep scrolling?
2-ingredient chocolate cake
First, the good news. This dish delivers on its promise. Blending drained tinned peaches with melted chocolate and letting the resulting liquid combo set in a lined, silicone loaf pan in the fridge delivers a superbly smooth, rich ganache- like slab with a nice, gently fruity edge. It’s a dinner-party-quality dessert that takes mere moments to make. I loved it. I’ll post a recipe on my Insta at @mattscravat.
2-ingredient Japanese cheesecake
This rather misleading dish involves stuffing Biscoff biscuits into a tub of Greek yoghurt and leaving in the fridge to soften. Despite what the ‘Gram or the ‘Tok might tell you, this doesn’t tastes much like cheesecake. Add softened cream cheese mixed though the yoghurt (1:2 ratio), and we get far closer; it’s a bit like a sourer Biscoff ripple cake.
View this post on Instagram
3-ingredient Japanese cheesecake
If you want a 3-ingredient cheesecake, step away from those using cottage cheese and cocoa, because they will make your ‘cheesecake’ taste like, well, cottage cheese and cocoa. Instead, whip a 395g can of sweetened condensed milk with 750g room-temperature cream cheese, then layer in a glass with 150g crushed Granita biscuits.
Related story: What is ‘boy kibble’? The latest TikTok food trends that proves ‘grey’ is a flavour
2-ingredient panna cotta
So many of these simple recipes are aimed at gym bros and the ‘injector set’ looking for low-calorie sweet treats and bonus protein. Melt 85g sugar-free raspberry jelly crystals in a cup of very hot water, then when it’s cooled, stir in a cup of high-protein yoghurt. Chill until set. The firm set, Barbie-pink colour and sour yoghurt tang are plusses.
Chickpea blondie
This seeks to bury the chickpea flavour under the sweetness of honey or maple syrup and vanilla. Beware the fluffy-looking AI picture. This turns out dense and fudgy. It only loses that claggy pulse taste the next day, when the sweet flavours have overwhelmed it. As is so often the way with this sort of thing, losing the butter, flour and sugar really affects both texture and flavour, making this a pale imitation of a blondie.
Cottage cheese crackers
What a waste of time and energy! Cottage cheese spread out in dollops and slow-roasted in the name of making crackers. Sure, it’s possible, but honestly? Simple roasted piles of packet grated parmesan does a faster, crispier (and tastier) job. Cottage cheese isn’t always the answer. And I suspect parmesan has a far higher protein count anyway (if that matters to you).
View this post on Instagram
Cottage cheese ice cream
Fruit, honey and cottage cheese blended and frozen. Ice cream for those who can’t eat ice cream. Better to make my cheat’s sorbet. Blend 300g frozen raspberries to a dust. Pour in a couple of spoons of aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas) or an egg white or two. Eat immediately or scoop and freeze on a tray.
Related story: Matt Preston asks: is ‘fricy’ the year’s hottest food trend?
Comments
Join the conversation
Log in Register