Yoplait Light Cake-Flavored Yogurts

Not so long ago, Yoplait released three new cake-themed flavors in their popular Yoplait Light line. The new yogurts were the toast of the eating-right web when they arrived - Hungry Girl devoted their first-ever video short to a promo for it, for example, and Fit Fare posted a review soon after.

"These yogurts are great!" they shout. Maybe. But the question for me is, do they actually taste like cake?

Yogurt is delicious on its own, but Yoplait, as is typical for the maker of as-far-from-yogurt-as-you-can-get creations like Yoplait Whips and Go-Gurt, is determined to make us believe its product can satisfy our cravings for rich, decadent desserts. And all for only 100-odd calories!

I've heard the hype about Yoplait Light yogurts ever since I started subscribing to the Hungry Girl newsletter, but I still haven't drunk the Kool-Aid (or is Crystal Light more apropos here?). I had to discover for myself whether these new yogurts were truly dessert-like confections or if they were no better or worse than everyday yogurt.

I bought the three new flavors and, along with my husband, held an informal taste test.

We started with a face-off.

Strawberry Shortcake vs. Strawberry

I already had a case of Yoplait Light in the fridge from a recent Costco run, so I grabbed a plain old Strawberry yogurt for comparison to the new Strawberry Shortcake flavor. Alas, real strawberry shortcake could not make it to the testing.

Our thoughts on Strawberry Shortcake:

Colleen: Seems to have more vanilla flavor than normal, but it becomes less noticeable over time. Similar flavor to eating sweetened strawberries with a scoop of Cool Whip. No distinct "cake" flavor.

Scott: Sweeter. No advantage over normal strawberry yogurt. Needs more fruit pieces!

And on regular Strawberry:

Colleen: Creamy. Hit of tart/sour yogurt flavor. Flavor of strawberry pie filling or strawberry jam. Floral.

Scott: Still wishing for more fruit pieces.

(OK, I admit that I snagged most of the fruit pieces for myself.)

Overall, we thought that both yogurts tasted pleasant. I wouldn't lunge for a Strawberry Shortcake Yoplait Light were I fantasizing about a caky dessert, but I wouldn't refuse a cup were I in the mood for sweet yogurt. Scott, too, felt like it wouldn't be worth paying the slightly higher price for individual yogurt cups just to secure this flavor.

For the other two, we did not have comparison flavors (of yogurt or cake) on hand, so we tasted them on their own merits.

Raspberry Cheesecake

Colleen: I really want to like this flavor, as I love cheesecake. It has a decent raspberry flavor, but I don't discern any cheesecake notes. The color is very pink, whereas the real deal is mostly a creamy white with the red only an accent. When the yogurt warms up, it does have a little more cheesecake-like tang.

Scott: OK. It tastes more like puréed raspberry cheesecake. The yogurt has no distinct flavors. Muddy. No fruit pieces. Not as tart as fresh raspberries.

On the whole, it's no substitute for the real deal. But if you like raspberry yogurt, you'll likely enjoy this flavor as well.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Colleen: How odd to encounter stringy pineapple bits in yogurt. Otherwise, the yogurt is pure white. Tastes sweet, but there's no vanilla or caky flavor to the yogurt - I want to say it tastes like coconut, but I'm guessing the pineapple is just making me think of piña coladas. There's a bit of a brown sugar flavor as the yogurt warms. The scent is reminiscent of Bath & Body Works' pineapple shower gel. Despite that, it's a nice change of pace overall, though not particularly cake-like.

Scott: Liked this one better. I think it recreates pineapple upside-down cake well, but I can't remember the last time I actually had the real deal. Plenty of fruit pieces! What I wish the Raspberry Cheesecake had been like. The yogurt has the flavor of cake without the pineapple dominating it. The chunks provide pineapple flavor and a good mouthfeel. Liked that there were two distinct flavors.

The Pineapple Upside-Down Cake was our favorite of the three new flavors. Scott found it cake-like enough to merit its name, but I thought it ought to be relabeled Piña Colada.

How about it, Yoplait? Why not create a line of girly cocktail-inspired yogurt? The texture is more akin to that of yogurt than cake is, and they pack just as many calories.

What's the upshot? If you buy yogurt anyway, feel free to grab these when they are on sale. The Pineapple Upside-Down Cake especially is a winner.

At the same time, if you have a warehouse-club membership and can get the cheaper cases, you don't have to feel like you're missing much.

Technorati Tags:
desserts, food, reviews