I finally finished my patriotic-themed frozen yogurt project on Friday morning, just before leaving to spend the holiday weekend in my hometown. These three perfect little scoops offer cool refreshment in the heat of summer, although this
Independence Day has turned out to be rather cool and rainy. Luckily, the enjoyment of frozen treats is not limited to holidays, so I'm sure these recipes will come in handy when the temperature begins to rise.
All of these recipes come from
David Lebovitz, pastry chef,
francophile and ice cream aficionado. His book,
The Perfect Scoop, would make a wonderful gift for anyone who loves to eat or make homemade ice cream. I don't own it, yet (hint, hint).
A few tips - If you don't have access to Greek-style yogurt, never fear. Here's what you do: buy
whole milk plain yogurt (plain, not vanilla!) and strain the water off of it. You will need to have
approximately double the amount of whole milk yogurt to substitute for the Greek-style since you will be draining the liquid off. My method is to line a colander with a couple of coffee filters, set the colander over a bowl, dump a 32 oz. carton of yogurt into the colander, top with another coffee filter and wait. I usually give it about 45 minutes and I'm ready for yogurt making. You can also do this in the fridge overnight and end up with a really rich and tangy yogurt cheese called
labneh. Season it with salt, pepper and herbs and spread on a bagel or dollop on a baked potato.
Secondly, I made a minor change to David's recipe. I was concerned that mixing the fruit and lemon juice into the yogurt and chilling it for an hour would give the fruit acids time to "break" or curdle the yogurt. I prefer to chill them separately, then combine at the last minute. But, hey, that's just me.
Finally, if you can't locate citric acid to use in the lemon yogurt, you can use a product called Fruit Fresh. This may be found in the produce section or along with the canning/preserving supplies. If using Fruit Fresh, you will need to at least double the amount because it is not pure citric acid. I actually tripled the amount, because Stacey likes her lemon yogurt tangy!
In case you're wondering, all of these recipes make
approximately a quart of frozen yogurt.
Let's get started!
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
1 lb.
strawberries - rinsed, hulled and sliced
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vodka
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Put the
strawberries in a bowl with sugar and vodka. Stir gently to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 2 hours at room temperature, stirring every 30 minutes or so.
Pour the strawberry mixture into a food processor. Add the lemon juice and pulse until smooth. Pour back into bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the
refrigerator for at least one hour.
Pour the strawberry mixture and yogurt into the food processor and pulse until combined. (A large bowl and an immersion blender can also be used for this step.) Place in ice cream maker and freeze according to the
manufacturer's instructions.
Tangy Lemon Frozen Yogurt
3 cups plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons chopped lemon zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon citric acid or 1/2 teaspoon Fruit Fresh (can use more if desired)
Pinch of salt (sea salt or kosher salt is best)
In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, juice, sugar, honey, citric acid and salt. Cover and let chill in the
refrigerator for at least an hour.
Puree the lemon mixture and yogurt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Taste and add a sprinkle more citric acid if you want it extra tangy. Place in ice cream maker and freeze according to the
manufacturer's instructions.
Blueberry Frozen Yogurt
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups blueberries, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon kirsch (I used vodka - it worked for the
strawberries!)
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Process blueberries in a food processor and strain through a fine mesh sieve. (In my impatience, I overlooked this step. My yogurt has great blueberry flavor, but the bits of skin and seeds give the yogurt a grainy texture. If you are working with any other berry besides
strawberries, you will probably need to include this step.)
Into strained blueberries, add sugar, kirsch (or vodka) and lemon juice. Chill in the
refrigerator for at least one hour.
Place the blueberry mixture and yogurt into the food processor and pulse until combined. Place in ice cream maker and freeze according to
manufacturer's instructions.
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By the way, if you're looking for an ice cream maker, the Cuisinart brand comes highly recommended.
This model will set you back around $50 and has a 1 1/2 quart capacity. I am using a Hamilton Beach model, but if it ever goes out on me I will most likely replace it with a Cuisinart. Ooh, and I just noticed in comes in red!
