Summer-Busting Frozen Strawberry Yoghurt

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** May 14, ERRATUM [Or where I say -- I'm so sorry!]: There was an error with the recipe I posted yesterday. The sugar and the water were lumped together under the list of ingredients. It’s supposed to be 1 cup sugar, then 5/8 cup water I’ve updated the PDF recipe as well.

In other parts of North America, it’s starting to warm up. Here in Arizona, the summer weather has already crashed the spring party with a blazing 100ºF (or 37ºC). I grew up in a tropical country (Philippines) but even this temperature is taking its toll on this South Eastern gal — super dry skin, lovely migraines, and it makes me feel super lazy (less movement = less heat). Ack. To combat this overall feeling of ick, I whipped out the ice cream maker and got this going last night:

Churning inside is a mixture of Greek yoghurt, a teensy bit of real milk (I always tease Dan about him buying skim milk, which I don’t fancy at all), pureed fresh strawberries, simple syrup, a touch of lemon and vanilla.

We don’t usually make yoghurt ice cream. However, I was inspired by Veg SF’s recipe based on David Lebovitz’s and her better-than-Pinkberry results with Greek yoghurt. I’ve never tasted Pinkberry, but with the news out there that this too-good-to-be-true source of the West Coast’s oooh’s and ahhhh’s is actually not that natural, I’d rather make my own and know everything that goes in it.

When we started making ice cream last year, we followed the instructions on the Cuisinart booklet — down to the high fructose corn syrup. If you’ve read Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto”, you cringe as much as I do hearing/reading those four words. I stayed away from that and opted to make a thick simple syrup instead. Everything (except for the sugar) in this smooth frozen goodness is both natural and organic:

For those non-plussed about yoghurt, let me just say that Dan (the resident yoghurt-eww-er in the household) loved it. So did I.

I guess that’s what’s good about living with someone picky about food. It challenges me to stretch boundaries and look for alternatives which end up being better than if I just followed the straight and oft-taken path. Instead of just using yoghurt and sugar, I added milk and made simple syrup to add creaminess, smoothness and an even sweet taste.

You can also drizzle it with melted chocolate to satisfy the chocoholic in you:

And now for the recipe:

Summer-Busting Frozen Strawberry Yoghurt
» Download the PDF recipe here

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (500 grams) of Greek yoghurt (e.g. Fage brand)
• 11 regular sized strawberries (after pureeing and straining, it’ll be 2/3 cups)
• 1 cup sugar
• 5/8 cup (same as 1/2 cup + 1/8 cup) water
• 1/2 cup whole milk (cold)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, pour water and sugar, and put on medium heat until it boils. Don’t stir. Lower heat and simmer until all the sugar granules are dissolved. Take out of the heat and cool to room temperature before putting in the refrigerator.
2. Wash strawberries and slice off the leafy tops. Put in a blender or a food processor and puree with lemon juice. Strain out the seeds. Put in the fridge to cool.
3. Once the puree and the sugar syrup have cooled in the fridge, stir in the strawberry puree and vanilla extract into the syrup.
4. In a big bowl, mix the yoghurt on low speed for 30 seconds. Carefully add the strawberry syrup and mix for a minute. Pour in the cold milk and mix for another minute.
5. Set up your ice cream maker and turn it on. Pour the mixture into the spout and churn for 30 minutes.
6. Enjoy immediately or for better taste, allow to “rest” in the freezer for a couple of hours or overnight. It tastes better after the resting period.