** 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 hereIngredients:
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Once the puree and the sugar syrup have cooled in the fridge, stir in the strawberry puree and vanilla extract into the syrup.
- 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.
- Set up your ice cream maker and turn it on. Pour the mixture into the spout and churn for 30 minutes.
- 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.
Oh that looks wonderful! I just filled up my largest Tupperware bowl with lots of wonderful fruit for constant snacking! You reminded me that I have an ice cream/yogurt maker in the closet and it’s supposed to be 95 degrees or so in No. Cal. by Thursday… Yummm… time to pull out the berries from the bowl!
Oh I love frozen yogurt. 100 degrees already? at least the heat down there is dry and not horribly humid like Ohio’s summers. We are still enjoying a 50′s and 60′s beautiful weather that I wish would never go away :( Oh well, I will be ready for summer this time. Hehehe
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Nanci — Thanks! Take out that ice cream/yogurt maker and use those fruits.
Ben — Yup! My brain is getting toasted, I’m telling ya. Enjoy your weather till it lasts. :-)
Sounds & looks delish!
I’m not sure if it would work, but could you use honey in place of the sugar?
It might need to be heated to get it runny enough, though.
Jens last blog post..What not to-do
Joy, it’s beautiful! I love using my ice cream maker, but I just don’t use it enough. I have made frozen yogurt in the past, and it’s delicious! I’m definitely going to give this a try!
Elles last blog post..Raspberry Lime Yogurt Pound Cake, or The Pound Cake That Loves You Back
Looks really great. I will try this weekend. However, I am confused on the simple sugar part of the recipe. Is the total amount of simple sugar 5/8 CUP, and what are the proportions of sugar to water to make the sugar in the first place (1/2 Cup Sugar and 1/8 Cup H20)?
Really looks like a great recipe. I have been looking for a recipe to try with my new ice cream maker, and this is it!
I see the proper proportions for the simple syrup. I can’t wait to try this!
Thanks!
Jen — I thought about that, but since I’ve never used it before, I had to try the simple syrup first with my experiment before using that. I did a search and it turns out you can. David Lebovitz mentioned here that you can use 3/4 cup honey to replace 1 cup of sugar. I’ve also chanced upon another site that said it’s usually not recommended to use honey for plain ice cream like vanilla because it overpowers the taste. And yes, it will impart a different flavor than sugar so that is something to consider if you are picky about the end taste.
Booger — My sincerest apologies. Thank you for pointing that out! I didn’t know I ended up mangling the 2 ingredients on the recipe. It’s actually 5/8 cup water to 1 cup sugar.
This is perfect for the weather right now.. Love this recipe.. Have subscribed to your site to keep up with your recipes..
The heat wave is slowly crawling to California from Arizona, so I need a scoop of your yogurt please:) Looks yummy!
xenalto — You bet. :-) Thanks!
farida — It’s all gone. I need to make more soon…with another flavor.