Frozen yogurt is one beast, homemade ice cream another. That’s a statement might have been true until last weekend. Which is when I took frozen yogurt and crossed it with my homemade ice cream recipe to create a brand new animal.
I whipped up a creamy, tangy bowl of ice cream, a bowl of ice cream that sits just as comfortably beneath a topping of granola as your morning bowl of Yoplait or Chobani or your afternoon serving of Pinkberry. It contains yogurt, but it’s not frozen yogurt. It’s full of cream, but it’s not over-sweet.
The idea for this yogurt ice cream originated in something a little less pedestrian than either yogurt or vanilla ice cream: a scoop of creme fraiche ice cream. We discovered creme fraiche ice cream at a hotel my family used to go to. A scoop would appear beside certain crisps and cakes on the dessert menu, but if you wanted a portion in the afternoon instead of chocolate or vanilla or a popsicle, you had to beg.
Beg we did. There was just no other flavor that compared with the tangy, rich mouthfeel of a bite of creme fraiche ice cream. Same goes for this yogurt ice cream, which bears a marked resemblance to the creme fraiche version and was a welcome thing to find in my freezer when I was craving a light-ish dessert-no begging required.
I am sometimes hesitant to share ice cream recipes on here, just because they require special equipment, i.e., an ice cream maker. I didn’t have my own until last summer. But if you’re excited about homemade ice cream, and you have an extra square foot of storage space for the machine, it’s not a bad investment, since it will provide you with hours of experimental kitchen fun, in addition to fresh homemade ice cream. This
is the totally satisfactory one I own-it’s only $50 on Amazon.
And if you don’t want to make the purchase, here are ideas for making ice cream without a machine from TheKitchn, Serious Eats, and David Lebovitz.
And, even more ice cream recipes and ideas:
Coconut Caramel Ice Cream from Big Girls, Small Kitchen
Coffee-Toffee Ice Cream Sandwich Squares from Big Girls, Small Kitchen
Roasted Strawberry and Coconut Milk Popsicles from The Year in Food
One-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream from The Kitchn
Dirty Chai Ice Cream from Kristin Appenbrink at Real Simple
Iconic Frozen Treats from YumSugar.
**Recipe**
Homemade Yogurt Ice Cream
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
I used Chobani 2 percent yogurt for this, and I wouldn’t recommend using non-fat (and there’s cream in here anyway, so…).
To get the nicest scoops, leave the frozen ice cream on the counter for 3-5 minutes to let it soften slightly
Ingredients
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
12 ounces 2% Greek yogurt
pinch of salt
Place the cream, milk, and sugar in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook until very hot but not boiling (the milk should bubble around the edges and start steaming), stirring frequently.
Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl.
Temper the egg yolks: slowly whisk 1/2 cup of the hot milk-cream mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks.
Turn the heat to low and pour the tempered yolks-milk combination back into the pot. Cook, stirring constantly, just until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Pour through a metal sieve into a heatproof bowl. Let cool, either by setting the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice, or by covering and placing in the fridge for several hours.
When cold, beat the yogurt with a fork until smooth. Pour about 1/2 cup of the custard mixture into the yogurt, beating as you go. Slowly pour the rest in.
Pour the custard mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s directions. Scrape into a storage container, smooth the top, cover, and place in the freezer. Freeze for 4-6 hours before scooping and serving.
