For my birthday, my aunt gave me the ice cream maker attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer, and I’m soooo excited about it. I can’t go more than a few days without at least a spoonful of frozen yogurt, and can’t wait to start trying all the great ice cream and frozen yogurt recipes out there that I didn’t have the means to make until now!
For my first batch, I made the wise decision to keep things simple, and went for one of my favorite frozen treats — plain, tart frozen yogurt. I like mine topped with fresh berries, so went for kiwi, blackberries, and some chocolate covered pomegranate seeds this time around.
There isn’t a Pinkberry, Red Mango, or anything of the sort near where I live, so I make it a point to get fro-yo when I’m in big cities that have such chains. But now I don’t have to hop on the Metro-North train to enjoy simple, tart frozen yogurt — I can make it in my own kitchen! (Actually, Edy’s makes a pretty good tart mango frozen yogurt that I normally stock up on, but it’s just not the same…)
This recipe calls for just Greek yogurt and sugar — really couldn’t get much easier. I eat Greek yogurt for breakfast, usually the 0% fat variety, but for the frozen stuff you want a higher fat content, so I went with 2%. I tried a spoonful before freezing and it already tasted like a treat to me! Ryan’s not much of a fan, and neither is my Dad — I think this whole tart yogurt craze is more of a girl thing. Whatever, more for me!
The texture was really great, especially when it first came out of the ice cream maker. I had put it in the freezer for 2 days before photographing it today, and when I went to take it out it was rock hard! I had to let it thaw for a really long time before serving — anyone have suggestions for avoiding this problem with homemade ice cream? The glorious texture returned eventually, but I’m not always patient when it comes to eating frozen yogurt…
Plain, Tart Frozen Yogurt
Adapted from Ho Yummy
1, 32 oz tub of Plain 2% Greek Yogurt
1/2 to 2/3 cup granulated sugar (the less sugar you use, the more tart it will be!)
– Make sure your ice cream maker is in the freezer for at least 24 hours before use
– To strain the yogurt beforehand, line a strainer with paper towels, and place the strainer in a medium sized bowl
– Scoop the yogurt into the paper towels and place in the refrigerator overnight.
– Once yogurt is strained, transfer to a bowl and whisk in the sugar until well combined
– Transfer mixture into ice cream maker and let it churn for 20-30 minutes
Enjoy, and let me know how you store your homemade frozen yogurt!
1. I now am coveting an ice-cream maker attachment for my kitchen aid so i can…
2. make this yummy looking fro-yo!!!
I want some now! (Luckily for me, PinkBerry is only a few blocks away)
looks good, but i think i’ll still always be more of a “brownie chocolate chip ice cream cake” kinda girl… oh welllll
ps: my word verification thingy to post was just “FRANTS” haha
Can’t wait to try this! I love pinkberry and it would be way cheaper to make it at home. I got linked from tastespotting, by the way.
I’ve never had pinkberry, but I think I would LOVE this. Looks so easy too!
I’m a second year dental student myself in Philly, and it’s great to know that there are others out there with a love of food!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
What does straining the yogurt do?
I’m trying this today. I hope this is along the same line as Orange Cup Frozen Yogurt. Used to be one near me but shut down.[
Try adding a few tablespoons of vodka (sounds weird, but stay with me here…) It lowers the freezing temperature of the yogurt so it won’t get rock hard. I figured it out after making margarita ice cream from a recipe on the food network’s website: foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/margarita-ice-cream-recipe. I haven’t tried it with frozen yogurt so if works be sure to let us know!
I have the cuisinart ice cream maker and the frozen yogurt maker, last was on sale and could not resist. Both are kind that the bowl stays in the freezer. I had the kind that was much more expensive and it did not work well at all. I have a tiney one from Target that had a motorized top put on when ready to use. I think making what you need in smaller batches is the way to go or nuke it in the microwave when it comes out of the freezer. I want to make flavored now. Any ideas?
Erica — June 28th, 2012 @ 4:55 pm
I’ve made mango flavor too! http://www.ericasweettooth.com/2010/05/tart-mango-fro-yo.html
Just like all of you, I have been trying to master making frozen yogurt that is as similar to Pink Berry/Yogurtland as possible. After months of trial I finally figured out the recipe that works best. What I’ve found wrong with all the online recipes is that they simply use store bought Greek Yogurt (Fage, Chobani, Greek Gods etc.). The problem with these yogurts are that they aren’t nearly tart enough to provide the tartness of Pink Berry without adding artificial ingredients like Citric Acid which still tastes artificial. Not only that, but in order to get somewhat of the iciness of Pink Berry you need to add quite a bit of milk. Here’s how I do it.
In order to get adequate tartness out of the base yogurt you have to make your own at home and NOT strain it to Greek style. Here are the steps to making Pink Berry like froyo.
Make your yogurt at home:
If you google how to do it, all the basics are the same. The most important parts I’ve found are that:
1. You must use whole milk
2. I’ve found that Greek Gods yogurt works best as the starter (I’ve tried most others)
3. In order to acquire adequate tartness ive found that the milk must incubate for exactly 12 hours. 8 hours isn’t enough time. 11 hours is also probably adequate.
The easiest way I’ve found to incubate the milk is: take the pot you used to heat your yogurt (mine holds almost a full gallon) and place it in a larger pot with water. Place enough water in the larger pot that it enshrouds the smaller pot (this will ensure the smaller pot is heated evenly throughout incubation). Make sure the water in the large pan is pre heated to about 120. Then place the large pot (with the small pot in it) on top a stove top burner. At this point your ready to incubate milk is at about 120 degrees. Wrap towels around the pot to help insulate it. Check on it periodically with a thermometer. I place my digital thermometer in the water and check it every few hours or so. Once the water drops to about 105-110 degrees I turn the stove on low til it the water heats to 120 again. After 12 hours you will have a tart yogurt which you place in the fridge overnight or for 12 hours or so. Now you have the base yogurt for the perfect Pink Berry (in my opinion better since you know exactly what’s in it and there’s no artificial ingredients).
Here’s the recipe for the froyo:
1. Two cups of the yogurt you just made
2. A little less than 1/2 cup sugar. I actually put 1/4 cup and then half a 1/4 cup.
3. 1/3 cup milk
4. You can add a dash of vanilla if you want. Try it with and without and see what you like best.
Wisk everything together. Refrigerate or put it in the ice cream maker. I use a cuisinart ice-21. At some point in the machine it will stop churning. At this point It’s probably not hard enough. It only takes about 10 minutes. I agitate it with a spoon to keep it moving in the machine til it gets a little harder. Now it’s ready to eat or put it in the freezer to get it a bit harder. But not too long as it freezes quickly…it also melts a lot quicker than the stuff from pink berry/yogurtland. This is probably due to the lack of thickening agents like guar gum.
This is the closest I’ve come to the natural tartness of pink berry. I also think it tastes better. It’s also a heck of a lot cheaper. You can experiment with the amount of sugar/milk to get your own perfect combination. Mine measurements vary from time to time. But that’s the fun of it. It’s also nice to know exactly what you’re eating.
Hope this works for you…….enjoy!
I bought a Nutrabullet and have been making frozen sorbet with frozen fruit. One of my favorites is frozen, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries with water or water and Greek yogurt or a combination. The yogurt gives it a creamier taste. I buy all of my frozen fruit in a bag from my grocery store or I buy fresh when they are on sale, cut them and freeze in a single layer. I don’t add anything else. It is really good. I have tried all frozen banana also, & it’s really good too. I peel the banana first and cut in chunks. Freeze them in a single layer and that’s it. Add water, Greek yogurt or a combo of both.