I am two weeks away from being done with this semester. Which means my summer officially starts April 25th. Break out the bourbon sours. I may still need my winter
coat and I probably have at least one upturned umbrella in my future between
now and Memorial Day. But still.
It’s odd to think of April in Boston as the
beginning of a four month vacation, especially since I’ll still be working 40
hours a week, mostly discussing bowel irregularities and finding sly ways to convince
folks to eat more root vegetables. But 40 hours is not (what seems like) 140
hours at the moment. This is the life of a dietitian in graduate school
for what seems like an eternity (actual time, 3 years).
I’ve had some requests for items other
than dessert to be posted on the blog. And I intend to honor them this “summer.” I’ve wanted to make quiche since February. I know. Quiche is just an excuse to make pie.
With cheese. But I’ll throw a fistful of greens in there too. Other
savories will be discussed, as well. I swear.
For now, I have a chocolate frozen yogurt
for you. But it’s not that kind of frozen yogurt. It’s
thick, full-fat and reminiscent of milk chocolate pudding.
The yogurt is still in there though. Which makes it seem, in many ways,
healthier than other creams and custards on ice. Just as creamy and
cocoa-dusted, mind you, but also lighter and a bit breezier. Perfect for summer come early.
You see, I am a dietitian pursuing a liberal
arts degree in gastronomy. I can rationalize anything.
Cocoa Frozen Yogurt
Base adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Ingredients:
1 quart plain
low-fat yogurt
1½ cups whole
milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 ounces cream
cheese, softened
½ cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup light corn
syrup
¼ cup unsweetened
cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
extract
Instructions:
The day before you intend to make this yogurt base, place a strainer or colander over a bowl and
line the strainer (or colander) with cheesecloth. Secure the cheesecloth (I usually tie it with string or
rubber bands.) Pour in the yogurt
to drain, cover everything with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight (6-8
hours). During this time the
yogurt with get thick.
The next day, discard
the liquid in your bowl and measure out 1¼ cups of the strained yogurt; set
aside. (You’ll have a little
extra.)
Mix 3 tbsp of the
milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside. Whisk the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth; set
aside.
In a medium
saucepan, combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup and heat on
medium-high until it boils (stir occasionally to make sure the milk doesn’t
burn at the bottom). Keep at a
rolling boil for 4 minutes and then add in the cocoa powder and pinch of salt;
whisk to combine.
Remove the cocoa mixture
from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and
cook, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until slightly thickened (this
will only take a minute or so). Remove from heat.
Gradually whisk
the hot mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. (You may need to strain the
liquid if you notice bits of cream cheese lingering about.) Add in the vanilla
and reserved 1¼ cups of yogurt; whisk to combine.
Place a metal
bowl inside a larger bowl filled with ice. Pour the yogurt mixture into the metal bowl and allow to
come to room temperature before placing it into the fridge until fully chilled
(ideally overnight).
Pour the yogurt
base into a frozen ice cream canister and spin until thick and creamy (the base
will pull away from the sides of the canister when it is done; this should take
about 25 minutes). Pack the yogurt
into a freezer-safe container with an airtight lid. Press parchment paper directly on the surface of the frozen yogurt and seal with a lid. Freeze for at least 4 hours before
serving.
Yield: a little
less than 1 quart
Notes:
-This could
probably take up to 6 tbsp of cocoa quite comfortably. I tasted at ¼ cup of cocoa and liked what
I had. So I stopped. (I wanted a nice mellow chocolate
flavor that didn’t overwhelm the yogurt.)
-You don’t have
to refrigerate the cocoa yogurt base overnight, but I like to let the flavors have
time to get to know each other.
-This freezers hard, so take it out a few minutes before you want to serve it.
Hooray for Jeni's!
ReplyDeleteAnd I feel you on grad school taking forever. I'm a fifth (almost sixth) year and graduation is finally in sight (but still a year away, a year filled with lots of unappealing labor). The world needs more dual degrees for dietitian + gastronomer. We'd eat even more delicious and nutritious food!
Chocolate frozen yogurt doesn't need any rationalization for me! :)
ReplyDeleteThe chocolate frozen yogurt sounds amazing! Congratulations on the end of the semester and the start of your summer :)
ReplyDelete