Chocolate and Irish Cream Frozen Yogurt

Did i hear you said "Decadent!"?

Yea, my thoughts exactly :)

Then again, adding yogurt balances the health scale somewhat, especially since I made it with my homemade yogurt.  So this is really a decadently healthy dessert.  A classic oxymoron, if there is one.




Let me tell you how this recipe came about.

Since my post on Homemade Yogurt, a few of my readers and personal friends have suggested that i try making frozen yogurt from scratch.  Initially i was quite reluctant because i always thought it is a daunting task.  To me, ice cream means big machines that churn out creamy concoctions that are beyond the realm of home kitchens.

Nevertheless, i couldn't resist googgling about the subject.  When i stumbled upon a post by David Lebovitz entitled "The Easiest Chocolate Icecream Recipe...Ever (without a machine), i was piqued.  Not only did Mr Lebovitz promise the absence of a machine, he said that there is no stirring required, and it would produce the creamiest ice cream ever.

Reeeally???

Then i saw his list of ingredients, and almost fell off my chair.

Chocolates
SIX TABLESPOONS of my precious Baileys
1 tablespoon of rum
6 tablespoon of milk
1 banana

That's about all the recipe calls for.

Whoa.  I re-read that a couple of times just to make sure I got it right. That's basically like saying have it neat with chocs and alchohol.  No wonder you don't need to stir it and it will still maintain the perfect creamy consistency for weeks.

Still, I was really curious to experiment.  I scaled down the quantity of booze significantly, and added a good portion of my home made yogurt.

The result?

Yes, it was pretty good I must say.  Since I reduced the quantity of Baileys by 90%, the texture was not as soft and creamy as expected, but it was good nonetheless.  The taste was quite nice too - a balance of cocoa with a strong alcoholic infusion, and just the slightest tang from the yogurt.  More importantly, it has none of that cloying dairy-sweet aftertaste which I always get from commercial icecreams or even certain brands of premium froyo.  I am quite sure that's because home made yogurt has no commercial emulsifiers or artificial taste enhancers. 

For my future batches, I would even omit the rum (just a personal preference) as I like my desserts with just the slightest hint of alcohol instead of it being a dominant flavour. 

Try this - it makes a nice dessert or a little treat at the end of a long day.

Chocolate and Irish Cream Frozen Yogurt
Adapted from David Lebovitz

• 80g chocolate, roughly chopped (i use a mix of dark semisweet and milk chocolate)
• 2 tblsp low fat, fresh milk
• 200ml homemade yogurt
• 2 tblsp Irish Cream (I use Baileys - what else ;))
• 1 tsp rum
• 1 medium size ripened banana, cut into chunks

1. In a glass bowl, mix the chopped chocolate pieces with the milk and microwave until the chocolate has melted.  Do this in short pulses of 30 - 40 secs at medium strength.  Keep stirring the chocolate with the milk into a smooth, thick chocolatey mixture.  Set aside.      

2.  Blend the banana, yogurt, rum and Baileys together

3.  Mix everything together and freeze, following the freeze-stir sequence below.  

      a.  First freeze for 1 hour, take out and whisk to break up all the ice   crystals.

      b.  2nd freeze for 30min.  Take out and whisk again.
 
      c.  3rd freeze for another 30min.  This is the last round - the texture would have harden sufficiently that it is difficult to actually whisk.  Use a hard ladle to stir vigorously.  Put it back to freeze for another 20min before serving.

4.  This can be left in the freezer for up to two weeks.  Just let it soften for about 10-15 min before serving. 

Did i mention how hard it is to photograph frozen yogurt (or ice cream
for that matter?) These guys just can't keep their shape!

Incidentally, this post completes our Yogurt Series, with the following posts:

Homemade Yogurt, The Ultimate, Fuss Free Way
Durian Yogurt Cake
Guiltfree Yogurt Cream Cheese with Herbs
Chocolate and Irish Cream Frozen Yogurt