Rose petal and honey frozen yogurt
Some people already know that I'm a bit kooky about making "exotic" flavors of ice cream and frozen yogurt. When I was on the road this last summer, I took my Cuisinart ice cream freezer with me.
This is an off-the-cuff improv flavor that I made this weekend for brunch with some dear friends, inspired in part by Middle Eastern flavorings and East Indian kulfi. Next time I make it, I think I'll add pistachios, or maybe some (Lebanese?) pistachio halva. Quantities on the rose jam and honey are guesstimated, as I kept adding while sampling the unfrozen mixture, and rose petal jams vary in intensity. Remember if you try this approach that you'll want to make the flavor of the base a little more intense, as freezing mutes the flavors somewhat.
The rose petals in the jam separate out and "float" in the yogurt if you do this right, with the right sort of jam, and it tints the yogurt a lovely shade of pale pink.
1 quart full-fat[1] active culture plain yogurt
1 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)[2]
1/2 cup white sugar[3]
1 cup rose petal jam (or more, to taste)
1/4 cup honey (more or less, to taste)
In a large bowl, whip the cream, and then fold in a quarter to a third of the yogurt, to lighten. Fold in the rest of the yogurt, gently but thoroughly.[4]
In a smaller separate bowl, Start with half the rose jam, mash and stir with a spoon until it's less chunky. Add about 1 cup of the yogurt mixture into the rose jam, and stir until well incorporated. Add the rest of the rose jam, mash and stir again, then add more yogurt. Drizzle the honey into this mixture and stir until blended.
Pour the rose jam portion into the remaining yogurt, and mix well.
Freeze according to directions on your ice cream maker. The quantity of honey and jam in the flavoring may cause slightly soft results, so allow enough time to cure in the freezer to your preferred texture. Also, this recipe makes more than enough base for a 1 qt. ice cream maker. Enjoy the rest as flavored yogurt, or make it in two batches.
If I try this again, I might also do it as a swirl of the jam flavor in "plain" sweet yogurt base. If you'd like to try this, don't add any yogurt to the mashed jam and honey, and add the jam in during the very last phase of the freezing process. I'm also planning on experimenting with cream cheese.
Notes:
[1] - If you use low-fat, you may get more of an ice-milk texture. If, heaven forbid, you use non-fat with funky thickeners, you may get gluey frozen yogurt, or who knows what. Do so at your own risk!
[2] - I added it so that it would have a "super premium" mouthfeel. Fof readers outside the U.S., "heavy whipping cream" is the most high-fat cream generally sold in the U.S. It's not as heavy as the heaviest available in the U.K.
[3] - Superfine (not powdered sugar!) would work better, but you can just let the mixture sit for a moment to allow the sugar to melt in.
[4] - It may work better to add the whipped cream to the yogurt, but I haven't tried this yet.
This is an off-the-cuff improv flavor that I made this weekend for brunch with some dear friends, inspired in part by Middle Eastern flavorings and East Indian kulfi. Next time I make it, I think I'll add pistachios, or maybe some (Lebanese?) pistachio halva. Quantities on the rose jam and honey are guesstimated, as I kept adding while sampling the unfrozen mixture, and rose petal jams vary in intensity. Remember if you try this approach that you'll want to make the flavor of the base a little more intense, as freezing mutes the flavors somewhat.
The rose petals in the jam separate out and "float" in the yogurt if you do this right, with the right sort of jam, and it tints the yogurt a lovely shade of pale pink.
1 quart full-fat[1] active culture plain yogurt
1 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)[2]
1/2 cup white sugar[3]
1 cup rose petal jam (or more, to taste)
1/4 cup honey (more or less, to taste)
In a large bowl, whip the cream, and then fold in a quarter to a third of the yogurt, to lighten. Fold in the rest of the yogurt, gently but thoroughly.[4]
In a smaller separate bowl, Start with half the rose jam, mash and stir with a spoon until it's less chunky. Add about 1 cup of the yogurt mixture into the rose jam, and stir until well incorporated. Add the rest of the rose jam, mash and stir again, then add more yogurt. Drizzle the honey into this mixture and stir until blended.
Pour the rose jam portion into the remaining yogurt, and mix well.
Freeze according to directions on your ice cream maker. The quantity of honey and jam in the flavoring may cause slightly soft results, so allow enough time to cure in the freezer to your preferred texture. Also, this recipe makes more than enough base for a 1 qt. ice cream maker. Enjoy the rest as flavored yogurt, or make it in two batches.
If I try this again, I might also do it as a swirl of the jam flavor in "plain" sweet yogurt base. If you'd like to try this, don't add any yogurt to the mashed jam and honey, and add the jam in during the very last phase of the freezing process. I'm also planning on experimenting with cream cheese.
Notes:
[1] - If you use low-fat, you may get more of an ice-milk texture. If, heaven forbid, you use non-fat with funky thickeners, you may get gluey frozen yogurt, or who knows what. Do so at your own risk!
[2] - I added it so that it would have a "super premium" mouthfeel. Fof readers outside the U.S., "heavy whipping cream" is the most high-fat cream generally sold in the U.S. It's not as heavy as the heaviest available in the U.K.
[3] - Superfine (not powdered sugar!) would work better, but you can just let the mixture sit for a moment to allow the sugar to melt in.
[4] - It may work better to add the whipped cream to the yogurt, but I haven't tried this yet.