There was a time when I really tried to hate frozen yogurt.
This, of course, had nothing to do with the year or so I spent working at a frozen yogurt shop.
Nothing at all.
I was just genuinely against its velvety texture, the balance of sweetness and yogurty tang, not to mention its health benefits over run-of-the-mill ice cream.
Nope, it had nothing to do with me having to be polite to rude customers all day while making minimum wage + crap for tips.
It’s cool. I’m not bitter.
It’s funny how quickly you’re able to appreciate something once you aren’t constantly surrounded by it. I’m all about the froyo these days.
And I’ve been fixated on lavender lately, so after making a few cocktails I thought I’d venture into freezer territory.
There are already a number of delicious honey lavender ice cream concoctions out there (I’m looking at you Bi-Rite), so I thought it would be interesting to play with a different kind of sweetness.
As it turns out, rich maple syrup and floral lavender play oh so nicely together. I also added bourbon, both for flavor and its anti-freezing capabilities. When using a low-fat yogurt, the alcohol keeps it from becoming a block of ice after a few hours in the chill chest.
Also using low-fat yogurt means you can, you know, eat more. That’s how that works.
Maple Lavender Frozen Yogurt
I used 2% yogurt in the recipe – if you want to go full-fat, go right ahead! I wouldn’t recommend using non-fat; even with the help of the half & half and bourbon, it’s pretty impossible to scoop after freezing.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup half & half
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lavender (loosely packed)
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups 2% greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons bourbon
Method
- In a small pot, bring the half & half just to a simmer. Remove from the heat, stir in the lavender and steep for 5 minutes. Strain out the lavender, whisk in the maple syrup and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.
- Whisk together the cooled maple syrup mixture with the yogurt, vanilla and bourbon. Chill the mixture until very cold, at least a couple of hours. Churn according to your ice cream maker’s directions.
Yields
~1 quart
I find that in my ice cream maker, frozen yogurt takes much less time to churn than ice cream. I over churned my first attempt – that was a sad day.
