Is anyone else ready to leave this frozen yogurt craze behind?
Homemade gelato. So easy, but no one has to know =).
Seriously, I think loading up ridiculously flavored, high-sugar “yogurts” with cookies, chocolate chips, and sprinkles is fun, but I would rather just have real ice cream if I am having dessert. I don’t think real ice cream is any better/worse -well, actually, I think it might be worse… Give me gelato or homemade ice cream in a classic flavor (peach, strawberry, vanilla, etc) and there is no need for the sorry “fake healthy” excuse for a dessert that fro-yo is. If I’m going to have dessert, I want the creamy, smooth, delicious flavors that remind me of summer -not some weird textured “cake batter yogurt” loaded with who-knows-what.
I honestly think we would be better off just eating regular ice cream, since after polling some friends, most are under the impression that eating fro-yo is better for you than ice cream -I am not convinced. Fat (higher in ice cream than fro-yo) is not a bad thing. “Fat” in food is not the same “fat” in your body -it’s a homonym.
*I must admit, when I go for fro-yo, I get the tart yogurt and top it with lots fruit and a few chocolate chips. So it is possible to avoid all the craziness.*
I would like to make a plea: start going to old fashioned ice cream again! All of my favorite real ice cream places are closing while these annoying fro-yo places continue to prosper. It’s making me sad.
Just in case fro-yo annihilates my beloved ice cream (and because unique ice cream flavors are hard to come by), I have made a lavender gelato similar to the one I enjoyed in Provence earlier this summer.
Egg yolks, milk, sugar, and lavender. Yum.
Straining the custard before adding the vanilla and chilling.
Grilling+sweets. Smoky, caramelized flavors.
Getting dessert ready by the pool.
Lavender, grilled peaches, and pound cake. Summer in a bowl.
Grilled Peaches on Olive Oil Yogurt Pound Cake with Lavender Gelato
Serves 4
2 peaches
1 recipe Olive Oil Yogurt Pound Cake
1 recipe Lavender Gelato
Wash peaches, leave skin on. Cut peaches in half, discard pits.
Place on grill over medium-high heat with flat sides on the grate to create grill marks (2-4 minutes).
Slice four 1 1/2 inch thick slices of pound cake and place each slice on its own plate. Top each slice with a grilled peach half and a generous scoop of gelato.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Lavender Gelato
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma
2 cups milk
2 teaspons dried lavender*
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sweet wine (or vodka) to keep from freezing too hard
*don’t do what I did and try 2 T the first time, it will taste like perfume!
Combine milk and lavender in a sauce pan over medium-low heat until bubble start to form on edges, but do not let boil. Stir often.
Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a medium bowl.
Slowly whisk milk and lavender into egg yolks. Pour yolk-milk mixture into a clean saucepan and cook heat over medium-low until thick enough to coat a spoon -stir constantly.
Pour custard through a fine sieve into a medium bowl, stir in vanilla and wine, and chill in fridge 2-24 hours.
Once chilled, place bowl into freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, stir with a spoon or a hand mixer, then place back in fridge. Repeat 5 more times, for a total of 6 stirrings in 3 hours. Serve or place back in freezer for when you are ready -leave in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving if frozen solid.
