Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Frozen Yogurt
/While yesterday’s attempt at this strawberry vanilla swirl Greek frozen yogurt was kind of a disaster, today I managed to figure it out! Two easy changes was all it took.
Victory!!!
We are talking real-deal, soft serve froyo, people. And you can basically eat it for breakfast because it’s just barely sweetened and swirled with fruit!
Why hello there KitchenAid stand mixer. So nice to finally have you in my kitchen. This is the mixer I won a few weeks ago at The Big Potluck. I am in love with the color [aqua sky].
Also, please take note of our new backsplash! I’m pretty excited about it. The kitchen looks much more finished now. I installed it this past weekend but still need to grout. The house to-do list is never ending, but worth it, I think…
This recipe is flecked with thousands of tiny vanilla beans and sweetened with real-deal, raw honey. Which, oh my word, please find yourself some raw honey and spoonit directly into your mouth. It’s been too long since I’ve had this.
And now for the lovely strawberry swirl, which worked a million times better than adding chopped strawberries. The icy, frozen berries were a teeth killer!
For this part of the recipe you’ll throw a bunch of strawberries in your blender, turn it on, and…that’s it!
Quite possibly the easiest dessert recipe to ever exist. Or at least pretty darn close.
And if you are able to resist eating spoon after spoon straight from the ice cream bowl I commend you. I am not that strong.
So how exactly does it stay soft and creamy?
Vodka! Just like with my latest coconut milk ice cream recipe.
It lowers the freezing point which helps it to not freeze into a rock solid state. You’ll be able to scoop + enjoy whenever you’d like. But my favorite time to eat it is after about 4 hours in the freezer.
It’s like SILK! Strawberry vanilla silk!
Without the vodka it turns to a brick in the freezer and crumbles when you try and scoop it. Trust me. But if you plan on serving it right from your ice cream machine or after just a few hours in the freezer you can leave the vodka out.
Vaaaa-neeee-laaaa beans!!!
The leftover strawberry puree will be used as a topping, and I also highly recommend throwing on toasted coconut, roasted nuts, or a handful of granola.
I just can’t get over that vibrant red color!
And in other non-yogurty news, my parents are coming in TODAY! I am beyond excited to see them. My dad has yet to see our new house, and I haven’t seen him since October. Way, way too long. Luckily my mom popped out here for a visit in February, but I’m going to suffocate them both in hugs. We have some fun things planned, mostly centered around eating [and golf for the boys], but all in all it will be a really low-key visit. I have been looking forward to it for months and busting my buns to get slightly ahead with work so I can take a breather this weekend.
This will be our dessert for night #1 along with another fun treat you’ll be seeing next week!
Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Greek Frozen Yogurt
gluten-free // yields 4-6 servings
- 3 1/2 cups whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1/4 – 1/3+ cup raw honey
- scant 1/2 teaspoon vanilla beans, from about 2 vanilla bean pods
- 12 med/large ripe strawberries, de-stemmed
- 2 tablespoons vodka, gluten-free if needed
*Prep your ice cream bowl [if needed] per manufacturer’s instructions. Mine has to freeze for at least 15hrs.
Place yogurt, honey, and vanilla beans in a blender and blend until fully combined. Taste and blend in more honey if desired. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. Rinse blender and blend de-stemmed strawberries until fully pureed. Strain the seeds if desired. Pour into a jar and refrigerate.
Stir vodka into chilled yogurt mixture then pour into your ice cream maker and turn on. Churn the ice cream per the manufacturer’s instructions. It’s finished once thick and a bit stiff like soft serve ice cream.
Working quickly, scoop about 1/4 of the mixture into a freezer-safe, airtight container and spread. Then drizzle about 2 tablespoons of the strawberry puree on top and run a butter knife through the puree and yogurt to swirl. Retain about 1/3 cup of the puree to use as a topping. Repeat layering/swirling process 3 more times and spread the top layer evenly. Place a piece of plastic wrap or parchment directly on the surface then seal and freeze for at least 2 hours.
Scoop + serve with remaining strawberry puree on top. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the leftovers and place back in the freezer. Let thaw for 5-10 minutes before serving. [It will harden when frozen overnight.]
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Alt option 1: If you want to serve straight from the ice cream machine simply fold the puree into the frozen yogurt and serve immediately.
Alt option 2: If you don’t care about the swirl effect you can simply stir 2/3 of the puree into the frozen yogurt and spread into your container and freeze. Use the rest as a topping.
Notes: The froyo does freeze solid when frozen for 24 hours but with the vodka the texture is much better when thawed a bit. If you plan to serve all of the froyo within the first 2-3 hours then you can skip it. Follow instructions above minus the vodka and either serve immediately or freeze for up to 3 hours. If you want to store longer and don’t want to use vodka, just a warning it turns rock hard and crumbles when you try to scoop it. You’ll need to let it thaw for at least 15 minutes before being able to scoop and even then it’s messy.
No ice cream maker? Check these tips from David Lebovitz + The Kitchn!
And speaking of next week…I’m deeming it National Doughnut Week. Prepare yourselves.
Happy weekend!
Ashley
