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Lemon Blueberry Frozen Yogurt is both light and creamy, tart and sweet. Perfectly balanced. Perfectly paired. You’re going to love this recipe!
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Every single one of them has been amazing, and they are ALL recipes that I’d repeat again.
Blueberries and Lemons
So, even if it’s cold as Christmas when you’re reading this, let’s just say that these berries were so cold they turned blue, (Old joke from The Sound of Music) and that you’ll love it so much, you won’t care what month it is. In fact, this recipe can make ANY TIME of the year reminiscent of the warm days of good old summertime.
Learn From My Mistakes:
What I Learned:
- Drain Your Yogurt, even if it’s Greek. It requires a teeny bit of prep work, so you’ll need to start it on the morning of the day you want to eat it by draining your yogurt. Jeni’s recipe says to use cheesecloth to drain it, but I didn’t have any. But what I DID have was the knowledge that when you need to drain liquid off of yogurt, to make it thicker, you can substitute a paper coffee filter (the type that fits into a basket-style coffee brewer was what I used) and use that in place of cheese cloth. When you measure out your drained yogurt, (you’ll need 1 1/4 c. of drained yogurt) there will be leftover drained yogurt. Mine is in the fridge, and there MAY be enough to make another batch of frozen yogurt, but I haven’t measured it or tried to do that, yet.)
- Make Your Blueberry Syrup First: Another thing you’ll want to do in advance, (that I didn’t), is to make your blueberry syrup, so that it has time to chill before you use it. I made it while the frozen yogurt custard was stirring in the machine, so it was still warm, and I had to stick it in the freezer to get it to cool down, so that I could layer it in the container that I use to store the ice cream in my freezer for its final chill.
- Make Your Lemon Syrup in Advance: And finally, you should also make your lemon syrup in advance, so that it has time to cool down as well.
- Try to Make Lemon Zest Pieces BIG. When you peel the zest off the lemon, make the pieces as big as you can so that they’re easy to pick out of the custard.
- Make Sure Your Cream Cheese is Completely Softened: This time, I made absolutely sure that my cream cheese was completely softened to room temperature, and well whisked, and I had no cream cheese lumps in my ice cream, so be sure that your cream cheese is perfectly softened!
Lemon Blueberry Frozen Yogurt is light, refreshing, sweet and tart: a perfect pairing!
Lemon Blueberry Frozen Yogurt is the perfect summertime treat when blueberries are in season.
Lemon and Blueberry Frozen Yogurt
Lemon Blueberry Frozen Yogurt is both light and creamy, tart and sweet. Perfectly balanced. Perfectly paired.
Ingredients
- FROZEN YOGURT BASE:
- 1 quart plain low-fat yogurt
- 1 1/2 c. whole milk
- 2 T. cornstarch
- 2 oz. (4 T.) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 c. heavy cream
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. light corn syrup
- zest from one of the lemons used for the lemon syrup
- LEMON SYRUP:
- 2 to 3 lemons (I used 2, but they were large)
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- BLUEBERRY SYRUP:
- 1 1/2 c. blueberries
- 3/4 c. sugar
Instructions
- ADVANCED PREP:
FOR THE FROZEN YOGURT BASE: Fit a sieve over a bowl and line it with two layers of cheesecloth (or do what I did and use a paper coffee filter). Pour the yogurt into the sieve, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours to drain. Discard the liquid, and measure out 1 1/4 c. of the drained yogurt; set aside. - PREP: FOR THE LEMON SYRUP: Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest in large strips from 1 lemon.; reserve for the frozen yogurt. Leave the lemon zest in large strips so it's easier to strain out later). Juice enough of the lemons to make 1/2 c. of juice.
- Combine the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- FOR THE BLUEBERRY SAUCE: Mix the blueberries and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the berries are tender and the sauce is thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool, then refrigerate until cold before using.
- FOR THE FROZEN YOGURT BASE: Mix about 2 T. of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
- Whisk the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth
- Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
- COOK: Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and lemon zest in a 4 qt. saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
- Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof . spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
- CHILL: Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the reserved 1 1/4 c. yogurt and the lemon syrup, and whisk, until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziplock freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
- FREEZE: Remove the zest from the yogurt base. Pour into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy
- Pack the frozen yogurt into a storage container, about 1/3 at a time, alternating it with layers of blueberry sauce. Do not mix. End with final layer of sauce. (Store any leftover blueberry sauce in your fridge, to drizzle over top of frozen yogurt). Cover frozen yogurt with parchment paper pressed directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8 servingsServing Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 503Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 158mgCarbohydrates: 96gFiber: 2gSugar: 86gProtein: 10g
Ice Cream Desserts You'll Love
I learned to make Ice Cream from my cookbook, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. Her method for making ice creams is unique, and tastes better than any other method I've tried. Here are some of my favorite flavors.
This is my favorite! The ice cream has the tiniest tang to it, and then you add the boozy cherries and the hot fudge sauce and ooooooooh, mama!!!!
America's favorite flavor!
OMGee, if this doesn't taste like summer decadence, I don't know what does!
A flavor party for your mouth: zingo zango! You're going to love this!
Vicky
Wednesday 10th of August 2016
What do you do with the lemon syrup? I think I missed something.
Susan Williams
Wednesday 10th of August 2016
Good catch, Vicky, and thank you for helping me! I omitted one whole sentence from the recipe! It's now correct, thanks to you and your sharp eye! The sentence was in the "Chill" section: "Add the reserved 1 1/4 c. yogurt and the lemon syrup, and whisk, until smooth." Thank you again!