peanut butter chocolate frozen yogurt

Buying an ice cream maker is a very easy way to cut down on eating ice cream. This may seem odd, but let me explain. It turns out that ice cream really is all cream, egg yolks and sugar. I know you know that, but seeing it is another matter, and it no longer feels right to eat it morning, noon and night (which was of course the whole idea behind buying the machine).

Enter frozen yogurt. It may not be guilt-free, there is plenty of sugar in there, but much less saturated fat- especially if you're using low fat yogurt. And while it has a different flavour profile, and shouldn't be judged against a fine ice cream, it is delicious in its own way and definitely hits the same spot.

Some frozen yogurts I come across are trying to be replicas of ice cream- adding enough sugar to disguise the sourness of the yogurt, and making it into ice cream-like flavours. I think this is a shame- yogurt and cream are very different and different things will suit them, so its much better to play to yogurt's strengths than try to use it as a substitute for something else.

This recipe adds peanut butter and chocolate, which I know is a popular combo for kids- but this one feels rather grown up to me. A natural peanut butter is used, and its relatively light on the additional sugar- enough for it to be sweet, but not enough to disguise the yogurt's tang. A bitter dark chocolate complements it well, grated into the mixture in small flecks.


Ingredients

2 cups or 1 500g carton plain natural yogurt (whole, low fat or fat free- all works fine)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup / 100g smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup / 100g caster sugar
1/4 water
Appx 25g / a little under 1oz dark chocolate (I use Greens and Black 85% cocoa), grated on a fine setting using a box grater


Heat the peanut butter, sugar and water in a small saucepan on a low heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has melted and a smooth paste is formed.

Transfer into a mixing bowl and allow the mixture to cool for a couple of hours, ideally in the fridge.

Add yogurt, vanilla extract and grated chocolate. Stir until fully incorporated.

Run through the ice cream maker according to machine instructions.

Source: This recipe is adapted from one on Bay Area Bites.

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