Chocolate Cherry Frozen Yogurt

I. Love. Ice. Cream.  I could eat it every single day and not tire of it.  It is pure indulgence, but oh goodness, so, so delicious!!  For Christmas my in-laws got me an ice cream maker, and let me tell you how much fun we are having with it!!  I tend to not be drawn to ice creams (or any dessert for the matter) that have a fruity flavor in them.  I am usually a "If it isn't chocolate, peanut butter or caramel, or something else of the sort I'm not interested" kind of girl.  But this frozen yogurt was actually an exception.  I was a little worried when I was putting it all together that it would become a bit overly sweet with the addition of the cherry juice.  But it wasn't at all!  The richness of the chocolate softened the sickening sweetness of the maraschino cherry.  Together they were a match made in a heaven.

I brought this over to my in-laws for dinner and usually Scott and my father in law will have a small taste of dessert and that is all.  Well tonight they both had seconds.  This never happens!  I'll take it as a win.

Like with (most all) ice cream or frozen yogurts you need to have an ice cream maker to do this recipe and a little planning ahead.  I have the Cuisinart 2Qt one and love it.  It is a great investment, especially with the sumer months coming up.  A few things: Don't forget to put your ice cream makers freezer bowl in the freezer over night to get nice and solid and allow yourself a little over 4 hours to complete this entire recipe from start to finish.  Don't worry!  You won't be actually making the frozen yogurt for 4 hours, but the base will need 2 hours to set up and then the frozen yogurt needs an additional 2 hours to get to ice cream cone consistency. It can be eaten right away out of the ice cream maker, but it will be very soft and will melt fast.  (Think soft serve on a warm day.)

After having a (few!) bowls of this, I think that the addition of chocolate chips in the last 5 minutes would also be great to give a little more texture and crunch to the final product.  But then again, could you ever have too much chocolate?

Enjoy and please have fun!

Chocolate Cherry Frozen Yogurt
Makes about fourteen 1/2 cup servings

9 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk, heated to a simmer
4 cups lowfat vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice
1 cup drained maraschino cherries, roughly chopped

Place the chocolate in a food processor fitted with the metal "S" blade.  Pulse to chop.  With the machine running, add the warmed milk in a slow, steady stream and process until the chocolate is melted.  Add the yogurt, sugar, and cherry juice; process until smooth.  Refrigerate until well chilled, at least two hours.

Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20-25 minutes. During the last 5 minutes of freezing, add the chopped cherries.  The frozen yogurt will have a soft, creamy texture.  If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the frozen yogurt to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours.  Remove from freezer about 10-15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information per serving:

calories 203. carbohydrates 30g . protein 6g . fat 9g . sat. fat 5g . cholesterol 7mg . sodium 56 mg . fiber 1g 

recipe courtesy Recipe Booklet: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Sherbet & More! by Cuisinart




I linked up my recipe at Sweets for a Saturday!