I caught a glimpse of summer today. We've had a lot of rain dumped on us this week, but the clouds finally cleared this afternoon, giving way to some heavy, humid air. I peeled off layers and pulled my hair back as I scurried around the kitchen, as the 400 degree oven made it feel like a sauna. I was busy baking a parmesan garlic crusted catfish (which turned out delicious), but needed to offset it with something. A fresh arugula salad with crisp, cool cucumbers was added, and finished off with this zesty, tangy, orange creamsicle frozen yogurt. Creamsicles are reminiscent of my childhood, but this version is much more exciting; it's zesty and tangy, which I enjoy so much. I hope you do too!
Orange Creamsicle Frozen Yogurt
Makes about 1 quart.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1-1/2 cups all-natural Greek yogurt
- 1-1/2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice from 4 large oranges
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt and the orange juice. Using an electric or standing mixer, whip the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the yogurt mixture, adding orange zest until everything is mixed together.
- Pour the mixture into a resealable 1-gallon plastic bag. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice to the bowl as necessary, until the ice cream base mixture is uniformly cold, about 30 minutes.
- Snip off one corner of the plastic bag to pour the mixture into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker and spin until thick and creamy. Working quickly, transfer the churned mixture to the frozen baking pan and press plastic wrap on surface. Return to freezer until firm around edges, about 1 hour. Transfer the frozen yogurt to an airtight container, pressing firmly to remove any air pockets, and freeze until firm before serving.