Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
You do need an ice cream maker for this recipe. I have a Cuisinart which was only $42 when I bought it. It is more expensive now, but I would still buy one again.
This yogurt is more decadent than many frozen yogurts. But it is lighter than many homemade ice creams. The milk keeps the yogurt from being too tangy, and it almost passes for chocolate ice cream.
This recipe was adapted from a very old Cook's Illustrated recipe. I have adjusted the amounts of everything up to make measuring easier and to make more yogurt. Doing this pushes the limits of my 1.5-quart ice cream maker, but it works. I enjoy some soft fresh right after it has churned and I fill my 6 cup container full.
Making the yogurt is very easy but it takes a long time overall. There is a lot of chilling and waiting that has to happen during different steps.
A high quality dutched cocoa is best here. I keep a large bag of Cacao Berry on hand, but Droste is a good grocery store brand. This could be made lighter with lower-fat yogurt and milk, but I always make it with the full-fat versions because it is better that way. Drained yogurt is similar to greek yogurt, but some testing (by others) has shown that it sometimes makes frozen yogurt a bit chewy. I keep regular yogurt on hand for cooking already, so I prefer to use regular plain yogurt that is drained.
Ingredients
Directions
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Gather ingredients. There isn't anything to prep here other than the yogurt, so you can wait to get everything ready until after the yogurt is drained. Depending on your ice cream maker, you may need to have the bowl freezing at least 24 hours before churning the yogurt.
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Put the yogurt into a strainer set over a large measuring cup or bowl. Refrigerate and drain for at least 2 hours. I usually just do this overnight. Depending on your yogurt, there will be around 1 cup of whey drained. You will be using some of the whey later.
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Take 1/4 cup of the drained whey and put it in a small bowl. Add the gelatin and mix thoroughly. Keep stirring until any gelatin lumps are gone. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. The gelatin will fully plump and the mixture will probably become a solid mass. Discard the rest of the whey and add the drained yogurt back to the bowl.
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In a saucepan, whisk the cocoa and sugar together until the cocoa is fully incorporated and not lumpy.
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Add the milk to the saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Whisk for a few minutes until all the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is lump-free.
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Remove pan from heat. Mix the gelatin mixture into the pan and whisk to combine. If the mixture is too hot to touch, let it cool down some more before continuing.
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Add the vanilla and chocolate mixture to the yogurt. Whisk completely to mix everything up. It should be lump-free and you may need to whisk for at least a full minute.
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Cover bowl with plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. You will need the mixture to be 40°F or less when you put it in the ice cream maker. The mixture looks like pudding after it is fully cooled.
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Set up ice cream maker. Pour chilled chocolate yogurt into the maker and churn for 20 minutes or until the mixture is as close to 20° as you can get it. Sometimes it won't get that low, but if the mixture has the consistency of soft frozen yogurt you can get at a shop, it should be ok.
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Transfer the yogurt to a freezer-friendly container. Cover and freeze for 4 hours. Alternatively, the yogurt can be served immediately, but it might be a little bit soft.
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The yogurt will keep in the freezer for a few weeks. I like to cover the top with some plastic after it is no longer full. After it is fully frozen, it will scoop better after you let it sit out for 5-10 minutes.
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