Tart Cherry Frozen Yogurt

This recipe needs little introduction.
I've been teasing you with photos for a week.
Sorry about that.

It all started with a generous offer from my friend Aynsley. She and her family were going away for the week and their backyard cherry tree was ripe for the picking. Of course, I couldn't turn up the awesome opportunity to grab my step-ladder and head over there straight away.

Free (super, 1-mile away) local + organic cherries? Yes, please!

But what to make?


I think we picked about 5 cups in all. I tooled with baking a pie or making muffins. I forgot my bag in the car and stepped outside for a few minutes. Quickly I realized I didn't want to bake at all. Nope, nope. It was hot, muggy, and gross.

Perfect weather to continue my frozen treat trend.

I pitted the cherries one by one, probably not in the most efficient way. Still, it went much faster than I had expected. I licked my drippy, sticky juice-covered fingers off. After some cooking, mixing, and chilling -- this happened:


TART CHERRY FROZEN YOGURT

What you'll need . . . 

• 3 cups fresh (preferably tart) cherries
• 3 tablespoons cane sugar
• 32 ounces low-fat yogurt
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk*

* I imagine if you want to stay with the low-fat theme, you could use reduced fat coconut milk. All we had was the real stuff. And I'm not talking the kind in the refrigerated section -- use the canned kind that's nice + thick.


Method . . .

1. Pit your cherries, then place them in a small saucepan -- along with the sugar -- over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil (stay nearby, as it might boil over if you're not careful!). Lower the heat to a strong simmer and continue stirring + mashing nearly constantly until mixture has reduced to a jam-like consistency. 15 minutes or so. 
2. Let cool until just warm, not hot. Then, in a large bowl, mix (I used a whisk) together all the ingredients. Chill for 3 hours -- covered, in the refrigerator. 
3. Then prepare according to your ice cream maker's instructions. Ours instructed us to pour in the mixture and let churn for 30 minutes. Then we let it freeze in an airtight shallow container for another 6 hours. 
4. Let sit out of the freezer for around 10 minutes before scooping. Sometimes, depending on the temperature of your freezer, the frozen yogurt is hard as a rock. Don't worry, it softens.

I could hardly wait for the entire settling process before I dipped my ice cream scoop into the dish. (Which, by the way, some of you were asking what we use to freeze our frozen yogurt. I've been using a 8 x 8 glass baking dish covered with tin foil.)

If you don't have an ice cream maker, there are a few kinds to choose from. You can get one that hooks right onto your KitchenAid mixer -- the Ice Cream Maker Attachment makes up to 2 quarts at a time. If you don't have a mixer, check out this economical Cuisinart Frozen Dessert Maker.

Again -- even if you don't have a fancy machine, you can enjoy frozen desserts of your own making. Try out our Frozen Banana Bites (and the new FAQs about them) or even my favorite Ultimate Vegan Banana Ice Cream recipe.

Have I convinced you to make your own ice cream yet?

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i [heart] you

Happy Valentine's Day! Foremost on my mind this holiday? Desserts! Last year, I layered together a no-bake, Chocolate-Peanut Butter Fudge-Tart for the two of us to enjoy. The year before that, I chilled our favorite Chocolate-Coconut Pie. This year, I wanted to bake something.

So, that's exactly what I did.

I picked up a set of three spring-form pans this weekend for $4.00. I suggest using a springform for this recipe if you want to display your cake in a pretty way. However, if all you're interested in is gobbling it up, any 9-incher will do. (TWSS?! Ah. No! OK. That's a really, really bad one.)

Note: Our cake only lasted a day and a half.


CHOCOLATE-CHERRY CAKE
(Print This Recipe!)

What you'll need . . .

• 1-1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup hazelnut (or other nut) meal
• 1/4 cup golden flax meal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance (or butter)
• 3/4 cup sugar (I use Florida Crystals)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
• 3 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill egg replacer mixed with 9 tablespoons water (or 3 eggs)
• 3/4 pound pitted, frozen black cherries
• 1 to 2 tablespoons extra sugar

Method . . .

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of your 9-inch springform cake pan. Add a pinch of flour to the pan to lightly coat where you buttered. Or you can also cut a circle of parchment for the bottom.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup sugar. Then add in the egg replacer (mix it first with the water) and vanilla extract. Beat well until fluffy and well combined.
3. In your microwave (or on your stove-top) melt the chocolate and then add it to the wet ingredients along with the almond milk. Mix until well combined.
4. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, hazelnut meal, flax meal, and baking powder. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet -- one half at a time. Stir until there are no lumps.
5. Batter will be relatively stiff. Put it in your cake pan and press down evenly (I used a piece of plastic wrap so it wouldn't stick to my hands).
6. Then press a single layer of frozen cherries into the top of the cake (I left 1/4" or so on the sides). Sprinkle with the 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar.
7. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes -- checking halfway through to pour out a bit of the cherry juice that will accumulate (it's OK if it seeps into the cake a bit). Cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out with only a few crumbles on it.
8. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting/removing from pan. Store in your fridge for up to 3 days, if it lasts that long.

I could have baked our cake for a few more minutes, which is why I suggest up to 50 minutes for a bake time. It was pretty gooey in the middle. I bet if you use fresh cherries, that would help. Frozen give off quite a bit of juice.

Either way, it tasted and looked incredible.


How will you celebrate/have you celebrated V-day? We still haven't made any plans. I imagine we'll do a work-night dinner date at some point this week. Not tonight, though. I have chorus!

Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Cocoa-Nut Butter Energy Chunks

There's something incredibly satisfying about looking at all the stuff that goes into a treat you've made. At least that's the case for me. Above are most of the ingredients that went into this amazing energy chunk . . . which is by far my favorite one to date. Hazelnuts, seven-grain cereal, peanut butter, coconut, cocoa, agave, and dried cherries.

While I'm on the topic of ingredients, I thought you might all like to know what I consider kitchen staples these days (if you haven't picked up on what they are already). These foods are healthy, flavorful, and not too terribly expensive. They adapt to a variety of baked good and other recipes . . .

• Oats (steel cut or old fashioned) - great base for energy chunks and other cookies, etc.
• Seven-grain hot cereal - again, great base.
• Coconut flakes (unsweetened) - adds lots of flavor, texture with few calories.
• Carob and vegan chocolate chips - fantastic for baked goods and on their own.
• Soy milk - good sub. for regular milk. or try almond milk!
• Cocoa powder - again, adds lots of flavor with few calories
• Honey and agave - alternative, natural sweeteners.
• Walnuts, hazelnuts, any nuts - good source of protein, adds well into most recipes
• Vegetable stock - excellent for making simple, easy soups.
• Dried fruit (like cranberries, cherries, apples, raisins) - added nutrition, easy to incorporate into muffins, cookies, etc.
• Unsweetened applesauce - good substitute for egg in most baked goods (1/4 cup per egg).
• Broccoli - healthy, tastes good, soaks up anything you throw onto it.
• Kale - throw it in soups, eat it alone, nutritional powerhouse.
• Brown rice - good base for homemade crackers and as a healthy side carbohydrate
• Avocados - they are my favorite, eat them plain or blend into a chilled soup, etc.
• Olive oil, sesame oil - healthy fat
• Coconut milk - throw it in soups, substitute in for milk, it's just fun to have around.
• Canned beans, tomatoes (fire-roasted), chickpeas, - make a quick hummus, chili, or anything - the key is FAST.
• Tahini - a little investment will save you a lot of dough when you can make your own hummus. seriously. we do it all the time.
• Balsamic and white wine vinegar - good for salads, sauces, and adding punch.
• Garlic and onions - cheap, low-calorie FLAVOR.
• Cayenne pepper and regular pepper - again, flavor and HEAT.
• Peanut butter - eat it right off the spoon or etc.

Back to the energy chunks! This recipe makes a giant batch, I believe just over 2 dozen. Check 'em out:

What you'll need . . .

• 1 cup seven grain hot cereal (but not prepared, use it as is)
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts
• 1/3 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries

Method . . .

1. Put all ingredients (except the dried cherries or cranberries) in a food processor and blend.
2. In a large bowl, mix in the dried fruit and add more peanut butter if batter is too stiff.
3. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Keep in your fridge.

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