“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate – that’s my philosophy”
Thornton Wilder
He said this is what helped him survive his recent illness. He said that if it were not for this delightful fro yo, he couldn’t have pulled through the last few days of work under the hot sun, on a melting tarmac in temperatures hovering in the mid 40C’s! Yes indeed, Mr PAB gave it a huge thumbs up. However, he left me flummoxed at the thought that someone feeling so ill could even ask for fro yo, and then enjoy it! He could and he did!! The rest of us did too, but we were in the pink of good health! This cheerful frozen dessert is a great way to beat summer …
My love for fruit in desserts, the recent bounty of stone fruit holds me mesmerized, often compelling me to try different recipes, conjuring them up in my mind. There is not much that can go wrong with frozen desserts. If you get the balance of fruit and sugar right, IMHO, the rest pretty much falls into place. This fro yo happened because some home made yogurt I set, well almost 2 kilos of it, were rejected by the lad who didn’t like the taste. I think I left it a tad longer than I should have, so it wasn’t sweet as he likes it. Known not to waste anything, I lost no time in setting it off to drain it in the fridge overnight, it’s fate to be decided the next day. The bowl found it’s place next to a small crate of cherries in the fridge; it’s fate was sealed! Both were jostling for space in my shelf for perishables and were destined to be partners!
I set about pitting and simmering the cherries, thinking I might make some more brandied cherries but the mind had the draining yogurt in the back of it. Had a few thoughts, which turned into actions pretty soon, and before I knew it we had cherry fro yo being packed off to set in the freezer! Like I said, cherries and yogurt were destined to be together … in the freezer too! The result, after many whisks by the faithful greased elbow, was a delicious frozen yogurt, nudged gently into slight luxury with the addition of some low fat cream.
You might have seen these little cups in my recent post on Props for food photography. I picked up an assortment of these on our recent trip to Gangtok. North Indian hill stations are known for their bone china and ceramic pottery, a large part of which comes across the border from China. Popular items include single serving tea mugs, sauce and soup bowls, and most shops offer the same fare,. I could spend all day in these beautiful shops stacked to the roof with trivia, but the family would revolt! {Hill station is a term used for a town usually at somewhat higher elevations. The term was used in colonial Asia (particularly India, but also in Africa albeit rarely), where towns have been founded by European colonial rulers up where temperatures are cooler, as refuges from the summer heat.}
FRESH CHERRY FROZEN YOGURT 1 1/4 cups hung yogurt {from 1.5ltrs of home set yogurt; drained overnight} 600gms fresh cherries {pitted} 1/2 cup sugar {adjust to taste} 400ml low fat cream {I used 25% Amul cream} 3-4 tbsp cherry brandy liqueur/ kirsch {optional} 1/2 cup powdered sugar {adjust if required} 1 tbsp vodka {optional} Method: Pit the cherries and simmer them with the granulated sugar for 5-7 minutes till just soft. Drain the cherries, add the liqueur, and leave them to cool. Reduce the liquid till like a thick syrup. Cool. Reserve a few whole cherries if you wish to add some to the fro yo for texture. Run the remaining cherries and syrup till smooth. {This can be done a day in advance and chilled in the fridge for a day or two. Roughly chop the whole reserved cherries. Whip the hung yogurt, cream, powdered sugar, blended cherries & vodka {if using} till mixed uniformly. Fold in the chopped cherries, and transfer the blend to freezer container if you don’t have an ice cream maker. Whisk well every hour, five to six times over, to break down and distribute the crystals. Leave to set for 6-8 hours, better overnight. Serve with fresh cherries if desired!
