Cacao Nib And Mint Frozen Yogurt
19
Once when I was seven and happily sucking on mint lollies perched atop a very small tree, my slightly older and much naughtier cousin who was sitting next to me swinging his legs said very matter of factly "You know, they make these lollies with toothpaste." When I looked at him quizzically, he nodded sagely with the wisdom that can only come from being nine "My friend went to a candy factory and saw them making them with toothpaste." How can you ever question confirmed proof like that?
It bothered me that someone put toothpaste in lollies. We were not meant to swallow toothpaste, remember? I must’ve asked my mum when she was wails deep with my newborn brother and she replied "Yes, maybe they do." (Now a mother myself, I realize that she was barely listening!), but that was enough to put me off mint chocolates and lollies and ice creams for a long time. I was always the one to pass up after dinner mints. Then while holidaying in Sydney almost a decade ago, we queued up at the Copenhagen ice cream shop outside Opera House. There was a teenaged boy and girl just behind me in the queue, siblings. The girl was declaring her undying love for the choc-chip peppermint ice cream despite her brother teasing her that she might as well just brush her teeth with toothpaste instead. Something clicked! I chucked caution to the wind, and instead of ordering just rum and raisin like I wanted to, I got a scoop of choc-chip and peppermint too. I quite liked it! Not a huge fan, but I liked it.
The Sprouted Kitchen cookbook by blogger Sara Forte has a simple and beautiful recipe for Chocolate Mint Frozen Yogurt. Having enjoyed the chocolate mint combination in ice cream form over the last few years, I was eager to find out what it would be like in yogurt form. So I adapted the recipe. I think I really love the chocolate-mint combination with yogurt. The sour tang of the yogurt is just amazing with the chocolate bits and the icy cool of the mint. I used Chobani Greek yogurt. I loved the fact that the end product was not very sweet and perfectly balanced with a great depth of flavour. I will be making this and have a small tub of this froyo handy in the freezer from time to time.
I used raw cacao nibs instead of regular chocolate and organic agave nectar as a sweetener. Cacao beans are the seeds of an Amazonian fruiting tree and the source of everything chocolate and cocoa. Cacao nibs are the crushed bits of the bean after the shell is removed. Cacao nibs are packed with antioxidants, magnesium and nutrients that facilitate youthful appearance, vigour and happiness. They can be eaten straight up, a small handful when you need a burst of energy or you could add them to trail mixes, smoothies, cookies or ground in your daily cup of coffee.
FOOD STYLING AND PHOTOGRAPHY ALERT
Crumple Cup – $120 for a set of 6 by Revol, Mini Cones – $4.50 for 60g from Thomas Dux, Takeaway Coffee Cups – $4 for a set of 20 from The Party Warehouse, Choc Chip & Peppermint Necklace – $48 from Tasty Circus, Porcelain Egg Tray – $2 from the Op Shop, Riess Saucepan – $42 from Grosgrain Homewares, White Porcelain Spoons – $2 each from Target.
CACAO NIB AND MINT FROZEN YOGURT
adapted from The Sprouted Kitchen by Sara & Hugh Forte.
A simple recipe for a delectable creamy frozen treat. The chocolate mint frozen yogurt is sweetened with organic agave nectar and studded with raw cacao nibs.
Makes – To serve 6
Ingredients
300ml thickened cream (approximately 1 cup)
1/2 cup organic agave nectar
500g greek yogurt
handful of fresh mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract
2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs
Method
Heat cream and mint leaves in a saucepan over low heat till it slowly starts to simmer. Remove from heat, add agave nectar and set aside for 30 minutes to steep.
Remove mint leaves from the mixture. Add yogurt and peppermint extract. Beat with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours (or overnight).
Churn the yogurt mix using an ice cream maker (and following the maker’s instructions). When finished churning, stir through the cacao nibs and freeze in air tight freezer-safe containers until ready to eat.
The froyo only needs about an hour in the freezer. When ready to eat, remove from freezer and rest for 5 minutes to soften it a bit.
This looks divine Sneh! I love chocolate and mint together too, and this is the perfect thing to beat the heat.
Jennifer (Delicieux)´s last [type] ..Cherry Ice Cream
My favourite combination! I will always order mint & chocolate, and those photos are DIVINE.
I love that it is both messy, and so stylish all at once! Well done
snappystreet´s last [type] ..The {Instagram} Week That Was…
Someone better lick that ice cream up – it looks too good to melt!
Lynda – TasteFood´s last [type] ..Shrimp Puttanesca
Your photos are truly aspirational for me. Wow…I’m blown away!
Sarah´s last [type] ..Sweet Plum Cobbler – A Recipe
I love chocolate and mint together, what a delicious frozen yogurt!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)´s last [type] ..cookie butter-toffee bars
I really love your style
sabina
sabina´s last [type] .."Vichyssoise" vellutata di patate
So in love with your work Sneh! Yours photos, stories, recipes–truly inspirational. I hope I get a chance to meet you in person, so you can rub off a bit of your creativity on me
Nash of Plateful´s last [type] ..Chocolate Orange Truffles. And—Two Wondrous Years!
A wonderful ice cream! Cocoa nibs are so great.
Cheers,
Rosa
Your naughty brother. This looks so good . I love cocoa nibs they are crunchy and delicious and would really go with Pepermint
tania@mykitchenstories.com.au´s last [type] ..Visiting Spirit House, Yandina
Gorgeous recipe Sneh! I remember reading about the original on Sara’s blog – love the adaptation with cocoa nibs, they are just so crunchy and delicious!
thelittleloaf´s last [type] ..Homemade Tagliatelle
Those mini cones are adorable! I couldn’t stop smiling after reading the ‘tooth paste theory’. I am not a mint ice-cream as it really does remind me of toothpaste! lol!
chinmayie @ love food eat´s last [type] ..Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream
Holy Yum!
Jen @ Pretty Plate´s last [type] ..Maple Glazed Popcorn
These photos are so awesome
Wow. Just. Wow.
Sneh, you devil! As if I need temptation for tomorrow’s HOT day. (I do, I always do)
As usual your photos are stunning and I chuckled at the accompanying story. Very clever! Also, such cute mini cones.
Yasmeen @ Wandering Spice´s last [type] ..Welcome back, Wandering Spice
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i was just wondering why you used Chobani Greek yogurt when we have such good australian produced yogurts? Chobani is imported from from the usa. I am going to make this today look really good and will taste even better with local produce.
No particular reason really. I like to try out different products, both local and imported. Chobani yoghurt is quite nice. Amongst local yoghurts (and I have written about them in my previous posts), my favourites are Meredith’s Dairy, Barambah Organics and Five:am.