Some of us are crying out for a hot weather snack - especially those over in Britain who are currently battling a record-breaking heatwave. So we have just the thing for you - yogurt bark! Relatively healthy; mega cooling; super delicious and very easy to make! Yogurt bark is one of those relatively new desserts that the Pinterest community have gone mad for in more recent years: Sheets of frozen yogurt topped with things like chocolate, fruit, cookie pieces... whatever you fancy really!
THE HISTORY OF YOGURT BARK
As with a lot of food items, it's not easy to pinpoint the exact moment of creation when yogurt bark came to be. But we do know that yogurt bark's older cousin, frozen yogurt, was first created in New England in the 1970s by an entrepreneur named H.P.Hood. This healthier alternative to ice-cream was known as 'frogurt', and initially it wasn't hugely successful as there were limited flavours and a tartness to the product that many consumers didn't really take to. But it was a good attempt at a product that was very similar to ice cream and a good introduction to the frozen yogurt products that would go on to take the world by storm.
But it was throughout the 1980s that frozen yogurt continued to grow in terms of popularity and success, with the first frozen yogurt shop opening up in 1981 by ice cream company TCBY in Little Rock, Arkansas. By 1984 there were more than one hundred branches of this frozen yogurt chain around America. It was throughout this decade that manufacturers of frozen yogurt began to experiment with different flavours and textures so that it went on to resemble the soft-serve frozen yogurt that we know today.
So for the first in our new Nostalgia Tastes Like This... feature, we're looking at yogurt bark, a descendent of soft-serve frozen yogurt that we're willing to bet is even easier to make and every bit as delicious. And for that nostalgic twist, and a bit of old meets new, we're basing our bark recipes on the flavours of various yummy retro desserts that we all know and love.
And just in case you're interested, National Frozen Yogurt Day falls on February 6th. A bit of an odd day to be devouring bucketloads of frozen yogurt but whatever floats your yogurt pot we guess. National Frozen Yogurt Month is in June. Now that's more like it!
THE BASIC RECIPE
2 cups yogurt
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp. honey
EQUIPMENT
1-2 large mixing bowl depending on recipe
1-2 wooden spoons depending on recipe
1-2 saucepans depending on recipe
1 baking tin 8"x13"
parchment paper around 10"x15"
COOK'S TIPS:
You can use any type of yogurt you like including dairy-free. But we recommend using whole or full-fat Greek yogurt which gives the creamiest taste and texture. The less fat there is in your yogurt, the icier the texture will be.
The more fat there is in your yogurt will result in a softer-textured bark.
The flavour of the yogurt is up to you. You can opt for plain and unsweetened, or a flavoured, sweetened yogurt - just make sure the flavours you choose will work with the given recipe.
If you're using a low-fat or fat free yogurt and you want to boost up the creamy factor a bit, based on the basic recipe in this post, here are some things you can add:
2-3 finely mashed bananas (you will definitely get that banana taste so make sure your recipe works with this flavour!)
1 cup of chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of heavy/double cream
1 cup of double/heavy cream
An extra half cup of condensed milk
If you add two or more of the above it'll really increase those levels of creamy fantasticness!
Depending on which yogurt bark you choose to make, add the following ingredients to the basic recipe.
1. BLACK FOREST GATEAU
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp. heavy/double cream
1/4 white chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups pitted cherries (fresh, frozen or tinned)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
2 tbsp. kirsch
METHOD:
Place 2 cups of the cherries in a pan with the sugar and 1 tbsp. kirsch over a medium heat.
Simmer until cherries reduce to an almost jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and add the remaining kirsch. Set aside to cool.
While cherry mixture is cooling, mix together all the ingredients in the basic recipe.
Melt 2 cups of the semi sweet chocolate chips with the cream. When cool enough, gradually stir chocolate a little at a time into the yogurt mixture.
Line baking tin with parchment paper.
Pour in yogurt mixture.
Swirl in the cherry mixture, creating a ripple effect.
Freeze until set firm. This usually takes around two hours.
When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size, you like.
2. PEACH MELBA
INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen
4 peaches, skin removed, pitted and sliced OR 2 tins peaches, sliced or chopped
1 vanilla pod
2 tbspn. lemon juice
1 Strip lemon peel
1 cup white granulated sugar
METHOD:
In one saucepan, place half the peaches with half a cup of sugar and one tablespoon lemon juice and the vanilla pod.
In another place half the raspberries and half a cup of sugar.
Place over a medium heat and wait until mixture reduced to an almost jam-like consistency. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Be sure to remove the vanilla pod and lemon peel from the peaches.
Mix together all ingredients for the basic recipe.
Line baking tin with parchment paper.
Pour in yogurt mixture.
Swirl in one of the cooled fruit mixtures creating a rippled effect.
Do the same with the other fruit mixture.
Top with remaining peaches and raspberries.
Freeze until set firm.
When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size, you like!
3. BANANA SPLIT
4 bananas,
3 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. honey
2tsp. powdered sugar
1 cup maraschino or fresh red cherries, pitted and halved
2 tbsp. strawberry sauce
2 tbsp. chocolate sauce
1/2 cup strawberry slices
1/2 milk chocolate chips
1/4 flaked almonds
METHOD:
In a bowl, mash together two of the bananas with one teaspoon of the lemon juice, honey and vanilla extract. Set aside.
Slice the remaining bananas and toss with the remaining lemon juice and powdered sugar.
Add the basic recipe ingredients to the mashed bananas and combine well.
Line tin with parchment paper and then place half the yogurt mixture into the tin so that it covers the base of the tin.
Now place sliced bananas and half the amount of cherries.
Top with remaining yogurt mix.
Swirl in the sauces to create a rippled effect.
Top with strawberries, chocolate chips, cherries and almonds.
Freeze until set.
Cut into and shape and size you like.
4. LEMON MERINGUE PIE
INGREDIENTS:
1 small lemon, zest and juice
1 tbspn. honey
5 tbspn. lemon curd
100g meringues, crushed
50g marshmallows
50g biscuit (cookie) pieces i.e. - digestives, Graham crackers etc.
25g candied lemon peel
METHOD:
Mix together the basic ingredients. Add the extra honey and the lemon, adding the lemon juice a little at a time.
If you want to add crushed meringues to the yogurt mix.
Add 50g of meringue to the mix.
If you need the lemon curd to be a little more runny, heat it up ever so slightly so that it's the right consistency for swirling into the yogurt but not warm.
Line tin with parchment paper
Place yogurt mixture in tin and even out.
Swirl in lemon curd.
Top with remaining meringue, biscuit/cookie pieces and marshmallows
Freeze until set.
When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size, you like!
5. S'MORES ROCKY ROAD
2 cups Greek yogurt
1-2 tbsps. honey
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, melted
1 tbsp. heavy/double cream
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup pretzels, broken up
1/2 cup flaked/chopped almonds
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup broken up Graham crackers
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup dried cherries
METHOD:
Melt 2 cups of the semi sweet chocolate chips with the cream. Set aside to cool. When cool enough, gradually stir chocolate a little at a time into the yogurt mixture.
Mix together ingredients for the basic recipe in a separate bowl.
Gradually add the cooled melted chocolate and combine well.
Line baking tin with parchment paper.
Pour in yogurt mixture.
Top with assorted toppings: Graham crackers, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.
Freeze until set firm.
When frozen, turn out onto a board, peel off parchment paper, and cut into any shape and size, you like!
Enjoy!
Let us know what you think if try out any of these recipes. And to our friends over in the UK, keep cool but above all stay safe, and look out for anyone who is likely to suffer problems due to the heatwave.
Photos: Angel Noire
Blog Graphics: Angel Noire
