vanilla raspberry rhubarb frozen yogurt

There's only a handful of things I can confidently say I'm obsessed with. Frozen yogurt might just be at the top of that list (if not first), and I'm completely okay with that. I would eat it every day if I could. Combine that with this sweltering 90 degree weather, my favorite berry, and an in-season gem, and enter: vanilla raspberry rhubarb frozen yogurt.

It's tart, sweet, creamy, and cool... what more could you want in a frozen treat? Chocolate, but that's for another post. I suppose you could drizzle some dark chocolate on top of a heaping scoop of this, though. Actually, that sounds pretty damn delicious.

I'm a little late on the rhubarb game. You see, in most regular towns, rhubarb is easily accessible, especially around this time. Here, some people don't even know what it is. I was able to find it at a grocery store, pre-packaged, and thankfully it was still quite tasty and fresh.

I'm pretty certain that this homemade fro-yo kick isn't going away anytime soon. I'm hoping to perfect the texture a bit better in my trials to come, as well as experimenting with some new flavors. Martha Stewart has a frozen yogurt recipe that definitely didn't remind me of your typical homemade recipe.

The addition of an egg and a couple of other ingredients has me convinced that the texture is more like an ice cream, and possibly easier to scoop straight out of the freezer? I'm not sure why I'm so set on that (I haven't tested it or read that it does), but it probably has to do with my love affair of TCBY's scoopable, ice cream-like fro yo. No homemade frozen yogurt has ever compared. Martha, I hope you can change that.

Vanilla Raspberry Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt

adapted from off beat and inspired

yields ~32 oz

frozen yogurt:

32 oz of plain Greek yogurt (use 2% milk fat or higher)

all of the simple syrup

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of raspberry rhubarb syrup (add more to your liking)

simple syrup:

1/2 cup organic cane sugar (regular granulated sugar will work, too)

1 1/2 tablespoons of water

1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste*

pinch of sea salt

*note: I used vanilla bean paste because I love seeing the black specs throughout the yogurt, and vanilla bean paste is really convenient. However, you can also use regular vanilla extract, or even an  actual vanilla bean :)

raspberry rhubarb syrup:

1 cup of chopped rhubarb

1 cup of raspberries

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup of honey

1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

note: you will have some of the raspberry rhubarb syrup left over, which can be saved & used as a topping later on ;)

For the raspberry rhubarb syrup, combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, and let cook until mixture has thickened and the raspberries/rhubarb are broken down. About 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

For the simple syrup, combine all of the ingredients in another small saucepan. Heat on low until the sugar has melted/dissolved. Remove from heat, and immediately stir in a small amount of Greek yogurt. Gradually stir in the rest of the Greek Yogurt until the simple syrup is completely mixed in with the Greek yogurt.

Once the raspberry rhubarb syrup has cooled down, stir 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup into the yogurt mixture. Add to your ice cream machine, and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Transfer to a container and freeze until ready to serve. Remove from the freezer ~15-20 minutes before serving in order to scoop easier.