Matcha frozen yogurt

Green frozen yogurt with matcha — gently bitter, refreshing and lighter than cream-based matcha ice cream.

Matcha is finely ground green tea with a grassy, slightly bitter flavour that goes beautifully with the tang of yogurt. Greek-style yogurt provides the creaminess, so no cream is needed. The healthier side: about 150 kcal per 100 g and just under 6 % fat, compared with roughly 215 kcal and 13 % fat for cream ice cream. The trade-off: it has about as much sugar as ordinary frozen yogurt, and matcha contains caffeine — it isn’t a dessert for children or for late in the evening.

Type: Frozen yogurt · Servings: 8 · Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 60 g whole milk 3.5 %
  • 70 g granulated sugar (sucrose)
  • 60 g dextrose (glucose powder)
  • 30 g skimmed milk powder
  • 1.5 g locust bean gum (carob gum, E410)
  • 10 g matcha (powder) (2 teaspoons, culinary grade)
  • 400 g Greek-style yogurt 10 %
  • 300 g plain yogurt 3 %

Making the mix

  1. Mix the dry sugar, dextrose, milk powder and locust bean gum, stir in the milk and heat to 85 °C. Hold for two minutes.
  2. Let the syrup cool to 70–80 °C, sift in the matcha and whisk until free of lumps (ideally with a bamboo whisk or a stick blender). Boiling water would make the matcha bitter.
  3. Cool in iced water and chill completely in the fridge.
  4. Whisk the cold syrup with both yogurts. Don’t heat the yogurt.
  5. Leave the mix in the fridge for an hour.

Method — Compressor ice cream maker

  1. Switch on the ice cream maker 5–10 minutes in advance so the bowl pre-chills.
  2. Pour in the chilled mix (no higher than the fill line) and churn for 25–35 minutes until it has the consistency of a thick cream.
  3. Transfer to a chilled container, cover the surface with cling film and leave to harden in the freezer for about 90 minutes.

Total time: 3 h 55 min

Method — Freezer-bowl ice cream maker

  1. Freeze the bowl for at least 24 hours in advance. Take it out just before use, fit the paddle and switch the machine on.
  2. With the machine running, pour in the thoroughly chilled mix — filling the bowl no more than two-thirds full; freeze the rest as a second batch.
  3. Churn for 20–30 minutes until the mix thickens. Going on longer is pointless — the bowl has already warmed up.
  4. Transfer to a chilled container and leave to harden in the freezer.

Total time: 4 h 20 min

Method — Ninja CREAMi and similar machines

  1. Pour the mix into the CREAMi tub up to the MAX line (one or two tubs, depending on their size), put the lid on and freeze level for 24 hours.
  2. Put the tub in the machine and run the Frozen Yogurt (if your model doesn’t have it, Lite Ice Cream) program.
  3. If the result is crumbly or powdery, add 1–2 tablespoons of milk and run Re-spin — with a very cold freezer even twice.

Programme: Frozen Yogurt (if your model doesn’t have it, Lite Ice Cream)

Total time: 26 h

Stages

Preparation
20 min
Cooking
5 min
Cooling
30 min
Ageing in the fridge
1 h
Churning
30 min
Hardening in the freezer
1 h 30 min
Total time
3 h 55 min

Serving and storage

With fresh raspberries, sesame brittle or sweet azuki beans. From the freezer, let it stand for 10 minutes.

Up to 5 days in a dark, sealed container — matcha loses its colour in the light.

Tips

  • Culinary-grade matcha is fine, but it should be bright green. Yellowish or olive-coloured matcha is usually old and bitter.
  • Always sift the matcha, otherwise green lumps will remain in the ice cream.
  • It contains caffeine, like green tea — don’t give it to children.

Sources