Protein ice cream with quark and skyr

A fitness favourite for the Ninja CREAMi: quark, skyr and erythritol. Over 8 g of protein and about 65 kcal per 100 g.

Tvaroh (quark) is a cheap, easy-to-find source of protein in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, so quark and skyr ice cream from the CREAMi has become a hit. Compared with the classic, it is a completely different dessert: about a third of the calories (about 65 kcal per 100 g instead of roughly 215), twice the protein and almost no fat. The sugar is replaced by erythritol, which has almost zero energy. There are two trade-offs: the texture is light and foamy rather than creamy, and in an ordinary machine or the freezer the mix sets rock hard — it is only a quarter solids, the rest is water. The CREAMi gets round this by shaving the frozen block just before you eat it.

Type: Frozen yogurt · Servings: 5 · Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 250 g quark, low-fat (tvaroh)
  • 250 g high-protein yogurt / skyr 0 % (plain skyr)
  • 150 g semi-skimmed milk 1.5 %
  • 70 g erythritol (ideally powdered (ground))
  • 20 g dextrose (glucose powder)
  • 1 g guar gum (E412) (a pinch, about 1/4 teaspoon)
  • 5 g vanilla extract

Making the mix

  1. Mix the erythritol, dextrose and guar gum while dry — that way the guar won’t form lumps.
  2. Put all the ingredients in a tall container and blend with a stick blender until completely smooth, with no lumps of quark (about 1 minute).
  3. Leave to stand in the fridge for 30 minutes so the erythritol dissolves and the guar hydrates. Nothing is cooked.

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 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: Lite Ice Cream

Lite Ice Cream is the program designed for low-calorie and high-protein mixes. After the first spin the ice cream is often powdery — that is normal with little sugar; a tablespoon of milk and a Re-spin make it creamy.

Total time: 24 h 45 min

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. Serve straight away, or after a short spell in the freezer (half an hour at most).

The mix has less sugar and fewer solids than ordinary ice cream, so in the freezer it sets almost rock hard. It is best straight after churning; from the freezer, let it soften for 20–30 minutes or beat it before serving. The CREAMi is ideal for this kind of recipe, as it processes the frozen block just before you eat it.

Total time: 1 h 30 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. Serve straight away, or after a short spell in the freezer.

The mix has less sugar and fewer solids than ordinary ice cream, so in the freezer it sets almost rock hard. It is best straight after churning; from the freezer, let it soften for 20–30 minutes or beat it before serving. The CREAMi is ideal for this kind of recipe, as it processes the frozen block just before you eat it.

Total time: 1 h 25 min

Stages

Preparation
10 min
Ageing in the fridge
30 min
Freezing
24 h
Processing in the machine
5 min
Total time
24 h 45 min

Serving and storage

Straight after spinning, with fruit, cacao nibs or a spoonful of nut butter. A portion of about 150 g has about 13 g of protein.

Level off any leftovers in the CREAMi tub, freeze and spin again before eating (Re-spin). From an ordinary machine, eat it straight away.

Tips

  • Adjust the sweetness to taste with a few drops of stevia or sucralose — erythritol is only about 60–70 % as sweet as sugar.
  • Add 15–20 g of cocoa for a chocolate version or a handful of frozen raspberries for a fruity one (blend the fruit with the mix).
  • Want even more protein? Replace some of the milk with a scoop (25–30 g) of unflavoured whey protein; the ice cream will be thicker.
  • Don’t give it to young children: erythritol has a safe daily intake set according to body weight, and one portion would use it all up for a small child.

Why it works

Erythritol is a polyol with almost zero energy and a high anti-freezing power — gram for gram it lowers the freezing point about 2.8 times as much as sugar, which is why the mix doesn’t end up as pure ice even with a small amount of sweetener. The problem is water: the solids are only about 25 %, so a lot of ice forms in the freezer. In larger amounts polyols have a laxative effect; in 2023 EFSA set an acceptable daily intake for erythritol of 0.5 g per kg of body weight, based precisely on this effect (about 35 g for a 70 kg adult, 10 g for a 20 kg child). A 150 g portion of this ice cream contains about 14 g of erythritol. Under EU law, products with more than 10 % added polyols must carry a warning about the laxative effect on the packaging.

Sources