A Cool Summer Treat: Apricot and Cardamom Yogurt Ice Cream

As much as I love all the exotic tropical fruit available here, (my dinner last night consisted of large bowl of sweet, cold mango and toast), I sometimes crave other fruits that are not local or as readily available like blackberries, peaches, plums and apricots. We do get them here, but usually they look pretty worn by the time time they have traveled all those food miles to get to the grocery stores. I always consider myself lucky when I find these fruits looking good and fresher than the norm, and I was happy to find some large and healthy looking apricots at Whole Foods. I ate several and then decided to make something with the rest. Craving homemade ice cream, I found a great-sounding recipe for Apricot and Cardamom Yogurt Ice Cream in Ice Cream! by Pippa Cuthbert and Lindsay Cameron Wilson. I have several ice cream books and Ice Cream! is a fun little book with lots of easy recipes with interesting ingredients and different, exotic flavor combinations.

Ice Cream! says: "Apricots go well with cardamom. The little black seeds inside the green cardamom pods give a strong but subtle flavor. With the addition of yogurt, this ice cream has an almost Indian slant." 

Apricot and Cardamom Yogurt Ice Cream 

Ice Cream! by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson

(Makes 3 1/2 Cups or 800 ml)

2 1/2 cups (500g) fresh apricots

1 cup (200g) extra fine sugar

scant 1 cup (200ml) water

3 cardamon pods lightly crushed

juice of 1 orange

1 3/4 cups (400ml) Greek yogurt

Halve the apricots, remove the pits and chop. Put the chopped apricots, sugar, water, cardamom pods and orange juice in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until the fruit is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the cardamom pods, transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Allow to cool completely.

Stir the yogurt into the cooked mixture and churn in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's instructions, until frozen. Transfer to an ice cream container or ice block molds and freeze. Put in the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving.

Note: If you are not a fan of cardamom and omit it, you're left with a delicious creamy apricot ice cream all on its own. 

 

Notes/Results: Good--both tangy and sweet, the cardamom and apricot really pair well together. I cut out about 1/3 of the sweetener, so mine may have been more tangy than the original recipe. I also really love cardamom so I put in double the amount, (six pods), and the flavor came through nicely. I used non-fat Greek yogurt to cut out some of the fat and calories and make it a healthier option. This ice cream, topped with some crushed pistachios, would be the perfect end to a great Indian meal. I would make this one again.

I am sending this along to the month-long Ice Cream Social being hosted by three wonderful bloggers Tangled Noodle, Scotty Snacks, and Savor the Thyme. They will being doing a major round-up of everyone's ice cream and frozen concoctions after the end of July.