Pineapple banana frozen yogurt and coffee ice cream

A while ago after I saw the gorgeous shots of strawberry cheesecake ice cream by Nami of Just One Cookbook, I couldn`t stop thinking about getting myself an ice cream maker. Although I`m usually more into frozen yogurt than ice cream, the idea of making such desserts at home sounds terrific to me. And hellooo...summer is so close already!

I`m really glad that Nami also gave the Amazon link for her ice cream maker because I was totally clueless about any ice cream maker. Although it turned out that the one that I wanted isn`t available here and there is a 100 USD shipping charge if I purchase it from Amazon US (unbelievable, right?!), I decided to purchase the older version of the Cuisinart ice cream maker through Amazon Japan and my new toy is here now! Yeehaaa!

My first ever homemade ice cream was blueberry ice cream using the recipe that came with the manual. The recipe was a quick and simple one as it doesn`t involve any cooking. Just chill the ingredients and churn them altogether in the freezer bowl. I`m also a bit hesitant about including eggs in making ice creams, so I decided to make no-cook and eggless ice creams. Using this method, my blueberry ice cream turned out okay for a starting point and I`m so excited to learn and create more. 

My second product is this coffee ice cream, which is still no-cook and eggless version. I also used decaffeinated instant coffee as I don`t want to stay awake all night after devouring it. I was initially worried about the texture of ice cream because I omit the eggs and the cooking process, but the result was still pretty much satisfying. My husband and I super lllllove this ice cream both for the taste and texture and I had to keep an eye on him because otherwise he would easily finish the whole batch I made. I guess I don`t need to go to Baskin-Robbins for a cup of coffee ice cream anymore!

After having nonstop sugary and creamy days, for my next trial, I made frozen yogurt using pineapple and banana. The idea is to use as many fruits as possible and borrow their natural sweetness for the dessert. For the fruit, I initially intended to use pineapple only, but then I thought that I needed something to give more thickness in the mixture and that led me to include banana.

So this is where I have the pineapple and banana cut into chunks and I was ready to puree them until.....

I remembered that I forgot something. The yogurt. So typical me.

After everything has turned into this pale yellow smoothie texture, I tasted it and decided to add a few tablespoons of honey. Sweet and sour. I`m happy now.

So I did still add more sweetener here, but comparing it to how much sugar I used for my previous ice creams makes me feel better.

Here it comes my magic bowl!

I set the mixing paddle in the freezer bowl, which had been kept in freezer overnight, put the lid on, turn the machine on, and pour the puree through the spout. 

I set my timer for 30 minutes and let the magic happens. 

While waiting for that,  I chop some of the pineapple chunks that I have reserved.

After 20 mins or so, the puree thickened up and started to reach the top of the paddle. How exciting is this!

The frozen yogurt turned thicker and thicker and before I turned off the machine, I sprinkled in the chopped pineapple and churned it for another 5 minutes.

Voilà! It`s done! The mixture might seem too gooey at this step, but after another hour in the freezer (not the bowl), it set nicely.

Oh, I`m totally in love with my ice cream maker. 

I`m not sure if I`ve ever tried sorbet, or at least a decent one before, but this dessert looks more like sorbet than frozen yogurt to me, especially if I compare it to Golden Spoons` products. I`m not sure why, but probably the absence of milk or double cream in it have something to do with that. And speaking of sorbet, the day when I made this dessert and finished my photo-work, I found that Nami has posted her pineapple sorbet with banana too! Maybe the weather has made us think of exactly the same fruits :D

 なみさんへ：同じようなデザートを作っちゃって、すみません！

I apologize for the wilted look of the mint leaves, but I hope it doesn`t suck out all the sunshinyness of the dessert. A verdict on the taste, next time I probably will use less banana for this as the banana turned out to have very strong aroma that almost overpower the pineapple. But all in all, the result made me smile from ear to ear!

Print recipe

PINEAPPLE BANANA FROZEN YOGURT

Makes approximately 1 liter

Ingredients:

1 pineapple, cored and cut into chunks 

Reserve some of the pineapple chunks and chop up

2 banana (or less), cut into chunks 

400 g plain yogurt (I used non-fat)

4 Tbs honey

Method:

1. Puree all the ingredients and chill the puree in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

2. Churn the puree in an ice cream maker according to the manual for 30 minutes or until the puree has thickened up.

3. Five minutes before stopping the churning process, add the reserved pineapple to the frozen yogurt.

4. Transfer everything to a freezing container and keep it in the freezer for another 2-3 hours.

Print recipe

COFFEE ICE CREAM

Makes approximately 1 liter

Ingredients:

400 ml double cream

200 ml milk

150 g sugar

3 Tbs decaffeinated instant coffee

1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Chill all the liquid ingredients in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

2. Dissolve instant coffee with some part of the milk. 

3. Churn all the ingredients, including the dissolved instant coffee, in an ice cream maker according to the manual for 30 minutes or until the mixture has thickened up.

4. Transfer everything to a freezing container and keep it in the freezer for another 2-3 hours.