Roasted Banana Frozen Yogurt

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I like making ice creams, but this was my first time making frozen yogurt. Since I love banana ice cream, I thought I ‘d try a frozen yogurt using bananas. I roasted the bananas in the oven with lots of brown sugar but I suppose that cooking them in the stove would also work well. The bananas need to be very ripe for this recipe. The frozen yogurt turned out very nice, I liked the tangy flavour of the yogurt with the sweetness of the roasted bananas. If you can’t find Greek yogurt, use regular yogurt, strained in the fridge overnight to thicken it up.  I saved a banana and added in the last minute before turning the machine off. I did this because I like chunks of fruit in my ice cream or frozen yogurt. You can skip this step and just add all the banana at once.

 

 

Roasted Banana Frozen Yogurt Recipe:

makes about 1 quart

 

You will need:

4 very ripe bananas

1 1/2 cup of brown sugar

32 oz (900g) of plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line an 8x8 inch pan with foil. Peel the bananas and cut lengthwise. Place bananas in the pan and cover with the brown sugar. Bake it until the sugar melts and the banana is soft and roasted.

Reserve 1 banana and transfer the others along with the melted sugar to a large bowl. Mix in the yogurt and the vanilla. Pour yogurt in the ice cream maker and freeze it according to the manufacture’s instructions. Add the reserved banana just before you turn off the ice cream maker, this will ensure you have some chunks of banana in the frozen yogurt.

Enjoy it!

Seattle Food Blogger’s (first) Bake Sale

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I am happy to be participating on the Food Bloggers Bake Sale tomorrow, Saturday April 16th at the Metropolitan Market on lower Queen Anne from 10:00am to 12:00pm. I will be selling my Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies (pictured) a favourite here at home. Many other bloggers will be participating, so come on down, purchase some baked goods, meet nice people and help a great cause! Proceeds will benefit Share Our Strength, the culinary industry's fundraiser to help end childhood hunger.

For more details, as well as a list of all bloggers participating on the Bake sale, check out this page on  Keren’s site.

Hope to see you there!

Corn and Cinnamon Brigadeiro (Bigadeiro de milho e canela)

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Brigadeiros are as Brazilian as a food can get. They are soft candies made with sweetened condensed milk ( a staple in any Brazilian pantry) and normally flavoured with chocolate. The recipe is very easy, no wonder brigadeiros are one of the first things Brazilian kids learn to make in the kitchen. The condensed milk is cooked with some butter and chocolate over low heat until is just at the right point. What’s the right point? It depends, if you are planning to make them for a party and present them as little truffle balls (like in the picture), then you will need to cook it until the condensed milk has reduced by about 1/3 of it’s volume and it is thick and pulling away from the sides of the pot. If  you are just making these for yourself and your family to eat by the spoon full (oh, yes, you read that right), then there is no need to be so picky about the cooking time, just cook it down until you see the condensed milk is thick.

Personally, I think you can make brigadeiros with any flavour you want, not only with chocolate. To prove my point, I made these wonderful corn and cinnamon ones. Corn and cinnamon is one of my favourite combinations and they work very well on this sweet and soft candy. Fresh corn is the best option, but frozen corn (previously thawed) works too. I hope you enjoy them much as I do.

 

Corn and Cinnamon Brigadeiros Recipe:

makes about 25 small candies

 

You will need:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

2 cups of fresh corn kernels

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, plus more for your hands and plate

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 cup of sugar, for decoration

Small paper cups

 

Place the condensed milk and the corn in a blender and blend well, scraping down the sides of the blender cup to remove any condensed milk that might be stuck to it.

Pass the mixture through a fine sieve placed over a medium pot and discard any solids. Place the pot over medium heat and add the butter and cinnamon. Cook, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced in size and  thickened up. To test, scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, you should be able to make a trace and see the bottom.

Transfer it to a plate lightly coated with butter and let it come to room temperature. (see note)

Once the brigadeiro have cooled use butter to coat your hands and shape the brigadeiros into small balls (a teaspoon). Roll each one on the sugar and place them in small paper cups.

 

Note:

You can leave the brigadeiro in the fridge , tightly covered with film for up to 1 day. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before you plan to roll them and continue with the recipe.