Maple Frozen Yogurt Recipe
About a month ago, maybe a little longer, I got a care package in the mail from a couple in Vermont, Randy and Merrilou. I’ve never met this couple. They only know me through the show. They took it upon themselves to send me a Vermont care package, just because. It was extremely humbling. In the HUGE box, they stuffed 2 half-gallon jugs of maple syrup, 2 local microbrew beers to try, some King Arthur flour, a maple recipes booklet, some amazing maple butter (this was new to me, and it is FANTASTIC on toast, if you ever get a chance) and a maple syrup grading pack.
With such an abundance of maple syrup, it was easy to come up with this maple frozen yogurt recipe, with a Greek yogurt base thickened with heavy cream and sweetened only with maple syrup. Maple-candied pecans add some crunch (and more fat, haha because it’s dessert, after all).
PrintMaple Frozen Yogurt
- Prep Time: 1 min
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon rum
- Maple pecans:
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine ice cream ingredients with a whisk and chill.
- Put pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast, stirring, about 5 minutes.
- Add the syrup and cook, stirring, another 3 minutes until the syrup begins to “dry”.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon and remove from heat.
- Once the yogurt mix is thoroughly chilled (At least one hour, and up to 2 days) freeze it in your ice cream dealie as per your manufacturer’s instructions. Frozen yogurt probably will freeze quicker than ice cream, so check it a little sooner than normal.
- Serve topped with maple pecans right away for a soft-serve texture (I think it’s the best!) or pack into an airtight container and freeze for an hour for a firmer, scoopable texture.
Another light frozen delight: my great-grandma’s Grape Ice recipe!
According to the maple syrup grading set also included in my care package, the mysterious “back yard” maple syrup in the half-gallon jugs looks to be Grade A Dark Amber. Do you agree?
I’m from New Hampshire originally, so I know that anything made with real maple syrup like this is perfect. Your recipe looks especially good. What grade of maple syrup do you use? I like Grade A dark amber, but my wife likes Grade A medium amber. Some people like a serious maple flavor and opt for Grade B, but I think that’s for baking (and maybe ice cream). Unfortunately, we don’t have an ice cream maker or churn. I’ve always wanted to try the Girl Scout method of making ice cream, but I’d have to get the two right size coffee cans first.
Hi GSF!
Funny thing about the half gallon of maple syrup I got: it doesn’t state what grade it is. At all. Just “Pure maple syrup”. From the color, I think it’s a Grade A dark amber. I think a grade B would probably be even better in this recipe in particular, since with ice creams and other frozen things, you really need to bump up the flavor a little bit more than you would a warm dish.
My grandma used to do the old “Freeze it in a 9×13 pan and stir every 20-30 minutes” method, which doesn’t give you the same creaminess but it’s pretty easy.
Hilah: The syrup we sent you came from my co-workers back yard sugar house (Zach Peatman) and because he doesn’t sell to the general public, he doesn’t label the grade or sugar makers name. He just supply’s his friends and sells at a real good price. Use the grading sampler to see what the grade is of the syrup we sent you. It should be light or medium amber because it was from an early run in the season. Merrilou and I got a real kick out of seeing you use your maple on the show! We had a small sugar house (50 taps) at the house we owned when we were first married and we six to as much as twelve gallons in a season. We are so glad you are enjoying your care package !!
Aha! Thanks, Randy.
Man, that is just amazing to me that people in Vermont just have sugar houses in their back yards (also, I never knew they were called “sugar houses”!).
I also had no idea that the grade had to do with the season. I always assumed the maple syrup was sort of separated out similar to the way gas/oil/diesel is separated. That’s a terribly gross analogy for food. Sorry! But it’s more like olive oil pressings, sounds like.
According to the grading kit, it matches best colorwise with the Grade A dark amber. I’m about to do a taste-test!
Thanks again for the generous care package. We enjoyed both of the beers (in frosty glasses, of course) and I used some of the KA flour in my contribution to the bake sale we held a couple of weeks ago!
I couldn’t resist investing in an ice cream maker after watching this video…I mean, your ice cream looks TOO good!
So I followed your recipe today, and the final product…was out of this world! So creamy and just the right amount of sweetness from the maple syrup. I did add one extra ingredient: a hint of cardamom. It paired really well here.
Now, I’m on a hunt for more creative ice cream maker recipes! Thanks, Hilah 🙂
– Julie
Wow, Julie! That’s terrific! You’ll be having delicious homemade ice cream all summer. 🙂
Also, I LOVE the cardamom idea. Brilliant.
I watched this and IMMEDIATELY registered for a ice cream maker on our wedding gift registry. Can’t wait to give this a shot. Love your videos and have for years!
Yay! That’s awesome, Kerri. 🙂 Congratulations!
Hilah, Great as always. It’s 90 degrees here in NYC I’m in need of a great semifreddo recipe. Help!
Oh no! I’ve never made semifreddo, Tracy! I will have to figure that one out!
Looks yummy, can I replace the rum or omit it?
Hi Shelly! You can omit it. The purpose (besides flavor) is to keep the frozen yogurt from freezing too hard, but it will fine without the rum.