SWEET TREATS WITH THE FLAVORS OF SUMMER
RECIPES AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY KARISTA BENNETT
Warm summer days offer the best excuse to cool off with homemade ice cream and popsicles. Some of my family’s favorite flavors use sweet seasonal fruits including strawberries, cherries, and peaches. For an unexpected twist, I combined summer strawberries with coconut milk for a slightly sweet and refreshing treat. For a more decadent dessert, cherries team up with dark chocolate, heavy cream, and sweetened condensed milk in a luscious no-churn ice cream. Yogurt fans will appreciate my recipe for peach frozen yogurt, which can stand alone or be enjoyed with additional summer fruit. You can take your dessert to go with a delectable ice cream sandwich. Make summer memorable with these mouthwatering recipes that you’ll want to indulge in all season long.
summer peach frozen yogurt
Makes 4 cups
- 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen peach slices, thawed and chopped or 16 ounces fresh peach slices
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup honey
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Place the ice cream maker insert into the freezer 24 hours prior to making this recipe.
Place peaches, yogurt, honey, and vanilla in a food processer and process until ingredients are nicely combined. Be sure to use honey as the sweetener (this will help keep the frozen yogurt creamy). I like to keep some peach chunks in the yogurt, too.
Remove the ice cream maker insert from the freezer and add the peach yogurt mixture. Churn the yogurt according to your ice cream maker’s instructions or for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until it reaches your desired consistency. Remove it from the ice cream maker and transfer to a container with a lid. Freeze for an additional 1 to 2 hours. Remove the yogurt from the freezer a few minutes before serving so it will soften.
NO-CHURN
chocolate covered cherry ice cream
Makes 5 to 6 cups
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup good-quality cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 8 ounces fresh cherries (or frozen and thawed), pitted and coarsely chopped
- 4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
In a large bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, and sea salt until thoroughly combined. Reserve.
Next, whip the 2 cups heavy cream until it forms soft firm peaks. Gently fold ½ cup of the whipped cream into the cocoa mixture. Be very gentle so the whipped cream stays nice and fluffy. Once this is incorporated, repeat with ½ cup increments of the whipped cream until all the whipped cream is thoroughly combined with the cocoa mixture.
Gently fold in the chopped cherries and chopped dark chocolate. Pour the mixture into a large freezer container with a lid and freeze overnight or for at least 8 hours.
