I think I first got the desire to make rhubarb frozen yogurt when I saw a photo of Nigel Slater’s Rhubarb Eton Mess. Slater always does the most amazing things with rhubarb, making me dream about the days when the blushing pink bunches will appear at the market. Since those days are fully upon us, I went ahead and made this treat for the weekend, in celebration of rhubarb season and its elusiveness.
I couldn’t resist appointing rose as a component of this frozen yogurt for two reasons – for one, rhubarb and rose has always sounded like the most magical combination that I’ve been thinking about for years, and secondly, I’ve had some beautiful dried roses sitting in my pantry without getting any use for too long.
Yogurt is a complete weakness for me and all members of my family – we always have some in the fridge to use for breakfast and snacks. I like to make my own, whether with real milk or coconut, but I also love trying new brands. There seem to be many great yogurt companies out there today, which make it very easy to be a happy consumer – if you’re curious, I like Maple Hill, Wallaby, Seven Stars and Anita’s Coconut Yogurt is a delicious vegan variety.
Frozen yogurt is one of the easiest frozen treats to make, especially if you have an ice cream maker (I’ve had an older model of this ice cream maker for years and it’s one of my favorite kitchen appliances). All it takes is some good yogurt, whatever secondary ingredients you choose for flavor, and a quick whirl in the machine. With this possibility in mind, you are always less than an hour away from a dessert that many consider to be a treat to only acquire outside of the home.
This batch matched my very high expectations. The first spoonful I had made me stop in my tracks and close my eyes for a second or two. I’ve always found rose flavor to be very invigorating, and combined with the subtle tartness of the rhubarb and creamy tanginess of the yogurt, this is dessert and aromatherapy all in one bowl.
Since I make so much ice cream/popsicles/frozen yogurt, we’ve decided that Sunday posts will be reserved for frozen treats of all kinds. We hope that will make you smile.
- 1½ lb rhubarb - sliced
- ½ cup dried rose petals (optional)
- ½ cup maple syrup - divided
- 32 oz Greek yogurt or non-dairy yogurt (I used Wallaby for this batch)
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- In a medium saucepan, combine rhubarb with rose petals, if using, and ¼ cup maple syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until rhubarb is soft. Let cool to room temperature and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.
- Combine well-chilled yogurt with half of the rose-rhubarb mixture, remaining ¼ cup of the maple syrup and rose water.
- Process in an ice cream maker for 20 minutes or according to the manufacturer's instructions. Spoon into a container, alternating between layers of frozen yogurt and the remaining rose-rhubarb mixture. Eat right away as soft serve or place in the freezer and make sure to remove from the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving.
Rose petals are optional, rose water gives plenty of flavor.
sarah says
This frozen yogurt is absolutely stunning. Have you tried a vegan variety of this? I usually find the coconut flavor of most coconut yogurts pretty overwhelming, but perhaps the rhubarb and rose overpower the coconut? Thanks so much for this gorgeous recipe!
Anya says
Hi Sarah,
I haven’t made a vegan version of this particular frozen yogurt yet, but I bet it would work great with a coconut yogurt. If the coconut flavor bothers you, I suspect that the rhubarb, and especially the rose flavor will mask it pretty well :)
valentina | sweet kabocha says
I’ve never tried rhubarb + roses – honestly, I used rhubarb only once, since in Italy is like a unicorn -_- – but it seems a wonderful combo! I also bought an ice-cream maker to make only 2 recipes for my cookbook, I think I could make the purchase worth trying this frozen yogurt :D
Anya says
Hi Valentina,
I’m so surprised to hear that rhubarb is hard to find in Italy! I imagine Italy to be a produce heaven :)
I would definitely give frozen yogurt a try, especially since you already have an ice cream maker. It’s super easy and delicious.
Dorcas says
This looks so beautiful and sounds delicious. I was just thinking of about combining these two things since where I live the wild roses have been in bloom everywhere I go and then there’s the rhubarb that’s been abundant. Thanks for the inspiration!
Anya says
Thank you Dorcas!
What a great place you live, with wild roses and rhubarb everywhere :)
amy - parsley in my teeth says
We grew up growing rhubarb in the garden and used it all year round to make pies. But ice cream??? Stroke of genius! Definitely adding this to the “to do” list – thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!
Anya says
Thank you Amy :)