Low Fat Hazelnut Frozen Yogurt

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Low Fat Hazelnut Frozen Yogurt

July 30, 2012 by Eva Taylor

It’s been blazing hot in Toronto, as I am sure most of my dear readers are experiencing in the northern hemisphere. For our dinner party last week, I decided to make the Armenian Nutmeg Cake (OK, I didn’t make another cake, I simply defrosted the cake I made about a month ago) and I wanted to serve it warm with a cold scoop of hazelnut frozen yogurt. I chose hazelnut because I adore the flavour (no, JT didn’t even save me a bite of the frozen yogurt) and I wanted something nutty to go with the nutmeg cake. I also made a very easy caramel sauce (just used ordinary milk instead of cream, which still worked out but wasn’t as creamy). Now this recipe is not entirely fat-free because hazelnuts contain fat, but it’s about balance, I saved the fat with using fat free Greek Yogurt so I didn’t mind adding the ground hazelnuts. You could leave the ground hazelnuts out entirely opting to use just the extract but then you will need to balance with a bit more sugar, as roasted hazelnuts have a bit of sweetness to them.

All in all the recipe worked out well. The yogurt adds a very nice tanginess to the frozen dessert that I liked. The caramel sauce balanced the tanginess (good call JT). And I adore a contrast of warm and cold; cake: warm, frozen yogurt: cold!

Creamy, nutty, low fat frozen yogurt.

Low Fat Hazelnut Frozen Yogurt

Makes a little more than 500 g of frozen yogurt

Ingredients:

1/2 cup hazelnuts, roasted and peeled (I found this method after I painstakingly peeled mine the old fashioned way!)
2-3 tbsp brown sugar, or to taste
Pinch of salt
1-2 tsp hazelnut extract
500 g non-fat Greek yogurt

Directions:

In a coffee grinder reserved for this type of thing (i.e. not coffee) grind the hazelnuts, salt and brown sugar until it becomes a paste (like peanut butter). Mine took about 10 minutes, stopping to allow the machine to cool down every so often.
Whisk the hazelnut extract into the non-fat Greek yogurt, and then whisk in the hazelnut mixture. I found the mixture was a bit lumpy so I took my immersion blender and blended it until I no longer saw any lumps. Doing this will make the yogurt a bit more liquidy, but it still works.
Pour into the chilled ice cream bowl and assemble as per instructions. Turn on and allow the machine to work its magic. Mine took about 20 minutes. Scrape into a freezable container and freeze.
Frozen fat free Greek yogurt doesn’t have enough fat to make it creamy straight out of the freezer, so I had to bring it out to sit on the counter for about 10-20 minutes, depending on how cool your house it. Scoop onto prepared plates and drizzle with the easiest caramel sauce ever.

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Posted in Desserts, Recipes | Tagged frozen, hazelnut, low fat, tasty, treat, yogurt | 38 Comments

38 Responses

on July 30, 2012 at 5:43 am | Reply Choc Chip Uru

Low fat, hazelnut flavoured, frozen delicious and served with a simple caramel? You are a genius

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
- on July 30, 2012 at 9:39 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thanks CCU.
on July 30, 2012 at 5:56 am | Reply Angie@Angie's Recipes

Hazelnut and Greek yogurt…what’s not to love this fat free summer cooler!
- on July 30, 2012 at 9:41 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thanks Angie. I hadn’t meant to release this post today, oh well.
on July 30, 2012 at 6:34 am | Reply thekalechronicles

Two more winners, Eva. I do have hazelnuts in the house and an ice cream freezer…
- on July 30, 2012 at 9:42 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thanks Sharyn, I am so annoyed with myself as I hadn’t planned on releasing this post today! Sigh.
on July 30, 2012 at 6:46 am | Reply Norma Chang

Frozen yogurt dessert, just what is needed for this weather.The fat in hazelnuts is the good fat plus we do need some fat in our diet for the body to absorb all the nutrients.
- on July 30, 2012 at 9:44 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Good point, Norma. I am rather annoyed with myself as I hadn’t planned on releasing this post today. Sigh.
  - on July 30, 2012 at 11:01 am Norma Chang
    
    I thouht it was unusual to for you to release one post after another. That’s not so annoying, you were showing your human side.
  - on July 30, 2012 at 11:11 am Eva Taylor
    
    Thanks Norma, I think it may be time for me to get reading glasses
on July 30, 2012 at 7:16 am | Reply Sissi

It looks gorgeous, Eva. You make so many inventive dishes in so few days! I’m impressed.
I have always preferred sorbets or dark chocolate ice-cream at my Italian ice-cream maker’s because the rest is too rich and too heavy, so I’m sure I would love this yogurt and low-sugar version. It reminds me of walnut ice-cream I used to love as a child. They were not very fat and especially not very sweet. I cannot find them any more alas.
- on July 30, 2012 at 10:17 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thank you kindly Sissi, I am very flattered. Walnut ice cream would have been incredible too. I just had the most splendid treat on the weekend, coffee gelato, it was wonderful.
on July 30, 2012 at 7:35 am | Reply Meenakshi

Hazelnut and caramel are the perfect couple
- on July 30, 2012 at 10:18 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thanks Meenakshi
on July 30, 2012 at 8:20 am | Reply Kristy

This looks lovely! I love the serving cup. I bet Mike would love this. He’s a big hazelnut fan. Perfect for the hot weather too.
- on July 30, 2012 at 10:22 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thanks Kristy. I am so annoyed with myself, I didn’t want this post live today, oh well. Glad you enjoyed it.
on July 30, 2012 at 8:38 am | Reply billpeeler

I just adore hazelnuts – what a great idea for frozen yogurt. This looks so refreshing!
- on July 30, 2012 at 10:23 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thank you kindly Bill. It’s been a record breaking hot summer.
on July 30, 2012 at 11:50 am | Reply Amber

What a lovely frozen yogurt Eva! Love the hazelnuts that you’ve added (even if they were difficult to peel).
- on July 30, 2012 at 12:24 pm | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thanks Amber.
on July 30, 2012 at 3:57 pm | Reply A_Boleyn

Sounds like another perfect combination of hot/cold, sweet/tangy, smooth/crunchy (I would have sprinkled chopped hazelnuts over the top) that you do so well. Always a well thought out menu and presentation.
- on July 30, 2012 at 7:11 pm | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thank you kindly Maria, the chopped hazelnuts would have been a great idea!
on July 30, 2012 at 8:56 pm | Reply bitsandbreadcrumbs

The flavors here sound like a perfect compliment to each other…in the frozen yogurt and with that amazing sounding cake with the nutmeg. Then add some caramel sauce. Wow! Sorry about the early release…that is frustrating. Ah, well, it happens to us all at some point.
- on July 30, 2012 at 9:48 pm | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  I’m just annoyed with myself for not noticing; I was carefully checking the dates so I’m not sure how it slipped through. Thanks Betsy, the entire course was wonderful, particularly the warmed cake and the cold iced yogurt!
on July 30, 2012 at 10:27 pm | Reply Hotly Spiced

What a great way to make hazelnut frozen yoghurt. I’ve never made frozen yoghurt before but when summer comes around something as refreshing as this would be wonderful. I’m glad you’re having a lovely summer xx
- on July 31, 2012 at 8:05 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thanks Charlie, we were very fortunate this year, our winter was extremely mild and summer has been very hot! Better than rain and snow, that’s for sure.
on July 31, 2012 at 5:11 pm | Reply Charles

Wonderful idea Eva – I have no ice-cream maker so I’d need to be pulling it out of the freezer and stirring it every couple of hours but it’s definitely a wonderful looking dish. I wonder – how much different in taste or texture do you think adding the nuts in ground/powdered form would have compared to turning them into the paste first?
- on July 31, 2012 at 8:04 pm | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Hi Charles, I did the paste for one reason only: to make it creamy enough so it doesn’t freeze into a rock hard ball, but it did anyway. You’ll have to take it out of the freezer about 10-15 minutes before serving so you can spoon it out! Maria suggested leaving a few hazelnut bits for decoration, wish I had thought of that!
on July 31, 2012 at 5:59 pm | Reply ChgoJohn

This sounds so good, Eva, especially with that caramel sauce. Like you, I really enjoy the contrast between hot & cold, with warmed caramel sauce being a favorite.
- on July 31, 2012 at 8:13 pm | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thank you kindly John. I always enjoy your feedback.
on August 1, 2012 at 12:44 am | Reply Zsuzsa

This is really lovely Eva
- on August 1, 2012 at 11:36 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thank you kindly Zsuzsa, and welcome to my blog.
on August 1, 2012 at 2:02 pm | Reply Jed Gray (sportsglutton)

The only improvement that I can think of for this treat is some nutella on top!!
- on August 1, 2012 at 8:10 pm | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Mmmmm! Haven’t had Nutella in decades! Used to inhale the stuff. Sigh.
  But you are correct of course, that would have made it OTT!
on August 2, 2012 at 12:49 am | Reply Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef

Holy moly, I think this would definitely make me happy!
- on August 2, 2012 at 10:54 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thanks Maureen.
on August 6, 2012 at 6:21 am | Reply fati's recipes

I love you for this recipe! (and the many others you have!) Thank youuuu!!
- on August 7, 2012 at 11:06 am | Reply Eva Taylor
  
  Thank you kindly Fati.