There’s this little chain of shops in Portland (and now LA) called Salt & Straw, and they do quite a brisk business in artisan, gourmet ice cream. The evil geniuses who own the joint deviously offer monthly seasonal flavors, available only for a limited time. (I just doomed myself to a visit soon by browsing the flavors online at my local shop and noticing that a scoop I tried last year, Birthday Cake & Blackberries, is available again.) The best flavor I’ve had this year, though, was Rhubarb Crumble, which was only around for the month of June. So obviously I had no choice but to make my own version. What, you expect me to wait a whole year to buy it? Not gonna happen!

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams At Home has a recipe for Baked Rhubarb Frozen Yogurt, which sounded good, but it needed more rhubarb, plus crumble. So I combined it with this recipe, and produced what I consider a winner.

So what do you do if you don’t have an ice cream maker (I didn’t for a long time), but still want to try this recipe? Well, if you don’t have your heart set on a frozen treat, you’re in luck. Leftover compote and crumble mixed into a bowl of Greek yogurt was damn delicious. Almost good enough to make me wonder why I’d bothered with the extra work for the frozen version. Because while this frozen yogurt is a great dessert, unfrozen yogurt is totally acceptable to eat for breakfast, even when it has rhubarb compote and crumble mixed in.

This recipe has quite a lot of steps and parts, so be sure to read it all  ahead of time, and have your ice cream maker base in the freezer ready to go. Ideally the canister should be in the coldest part of your freezer for at least 24-hours before you make your ice cream.

Rhubarb Crumble Frozen Yogurt

Frozen-yogurt base
1 quart plain low-fat yogurt
1-1/2 cups whole milk
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 oz (4 Tbsp) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Rhubarb compote
1 pound fresh or frozen rhubarb, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp (3 oz) white sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Crumble
2/3 cup (3 oz) white all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp (2 oz) butter
1/3 cup (2 oz) dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch salt

Instructions

For the frozen yogurt base:
Place a sieve over a bowl and line it with a tea towel, or two layers of cheesecloth. Pour the yogurt into the sieve, fold the remainder of the towel over it, and place it in a refrigerator to drain for 6 to 8 hours. Measure out 1-1/4 cups strained yogurt. Make your rhubarb compote and crumble while you wait for the yogurt to drain.

For the rhubarb compote:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the rhubarb, sugar, and lemon juice in an 8-inch-square glass or ceramic baking dish, stirring to mix well. Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft and beginning to fall apart.

Let the rhubarb cool, then pour it into a food processor or blender and process until it’s a smooth puree. Measure out 1-1/2 cups of the compote and refrigerate to cool; refrigerate the rest of the compote for another use.

For the crumble:
Combine the crumble ingredients in a bowl and use your hands to rub the butter into the flour, so that the mixture comes together to form small, pea-sized balls of dough. Sprinkle onto a baking pan, and bake for 10 minutes in the 375 degree oven alongside the rhubarb compote, then stir and bake for another 5 minutes. Let cool, then break up large pieces so they’re about pea-sized.

For the frozen-yogurt:
Mix about 3 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the softened cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth.

Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture.

Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the 1-1/4 cups strained yogurt and blend well.

Refrigerate the mixture overnight to cool it. Or, create an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water. Pour the ice cream mixture into a 1-gallon zip-top freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Pour the cooled frozen-yogurt base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy. Pour 1-1/2 cups of rhubarb compote and 1-1/4 cups of crumble into the base, and stir to combine. Pack the frozen yogurt into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours. Makes a generous 1 quart.

Sometimes, if your husband becomes involved in taking blog photos, he may come up with creative ideas about how to make the photos better. Clearly a great collaboration.

Luckily for us, Adventurous had no interest in trying this flavor. I may have a new phone background, though.