As many Miami students know, the Uptown area used to have an Orangeberry frozen yogurt shop. Coming to Miami from my hometown where I was a regular at the local Menchies, I couldn't have been more excited to continue my fro-yo obsession.
However, the odds evidently weren't in my favor, seeing as our local Orangeberry is CLOSED. Not knowing what else to do, I turned to Pinterest for my fro-yo fix. I found three recipes that don't involve an ice cream maker (because what student living in a dorm owns one of those?) and decided to try them out. Join me on my journey to DIY frozen yogurt and fill the hole that Orangeberry left in my heart.
Cake Batter: The Process
My first recipe is found here for "5-Minute Cake Batter Frozen Yogurt." Not only did the "5-Minute" part entice me, but cake batter happens to be one of my all-time favorite fro-yo flavors so I was sold.
Also the recipe included adding some cute sprinkles into the mix so the aesthetics were there as well. It was pretty straightforward to make and I didn't run into any huge issues.
Cake Batter: The Results
Overall, I'd give the cake batter a 7/10. It froze a lot more solid than my other two flavors, and so when I tried it, I had to basically chip away at it with my spoon. You could really tell that I used cream cheese in this one—the texture was a lot richer than the other two.
At first the flavor was what I can only describe as "really yogurt-y", but it definitely grew on me as I kept eating it. The sprinkles were a fun touch, and although I can't say it beats the cake batter fro-yo sold in stores it was a pretty good DIY. I'd make it again if I ever had a very specific craving for cold cake batter
Chocolate Banana: The Process
When I found this recipe, I was pumped. I can't say I've ever tried chocolate banana frozen yogurt from a store, but it sounded amazing and I couldn't wait to try it out. The ingredients were simple and really nothing in there is that bad for you. The idea of a "healthy" frozen treat was too much to pass up. The recipe just required patience as the frozen bananas took a little longer to blend up than the ingredients in the cake batter did.
Chocolate Banana: The Results
I would give this recipe a 9/10. The texture was a lot smoother than the cake batter; I felt like I was eating cold fudge versus a block of oddly creamy ice. Flavor was a great balance between chocolate and banana. However, I feel like it would've tasted even better if I had used riper bananas.
This one is definitely satisfying as a frozen treat and I can see myself making it again to binge on during a Netflix marathon with reduced guilt (or even eating it for breakfast).
Strawberry: The Process
When I first saw this recipe, I was convinced that this one was going to be my favorite. It's intentionally healthy and made with real fruit, not to mention I adore strawberries. I'm never happy with the fake strawberry flavor that I lot of ice cream and fro-yo places use, so I was really looking forward to this.
I ended up using a spoonful more yogurt than the recipe called for just because everything wasn't blending together very well at first. After that it all came together and I couldn't be happier with the final result.
Strawberry: The Results
If you ask me, this one is a 10/10. The texture was definitely the best out of the three, but that could be due to the fact that since I used frozen fruit I sampled this one right after it was blended. The flavor was great: not too sweet, with some tartness from the limes and strong notes of strawberry.
I will 100% be making this one again, not just because it was my favorite but because I didn't have to wait to eat it. This recipe is perfect for when you want dessert right now and aren't willing to go anywhere to get something. It's also pretty much guilt-free (for more guilt free desserts, look here), so no need to worry about the Freshman 15 or Sophomore 10 or whatever is on your mind.
When I set out to DIY frozen yogurt in a dorm kitchen, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I picked three recipes that gave me some variety of flavors and jumped right in. It really isn't hard to throw some ingredients into a blender, and I thought it was definitely worth the (minimal) effort.
The lack of frozen yogurt around my university is no longer an issue for me, and hopefully with this article it won't bring you down either! From one fro-yo addict to another: nothing can stop the craze now. Viva la DIY