Strawberry and Pomegranate Frozen Yogurt with Sesame and Sumac Tuiles

I remember buying strawberry ice creams when I was knee high to something or other and they were always very pink, very sweet and, to be honest, tasted more of pinkness and sugar than strawberries. I loved them back then. But I had to grow up (a bit) and so this frozen yogurt has a balance of  sweet and sour flavours  that should make a refreshing end to a more adult meal. It also has the big advantage for many of us adults of being low in fat.

The tuiles are a variation on my usual, general-purpose tuile recipe but, again, have a bit of that sweet and sour thing going. You can leave them flat, but I take a childish delight in folding them into wavy shapes when they come out of the oven. Well, a man’s got to have a hobby.

The amount given here is about right for my ancient little ice cream maker but should serve 6 comfortably, on the understanding that we’re all restrained grown-ups.

For the frozen yogurt:

400 g strawberries (unprepared weight)
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tsp pomegranate molasses
2 - 3 tbsp icing sugar
300 ml low fat Greek style yogurt (I use one that’s around 3% fat)
100 g extra light cream cheese (such as extra light Philadelphia)

Clean and hull the strawberries. Place them in a blender or food processor and add the lemon juice. Whiz them up until you have a smooth purée. Work this purée through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. (This stage isn’t essential, but I think it improves the texture of the final dish). You should be left with something like 400 ml of strawberry loveliness.

Place the purée in a pan over a medium heat, bring to the boil and reduce until you have around 200 ml of concentrated purée left. Remove from the heat and whisk in the pomegranate molasses followed by 2 tablespoons of icing sugar. Taste and add another tablespoon of sugar if the mixture is too sharp. Chill thoroughly before moving on to the next stage (that's the mixture, not you).

Whisk the cream cheese into the yogurt, then whisk in the strawberry mixture. Taste the mixture and add a little more sugar if you think it needs it. (It will taste a little less sweet once frozen). Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze in the usual way.

If the frozen yogurt is stored in the freezer and becomes very thoroughly frozen, allow it to soften a little before serving.

For the tuiles:

90 g caster sugar
50 g plain flour
2 egg whites
60 g butter, melted and allowed to cool a little
3 tbsp sesame seeds
A little sumac and extra caster sugar for sprinkling

Line two oven trays with non-stick paper or silicone sheets and preheat the oven to 160°C. Whisk the sugar, flour and egg whites together very thoroughly. Keep whisking while gradually pouring in the melted butter. Add the sesame seeds and continue whisking for another minute or so until the mixture has thickened slightly.

Spread the mixture thinly onto the prepared oven trays – it should only be around 2 mm thick. You can use a template to shape the tuiles if you want to be fussy like me, but it’s really not essential. Sprinkle the top of the tuiles with a little sumac and caster sugar. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges.

If you want to bend the tuiles, do this very soon after they come out of the oven (while trying not to burn yourself). I tend to wrap silicone sheets around a rolling pin, glasses or whatever comes to hand and bend the tuiles around them. Once you get the shape you want, leave them in place to cool and set – it won’t take long.