Almond Pastis Sorbet

I found this Pastis at Silverlake Wine, but you could use Pernod, or even Sambuca.
Nice with a pear or apricot tart!

Almond Pastis Sorbet

1 7oz package of almond paste (not marzipan)
2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 tsp lemon peel
1/8 tsp cinnamon
3 tablespoons Pastis or anisette liquor

1. Add all ingredients except pastis to a saucepan and simmer until sugar and almond paste is dissolved.
2. Remove from heat, add pastis and chill thoroughly.
3. Strain mixture through a fine meshed sieve, pushing on solids to extract all the flavor. Discard solids.
4. Process in the ice cream maker. (this recipe makes 1 pint)
Et Voila!

I took the Vietnamese coffee ice cream recipe and adapted it to make this tea infused ice cream. Try substituting other favorite teas as well.

Earl Grey Tea Ice Cream

We had an impromptu ice cream tasting at last weekend's BBQ and this flavor was a big hit.

It is based on David Lebovitz's recipe in his book "The Perfect Scoop".

It is amazingly simple to make.

Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream

pear ginger sorbet with chinese five spice

My roomate brought home these Bartlett pears from CostCo (I know...) and they were....perfect.

Ripe, fragrant, perfectly pearish. I'm sure they came from Chile or Australia or some other terribly far away place that is the opposite of local.

The chinese five spice and ginger add a little heat.

Pear Ginger Sorbet with Chinese Five Spice

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup white wine (something crisp and fruity)

2 tablespoons corn syrup

4 ripe pears, chopped into chunks.

1/4 teaspoon chinese five spice powder

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 tablespoons lemon juice (or juice from one lemon)

2 teaspoons grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon orange flower water (optional)

1. Add sugar, water, corn syrup and wine to a medium saucepan and heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

2. Chop pears and toss with chinese five spice, lemon zest and juice.

3. Combine the pears and sugar syrup and add ginger and orange flower water. Blend in a blender until smooth.

4. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Taste and adjust flavor.

5. Chill thoroughly and process in ice cream machine.

chocolate orange sorbet

I always loved those chocolate oranges that you whack on the table and they break apart into oranges shaped sections. They were the inspiration for this intense chocolate sorbet.

I came up with two recipes. one is icier, more like a sorbet and the second is creamier and richer tasting, with the addition of bittersweet chocolate. It is almost like frozen chocolate frosting - decadent!

For plain dark chocolate sorbet, just omit the orange ingredients.

Chocolate Orange Sorbet (version 1)

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup dutch process cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons espresso powder (or 1/4 cup espresso or strong coffee)

1 tablespoon corn syrup

2 tablespoons triple sec

1 tablespoon rum

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon orange flower water (optional)

1/4 teaspoon orange extract (optional)

1. Combine sugar, water, espresso powder, salt, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring so that sugar dissolves. Stir in cocoa powder.

2. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients.

3. Chill thoroughly before adding to ice cream machine.

Chocolate Orange Sorbet (version 2)

1 cup + 2 tablesppons water

1/3 cup dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 cup sugar

3 oz bittersweet chocolate (70%), chopped finely

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tsp orange zest

2 tablespoons triple sec

1/2 teaspoon orange flower water (optional)

1/4 teaspoon orange extract (optional)

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together water, cocoa powder, sugar, espresso powder, and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly.

2. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate, vanilla extract, and remaining ingredients.

Stir until chocolate is meted and combined.

3. Chill thoroughly. Process in ice cream machine.

sour cherry gelato

Sour cherries are hard to find, but I love the flavor. I made these regular cherries from the farmers market sour by adding citric acid and sour cherry syrup from the Super King. If you want, you can omit the citric acid and cherry syrup and make a regular cherry vanilla gelato. Cooking the cherries in syrup creates a candied fruit that doesn't become icy when added to the gelato. Almond is a natural pairing with cherries and enhances the cherry flavor, but feel free to leave it out.

Sour Cherry Gelato

For the cherries:

1 pint cherries

1 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup

3 tablespoons sour cherry syrup

1/2 tsp citric acid

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tablespoons cognac

1. Add cherries, sugar, water, corn syup, sour cherry syrup to a small pot and bring to a boil. Stirring frequently, allow cherry mixture to cook down until a thick syrup forms and is reduced by half. Add citric acid and lemon zest.

2. Remove cherries from syrup and reduce syrup again by half.

3. Remove syrup from stove and allow to cool. Chop cherries roughly and return to syrup. Adjust tartness and sweetness to taste by adding more citric acid or corn syrup. The texture should be something like a loose jam.

4. Chill thoroughly.

Vanilla Gelato:

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

5 large eggs

1/2 vanilla pod

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1. In a medium saucepan combine cream, 1 cup of milk, scrapings from vanilla pod, and 1 cup sugar. Warm over moderate heat, stirring until steaming.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and the other cup of milk. Slowly pour in the hot cream, whisking constantly, until combined. Return to saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 8 minutes.

3. Add almond extract. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve.

4. Chill thoroughly.

5. Add to ice cream machine and process. When mixture is finished processing, add cherry mixture, allowing it to swirl into the mixture. Do not overmix.

blueberry forest sorbet

I found this blueberry syrup at Super King Grocery store in Glendale. (They also have a great sour cherry, pomegranate, and mulberry syrup as well.) The flavors of the gin, blueberries, and herbs are reminiscent of the clean smell of a forest.

Blueberry Forest Sorbet

4 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup water

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons blueberry syrup

1/4 cup gin

10 juniper berries, crushed

sprig of rosemary

1 bay leaf

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp citric acid (optional)

1. Add sugar, water, blueberries, blueberry syrup, juniper berries, rosemary, and bay leaf to a pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove from heat and add gin, lemon zest, and citric acid.

3. Refrigerate mixture 4 hours, to overnight.

4. Remove, rosemary, juniper, and bay leaf. Place mixture in a blender and process until smooth.

5. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing on solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard solids.

6. Process in ice cream maker.

ORANGE FLOWER WATER

I love the floral aspect a little orange flower water imparts to certain recipes. I add it along with any citrus, as well as mango, pineapple, peaches, nectarines, etc... It's also a great secret ingredient to fruit salad. It just makes the fruit...fruitier.

A little goes a long way, usually less than a teaspoon. Otherwise it can be really overpowering.

key lime sherbet

I've become obsessed with sherbets!
The milky fruity combination is perfect for summer.
This is a recipe from Cooks Illustrated, and I think its a pretty good base for most sherbets.
The first batch I made actually came out too tart and overpowered the creaminess - so resist the urge to add extra zest or lime juice.

Key Lime Sherbet

1 tablespoon lime zest
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cups key lime juice (fresh or don't bother!)
1 1/2 cups water
2 tsp triple sec
2/3 cup of heavy cream

1. Process the sugar, zest, and salt in a food processor until damp.
Slowly add the lime juice and water and triple sec and allow to process until the sugar is dissolved, about a minute.
Strain the mixture to remove zest and chill until very cold.
2. After the mixture is cold, whip the cream in a medium bowl until soft peaks form. Whisk the juice mixture in a slow, steady stream until incorporated with the cream.
3. Process in the ice cream maker.

mango sorbet

I've tried dozens of mango recipes before I hit on this one - which I think gives the perfect texture while keeping the true mango flavor. Try to get the smaller, Indian mangos (Alphonso or Kesar varieties) when they are in season around May. They make all the difference!

Mango Sorbet

3-4 mangos
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. vodka
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. citric acid to taste (optional)
1/2 tsp orange flower water

1. Purée all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, 1-2 minutes.

2. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve or chinois if you have one, pressing it through with the back of a spoon in order to extract as much purée as possible. Discard the fibrous solids.

3. Chill thoroughly and process in ice cream maker.

buttermilk sorbet

I love this sorbet. You would think that the buttermilk would make it rich and creamy, but actually it's slightly astringent and refreshing with a creamy lemony flavor - and low fat too. Maybe it's really a sherbet? Analise says it tastes like Pinkberry.

It makes a great palate cleanser and pairs really well with a fruit sorbet like strawberry or raspberry. Absolutely delicious served on top of a blackberry cobbler!

Buttermilk Sorbet

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cups buttermilk
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon corn syrup
Pinch of coarse salt
Zest of 1/4 lemon (about 1/2 teaspoon)

1. in a small saucepan combine sugar and water, bring to a boil: remove from heat.
Chill until cold.
2. In a large bowl whisk together buttermilk, lemon juice, corn syrup, and salt. Slowly add the chilled syrup, whisk to combine. Stir in lemon zest. Freeze in ice cream maker.