Lemon-Lavender Sorbet

Thursday, April 9, 2009 by Marianne 2 Comments

I love sorbet, especially lemon sorbet.  There’s something so bright and refreshing about it – it’s the perfect combination of tart, sweet and cold.  It’s also super-easy to prepare if you have an ice cream maker*.

This recipe was inspired by my brother Eddy**, but came right out of the instruction manual that came with my ice cream maker.  My only substitution/addition? 1 cup of lavender-infused sugar.  The sorbet is nothing more than a simple syrup…

Combined with lots of lemon juice and zest…

I juiced eight lemons – EIGHT! Good thing Market Basket sells them for 4/$1!

Then the lemon/syrup mixture is cooled and added to the machine…

And churned until it is the consistency of frozen lemonade…

Then it gets frozen overnight…

The next day you have a full quart of yummy sorbet, without any pesky additives and it only cost a whopping $2.50 (those pints of sorbet you buy in the grocery store often cost twice that).

Lavender-Lemon Sorbet
Recipe adapted from Cuisinart

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup lavender sugar (combine sugar with dried lavender in a jar, let it sit – the longer it sits, the stronger the lavender flavor)
• 2 cups water
• 1.5 cups freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of lemon zest

Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer without stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 to 5 minutes. Cool completely.

When cool, add the lemon juice and zest; stir to combine. Turn the machine on. Pour the lemon mixture into the freezer bowl, and mix until the mixture thickens, about 25 to 30 minutes. The sorbet will have a soft texture similar to frozen lemonade. Transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and place in freezer for at least 2 hours.

Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Gist and I had an impromptu dinner party on Tuesday, Emily and Jeremy both got to witness the madness that is me taking a million pictures of my food.  We had mac-n-cheese and roasted green beans to eat and this sorbet for dessert.  It was the perfect end to a rich meal – light, cool, refreshing, and tart!

* The ice cream maker has paid for itself in savings.  It’s worth it, especially if you live with an ice cream fiend, as I do.

** Eddy is a classically-trained, professional chef.  He makes his own sorbet all the time.  He told me how to do it but, as I am not a professional, I had to follow a recipe.