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.
Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 11:57 am
Looks like we are on the same page with Lavender–I’ll have to try this one soon (or, whenever I have made lavender sugar).
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