Wednesday, February 09, 2011

January 30 - February 5, 2011: Cherry sorbet

Though three years have passed, I didn't forget Lucy's comment about David Lebovitz's cherry sorbet.  And finally I've made it happen this summer.  It's one of David's less fussy recipes (a feature I'm sure appealed to Lucy); the ingredients are just cooked down for a quarter hour, pureed in a blender than cooled and churned.

I skipped the almond extract/kirsch element of the original recipe, since I hate one and lack the other.  And I added my staple icecream-making step of straining the mixture for guaranteed smoothness.  Regardless, I imagine that my sorbet shared the same key element as David and Lucy's batches - a pure, intense cherry flavour.

Since the cherries I used were dark, over-ripe and very sweet the taste here was admittedly a little flat.  I bet other cherry (and berry) varieties would show more moxie.  A bit more lemon juice or some liquor would no doubt do the trick too.  It's certainly a base worth tinkering with - not too fiddly, it churns to a beautiful light texture, and allows plenty of space for the feature fruit to shine.



Cherry sorbet
(adapted slightly from a recipe in David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop)

~500g cherries
1/2 cup water
scant 1/2 cup castor sugar
squeeze of lemon juice

Remove the stems and pits from the cherries; you can be messy about it since they'll be pureed eventually. Place all of the ingredients in a small-medium saucepan over moderate heat. Stir them occasionally as they cook for 10-15 minutes and take them off the heat when the cherries are soft all the way through.

Bring the mixture to room temperature, then puree it in a blender or food processor. Strain the mixture then chill it thoroughly in the fridge.

Churn the mixture in an icecream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

6 comments:

  1. Dear Cindy, I would like to eat this. Please have another icecream party so I can put this in my mouth. ♥ Stephanie

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  2. Yay! You made it!

    Well, I had High Hopes for a batch with my own cherries...then the floods...then the trees semi-drowned and all the fruit dropped off.

    Next year...and I reckon some lemon in there - maybe even some lime? - would be grand. X

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  3. yum - isn't it amazing how many recipes seem to lurk at the back of your mind just waiting for the right moment!

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  4. I'm hoping to pick up my first ever ice cream maker in a week or so... think this should be my first recipe?

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  5. Steph - if/when I make this again, I'll be sure to save a scoop for you.

    Hi May-Z! Glad you like what you see. :-)

    Oh, Lucy - how disappointing. I reckon lemon or lime would perk it right up... I'm even thinking devilishly of Cointreau.

    Yes, Johanna - I usually rely on my delicious bookmarks but some manage to lodge themselves in my brain as well!

    Anna, I hope you have heaps of fun with it! This is definitely good for summer and not too fiddly.

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