Blueberry Ginger Sorbet

After two months of May Gray and June Gloom, summer has finally arrived in Southern California. I spent most of a few weekends ago in the pool eating popsicles. It was the only way I could cool down. I made this sorbet a month ago and wanted to make it again, but didn't feel like lugging my ice cream maker to my friend's house where I was house-sitting. I'm sort of obsessed with blueberries. I always forget about them until they are in season and then I end up buying them every week. Sometimes I snack on them. Other times, I use them in fabulous recipes to share with friends. This sorbet came to me as I was snacking on some blueberries at work. I was struck by the gingery notes in the berries and thought the combination sounded intriguing. I need to play around with this recipe a bit more to make the ginger a more pronounced flavor, but it is definitely there in this version and makes a perfect light summer dessert.


Blueberry Ginger Sorbet
(By Esi)

1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 2-inch piece of ginger, unpeeled
3 cups frozen blueberries
Juice from 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons vodka

In a large saucepan, stir the water, sugar, and ginger over medium-low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 20 minutes until cooled and the ginger has infused the simple syrup. Remove the ginger from the pan.

Stir in the blueberries, lemon juice, and vodka. You can either transfer this mixture to a blender or use an immersion blender to mix until everything is blended. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Transfer the sorbet to a container and freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.

Printable Recipe

Cantaloupe Sorbet

Well it seems summer is in full swing and there is no better place highlighting the tastes of summer than the farmers market. I have definitely had my fill of berries and cherries and even a few peaches, but I was super excited to pick up a cantaloupe this week. I can seriously eat a whole cantaloupe in one sitting by myself. Rather than showcase that particular talent on the site, I thought it would be fun to find an interesting recipe for it. We are definitely out of the June Gloom stage and temps are heating up! While it is still not as hot as it could be, I am definitely feeling sweatier these days. This sorbet is easy and take just a few minutes to whip together (minus freezing time). I loved this sorbet! It is just like eating frozen cantaloupe. I think next time I am going to reverse the amounts of vodka and lemon juice. You don't taste the vodka at all, it is purely for texture so if you don't drink, feel free to leave it out. I would have liked a bit more lemon to add a tart contrast to the sweet cantaloupe. The mint adds another degree of refreshing.



Happiest of happy birthdays to my dear friend Tony aka writer of the most knowledgeable site about music. Do me a favor and head over to his site and wish him a happy birthday!

Cantaloupe Sorbet
(As found on Chaos In the Kitchen)

1 pound cantaloupe, cut into large chunks
100 grams (3.5 ounces or about 1/2 cup) sugar
2 soup spoons vodka
1 soup spoon fresh lemon juice
Mint leaves, cut in a chiffonade

Blitz the cantaloupe in the bowl of a food processor until it becomes a puree. In a large bowl, whisk together the puree, sugar, vodka, and lemon juice. Process in the ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Serve, topped with the mint.

Printable Recipe

Yogurt Sorbet

Are you all having a lovely long weekend? Any Valentine's surprises? Well, as I mentioned on Saturday, I didn't have a Valentine so instead I went out and got MYSELF a little present (I also bought myself a lovely bouquet of flowers). I have been wanting an ice cream machine for a while so Tony and I went to The Grove at the butt crack of dawn (well, early for a Saturday) so I could get one. If you have known me for a while, you know that I am totally in love with Pinkberry. I used to get a manicure every week and the WeHo Pinkberry store was conveniently placed across the street from the salon. Let me tell you, a manicure and Pinkberry is an excellent way to start your weekend. Now that my budget has shrunk, I have to do my own manicures and weekly Pinkberry trips are out of the question. I was so excited when I found this recipe because it meant I could have the swirly goodness on my own and without any of the questionable ingredients that Pinkberry actually admitted to using. Anyway, one of the best things about this recipe are that it only has three ingredients. I topped mine with a few pom seeds that I have been saving for a rainy day (in my freezer). Pom seeds and this type of frozen yogurt are a match made in heaven I tell you. This was sooo good and the amount it makes is a way better deal than popping into a Pinkberry store to get a large container of the stuff. As you can tell from the picture, it melts quickly, but if you are not photographing this like I did, it probably won't last that long anyway. By the way, I must have been blind when I was reading the recipe. I just realized it calls for 3 cups of yogurt and I only used 1. Oh well, it was still amazing.


Yogurt Sorbet
( Adapted from Patricia Wells)

3 large egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt

With a hand-held mixer, beat the egg whites in a medium bowl, until frothy. While still beating, slowly add the sugar and beat on high speed until the egg whites are stiff and shiny, about 4 minutes. (This can also be done in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment)

In another bowl, whisk the yogurt until smooth. Fold in the egg whites. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Freeze in a quart container until ready to serve.

January Daring Bakers: Tuiles (With Meyer Lemon-Rosemary Sorbet)

Even the Daring Bakers had light on the brain this month. This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. They also chose a savory Tuiles recipe from Thomas Keller.

Can I just say how happy I was to see this challenge? After the cream, sugar and egg ball that was last month's challenge I was really nervous about what I would be faced with this month. The other part of the challenge was to create something light to go with the cookies. A lot of DBers did a mousse, but I wasn't in the mood for more eggs. The farmers market has been flooded with all kinds of citrus and I found a recipe for a lemon-rosemary sorbet. I switched it up by using Meyer lemons which were really delicious. Having a light cookie like this makes me feel better about the insane dinner I am going to have tonight. More on that another day, but to you LA'ers do the words Comme Ca mean anything to you??


The tuile recipe is pretty straightforward. I didn't have any hard plastic laying around that I could cut stencil with so I used a manila folder which worked just fine. I cut out a little hearts to be cute. I also did some free form cookies in the shape of a circle and then made them into cute little cups. I baked 3 cookies at a time and kept them warm by laying the baking pan on the door of the oven. I alternated between three parchment lined baking sheets and kept the sheets I wasn't using in the fridge. Shaping them was really easy for me. I think the key is to spread the batter as thinly as possible and to work quickly once they come out of the oven.

This was a fun and pretty easy challenge and I am happy it didn't take three days to do! Visit the blogroll to see what the other Daring Bakers came up with. There are lots of really creative recipes and many people did savory tuiles so check it out!

Tuiles

Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 2 1/4 ounces sifted all purpose flour
Butter or spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed), cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter or spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the butterfly. Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes.

Bake cookies in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from baking sheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. Or: place a baking sheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don’t want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones…

Meyer Lemon-Rosemary Sorbet
(Adapted from Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook: More Than 1,000 Recipes * 1,800 Photographs * 500 Techniques)

1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh Meyer lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
Rosemary sprigs and Meyer lemon slices for garnish

In a medium saucepan, heat sugar, corn syrup, and 2 cups of water to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in chopped rosemary. Cover pan and let stand about 20 minutes.

Pour mixture through a sieve set over a medium bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Pour the lemon mixture into a 9x9 metal baking pan (8x8 works fine too); cover with plastic wrap or foil. Freeze, stirring occasionally, about 3 hours until partially frozen.

In a food processor with knife blade attached, blend the lemon mixture until smooth, but still frozen. Return mixture to the baking pan. Cover and freeze for at least 3 hours, or until firm.

To serve, let sorbet stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to soften slightly for easier scooping; garnish with lemon slices and rosemary sprigs.