In honor of an upcoming visit from Jeni Britton Bauer (frozen dessert genius), we provide this snippet from her new book. Hello, summer desserts...we sure do love you.
Raspberry sorbet is easy to find, and many cookbooks have recipes for it. I include it in Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts for two reasons. First, raspberries are an example of a perfect fruit, like really great peaches (harder to find than raspberries), black currents, and ripe apricots. Sometimes you just want to respect that and leave well enough alone. Will tarragon or spices or mix-ins make the sorbet better? No. They may make it interesting, but nothing can make fresh raspberries more delightful.
There is no water in this recipe, which is exactly how we make it at Jeni’s — undiluted. The vodka makes it slightly less sweet because it allows us to reduce the sugar. It’s the best raspberry sorbet I’ve ever tasted.
Red Raspberry Sorbet
Makes about 1 quart
5 pints raspberries
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup vodka
Prep: Puree the raspberries in a food processor until smooth. Press through a sieve to remove the seeds.
Cook: Combine the raspberry puree, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat, transfer to a medium bowl, and let cool.
Chill: Place the sorbet base in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours.
Freeze: Remove the sorbet base from the refrigerator and add the vodka. Remove the frozen canister from the freezer, assemble your ice cream machine, and turn it on. Pour the sorbet base into the canister and spin just until it is the consistency of very softly whipped cream.
Pack the sorbet into a storage container. Press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.
Excerpted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Desserts by Jeni Britton Bauer (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014. Photographs by Kelsey McClellan.
Bauer will be coming to Cooks of Crocus Hill on July 19th to do a book signing and dessert demonstration. Sign up at this link, and then prepare yourself for the wonder of Jennifer Juniper Parfait.
