Cooking challenges are fun for me. This one was like The New York Times’ Saturday Crossword puzzle which is the hardest of the week (some may think it’s Sunday – that one is just bigger).

We were having friends for dinner and I needed a dessert that contained no gluten, no dairy, no eggs, no peanuts, no soy and no corn. That’s a lot of ingredients that I couldn’t use. Once I thought it through, I came up with sorbet. 

I was going to buy it but all of the brands that I could find at Wegmans all contained corn syrup. It turns out that Talenti’s fruit sorbets would have been fine but Wegmans no longer carries that brand. Why add corn syrup to sorbet and ice cream? It makes it easier to scoop. This wasn’t surprising to me as my go-to for homemade ice cream recipes are two cookbooks by Jeni Brinton Bauer the mastermind behind Jeni’s Ice Cream (available in scoop shops nationwide and in grocery stores). Jeni recommends light corn syrup in her recipes. I use Karo Light Corn Syrup which is made without high fructose corn syrup. It’s the high fructose version of corn syrup you want to stay away from.

Now that I had sorbet on my mind I went looking for a chocolate sorbet recipe that met my requirements and I found a winner. Thank you to David Lebovitz for sharing your recipe for the most amazing dairy and egg-free frozen confection. 

It’s just a few ingredients – cocoa powder, dark chocolate, sugar, water, salt, vanilla and a liquor of your choosing. I learned that adding one to two tablespoons of liquor helps make it easier to scoop (no need for corn syrup!). I used one tablespoon of Grand Marnier (a gluten-free liqueur) which worked as intended. I might add second tablespoon the next time so I can actually taste it. You could also use bourbon, rum or vodka.

This sorbet does take some time to prepare. First you make and chill the base, then mix it in an ice cream maker and finally freeze it so it hardens. I recommend making the base and chilling it the day before. The following morning mix it in an ice cream maker and freeze it. It will be set by dinner time. If you only do steps one and two (make and chill the base) you have a lovely dairy-free pudding which tastes wonderful but turning it into sorbet makes it even better. 

I love salt with chocolate so I sprinkled some finely chopped salted pistachios on top. Any kind of salted nut would work. I also think that salted smoked almonds would be a great addition but since I only needed a few I didn’t want to purchase an entire bag that I would then be tempted to eat.

Ed loved this so much he asked if I could make it all the time. I’d say this is a ‘where have you been all my life’ type of recipe.

Chocolate Sorbet

 

Chocolate Sorbet
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Recipe type: Dessert
Author:
Serves: 6 (~ 1 quart)
Ingredients
  • 2-1/4 cups water (divided)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (see Notes)
  • ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (see Notes)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquor such as Grand Marnier, bourbon, rum, vodka (see Notes)
  • For garnish: 2 tablespoons chopped salted nuts such as pistachios, almonds or pecans or a few sprinkles of flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
Instructions
Prep
  1. In a large saucepan (4 quarts or more) over high heat, whisk 1-1/2 cups water, sugar, cocoa powder and salt.
  2. Bring to a boil whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk for 45 seconds.
  3. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until it's melted.
  4. Stir in vanilla extract, liquor and remaining ¾ cup water.
  5. Transfer mixture to a blender or Vitabmix and blend for 15 seconds or until smooth on high. Do not skip this step as the sorbet may turn out grainy.
Chill
  1. Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Pour mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath.
  2. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
  3. Or if you are not finishing the ice cream on the same day you can chill the mixture in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Freeze
  1. Pour mixture into the frozen canister of your ice cream maker. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into the canister, whisk it vigorously to thin it out. Spin until thick and creamy.
  2. The sorbet is finished at the exact moment when the machine isn’t freezing the sorbet anymore; sorbet will begin to pull away from the side (about 20 to 25 minutes).
  3. Pack sorbet into a freezer-safe storage container, press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid.
  4. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 6 hours and up to a few weeks.
Notes
* This recipe is free of gluten, diary, eggs, peanuts, soy and corn.
* You can use natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder. Dutch-process produces an even more intense chocolate flavor. I used natural and was very pleased with how chocolatey it was.
* I used Guittard Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Bars (70%). If you want to ensure this recipe is dairy-free, check the ingredients on the chocolate bars you use. Cocoa butter is naturally gluten-free (it’s not made with butter).
* Adding a bit of liquor makes it easier to scoop. Use 1 tablespoon if you don’t want the added flavor and 2 tablespoons if you do. You can leave it out entirely if you prefer not to include any liquor.
* Want a bit of orange with your chocolate? Use 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier) and 1 teaspoon orange extract in place of the vanilla extract. The flavor is subtle but lovely.
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Source:  Adapted from David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, Revised and Updated: 200 Recipes for Ice Creams, Sorbets, Gelatos, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments (2018)