Straight from the Farm

Cranberry Champagne Sorbet

February 14, 2009 at 12:14 am Jennie 9 comments

Happy Valentine’s Day, my dear readers!  This is my love letter to you…a bright pink scoop of Cranberry Champagne Sorbet.  This is a truly over-the-top and colorful dessert that is made with couples in mind, but it certainly could be shared among friends too.  Perhaps it’s not the best option for the kiddies though.

Thanks to the alcohol in the champagne, the consistency of this frozen treat is silky smooth and not the least bit crystallized like many sorbets.  But don’t worry; while you may get intoxicated by the fun of sharing spoonfuls with your sweetie, there’s not enough alcohol left in the mix after cooking to do any real harm.  Do make sure to use a high quality champagne though as the flavor of the bubbly is rather prominent in the final dish.  If you don’t like the taste of the champagne before it goes into the sorbet, you won’t like afterwards either. 

Now I realize some of you might not be as huge a fan of cranberries as I am.  If that’s the case, you will want to be very generous with the sugar.  Or you can try using strawberries instead if they are in season around you or you have some frozen from last year’s crop.  I don’t recommend buying out-of-season berries as they are usual white and tasteless, really rather disappointing in the end.   I personally adore the tart zing of this particular cranberry combination with a hint of cinnamon.   It really gets my engines revving, if you know what I mean!  

It’s even more fun when a small rounded scoop is gently dropped into a glass of champagne and slowly sipped as the bubbles work their way into the frozen sphere.  Really, it’s all rather very sexy.

Love,
Jennie

Recipe after the jump

Cranberry Champagne Sorbet
Loosely adapted from Simply Recipes

1 ½ C. champagne or sparkling wine
2 C. white granulated sugar*
1 T. light corn syrup
3 C. fresh or frozen cranberries
1 t. of lemon and or grapefruit zest
1 whole cinnamon stick

* If you are not overly fond of tart flavors, you may want to increase the sugar by a quarter cup. 

Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan. Bring to a vigorous boil so that the sugar completely dissolves and the cranberries burst. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Remove the cinnamon stick. 

Using a food processor or blender, carefully blend the mixture for 30 seconds.  Using a fine mesh strainer, press the mixture through into a chilled stainless steel bowl.  Chill completely in the fridge (will take several hours so you may wish to make the mixture the day before). 

Process the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacture’s directions. Transfer mixture to a storage container and freeze in your freezer until firm, at least 6 hours.  If it’s not hardening up at this point, turn your freezer onto the coldest setting and it should quickly set.

(makes about 1 quart)

Entry filed under: Recipes, Sweet Treats. Tags: cooking, cranberries, dessert, food, recipe, sorbet, valentine's day.