Raspberry Plum Sorbet Recipes

Steps:

• Slice the plums in half and remove the pits. Cut the plums into eighths and put them in a medium, nonreactive saucepan with the water. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and raspberries. Let cool, to room temperature.
• Once cool, purée the mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth. If you wish, press the purée through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Stir in the kirsch.
• Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Serve scoops of Plum-Raspberry Sorbet in Gingersnap Ice Cream Cones (page 230).
• Normally I'm a fan of leaving things as close to their natural state as possible. Yet in many of the frozen desserts with berries, I choose to strain out the seeds. Why? Much of the pleasure of eating ice creams, sorbets, and sherbets is in the smooth, creamy mouthfeel, and crunching on seeds, or getting them stuck between your teeth, can be somewhat unpleasant if there are a lot of them. Especially if you don't have a toothpick handy afterward. If you do wish to keep the seeds in your mixtures, by all means do so. Or compromise a bit by straining out half of the seeds and leaving the rest in.

Steps:

• Put the sugar and 270ml water in a saucepan over a low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat and simmer for 5 mins, or until the liquid has become a syrup. Set aside to cool.
• Put the raspberries and lemon juice in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard the seeds. Combine with the sugar syrup, then pour into freezer-proof container.
• Freeze for 1 hr 30 mins, then whisk with a balloon whisk or a fork to break up any ice crystals that have formed and return to the freezer.
• Keep mixing the sorbet once an hour for 4 hrs to break up the ice crystals. Stop mixing when firm but scoopable. Will keep in the freezer for up to a month. Serve with extra raspberries, if you like.

Steps:

• Bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Let syrup cool.
• Pulse raspberries and remaining 3/4 cup plus 4 teaspoons water in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve set in a deep bowl or a large glass measuring cup. Using a rubber spatula, gently press down on the mixture to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids.
• Transfer raspberry puree to a deep bowl or airtight container. Add syrup, and stir until well combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Pour mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturers' instructions. Transfer sorbet to a large airtight container, and freeze for at least 2 hours.