I created this luscious – and pretty – sorbet when a local restaurant asked me to create a recipe for Champagne raspberry sorbet to serve with a fresh lobster salad. I excitedly took the order but then had a brief moment of befuddlement when it dawned on me that I didn’t own an ice cream maker. Quickly, though, I realized that with a little bit of MacGyvering, I didn’t need one.
I headed to my local Whole Foods to pick up some raspberries and a bottle of bubbly, and when I got back to my loft, I busted out my refractometer (stick with me). After making the sorbet mixture, I used my refractometer to measure the mixture’s sugar content, known as Brix. This is a very important step in sorbet making because in order for your sorbet to set nicely (neither rock hard nor soupy), your mixture needs to have a 30-31 Brix measurement.
If you don’t have a refractometer, don’t fret. You can always use an egg. Yes, an egg! How? Simply drop a clean, fresh egg (fat-side down) into your sorbet mixture and observe:
- If a nickel-size portion of the egg sits above the liquid, then the Brix measurement is correct.
- If the egg doesn’t show at all, you need to add more simple syrup.
- If the egg shows too much, then there is too much sugar and you’ll need to add more water or fruit.
- OR, you can just use my recipe below. 🙂
Champagne Raspberry Sorbet
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 12 ounces raspberries fresh
- 1 cup Champagne opened 30 minutes prior to using
- 1 lime
Directions
- Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Stir in honey and remove the simple syrup from heat.
- Add raspberries to the blender. Pour simple syrup over berries. Blend on high until puréed, about 30 seconds. Pour raspberry mixture through a strainer to remove the seeds; discard seeds. Stir in Champagne and lime juice (3-4 tablespoons).
- Pour sorbet mixture into a freezer-proof dish. Cover with the lid or foil and place in the freezer overnight to set.
- The next day, break up the sorbet mixture into small chunks with a paring knife. Blend the chunks in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Return sorbet to the freezer-proof dish and store in the freezer.