An incredibly rich concoction, almost like eating frozen fudge.
Chocolate Sorbet
This recipe was inspired by the chocolate sorbet by Double Rainbow ice cream, a San Francisco company. It uses both chopped chocolate and cocoa powder, a combination that reminds me of the fantastic hot chocolate recipe from Pierre Hermé in Jeffrey Steingarten’s It Must’ve Been Something I Ate . The result is an incredibly rich concoction–almost like eating frozen fudge.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- A pinch of salt
- 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (the bittersweet Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe’s is fine)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, or 1/2 a vanilla bean. If using a vanilla beam split and scrape out the seeds with a knife.
Directions
- In a four-quart saucepan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.
- Bring to a boil, whisking frequently.
- Let it boil, whisking constantly, for 45 seconds. If it begins to boil over, remove quickly from heat until the foaming subsides.
- Remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate.
- Let sit a few minutes and then stir to combine.
- Add the remaining water and vanilla extract (or vanilla bean) and pour into a blender.
- Blend for 45 seconds and pour mixture into a bowl.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
- Freeze in an ice cream machine following the manufacturer’s directions.
- If it’s too soft when finished freezing, it can help to put the sorbet in an air tight container and freeze for a few hours to firm the mixture.