Chocolate Sorbet That Makes Me Melt
For a couple years, I’ve been trying to create the perfect chocolate sorbet: an intensely flavored mixture of low-fat cocoa and water that tastes as decadent as premium ice cream. I reverse-engineered my favorite sorbet from Ciao Bella, but it melted faster than you can say “Frosty the Snowman.” Since I didn’t have the patience to tinker it, I tried other recipes that were too icy, too grainy, and too caramely.
I was about to accept defeat until Alice Medrich, author of Pure Dessert
The secret to this recipe was a new spin on kitchen wisdom. Oftentimes, hot water is combined with cocoa to coax out the flavors. I failed in my previous sorbet attempts because I boiled the mixture, thinking more heat equaled more flavor. According to Alice, too much heat destroys the flavor of cocoa. You want the mixture to be hot but not cooked to death.
This tip applies to other recipes, like hot cocoa. Whenever I made hot cocoa in the past, I’d microwave the whole thing–soy milk, cocoa, and sugar–in one mug. What’s with those instructions that say, “Pour boiling water over cocoa?” Why would I want to get another pot or cup dirty? For the best chocolate flavor, you really do need two containers. Heat your milk, all alone, in one vessel. Add just enough liquid to the cocoa mixture to make a paste, and then add the rest. Some of you might want to save a cup by dumping the cocoa on top of the milk, but don’t. It will clump.
Chocolate Sorbet
Paraphrased from Pure Dessert
1 cup (3.25 oz) cocoa
Scant 1 cup sugar
2 tiny pinches salt
2 cups boiling water
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp rum or vodka (optional)
Combine cocoa, sugar, salt in saucepan and whisk in 1/2 cup boiling water to make a thick paste. Add the remaining water. Stir over medium heat just until tiny bubbles form at the edges of the pan. Don’t cook any longer, as the heat can damage the flavor of the cocoa.
Take the mixture off the heat and add the vanilla. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. Add the rum or vodka, if using. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Harden the sorbet in the freezer for at least 3 to 4 hours.
Note: The flavor is so rich that you can substitute half of the water with milk.
jen of a2eatwrite said,
Oh, I can see I’m going to be very, very grateful to you a second time! Mark Bittman has a good recipe in his “How to Cook Everything” but it wasn’t very creamy.
We’ve been making the frozen yogurt recipe frequently. Yesterday we celebrated Father’s Day a week early, and my dh wanted the frozen yogurt recipe with chopped candied ginger and chopped bittersweet chocolate mixed in. It was really good!
June 9, 2008 at 8:51 am
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Thanks Jen! You really should thank David Lebovitz for the froyo recipe. Your mix-ins sound delicious. For what it’s worth, Mark Bittman’s recipes haven’t worked for me either. He had a fast roast chicken recipe that was supposed to be done in half an hour. My chicken was still pink then!
June 9, 2008 at 11:27 pm
DessertObsessed said,
your sorbet looks amazing! creamy but fat free?! i definitely have to try this recipe!
June 10, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Lisa (Homesick Texan) said,
I’m going to make this for a lactose-intolerant friend. Can I use bourbon instead of rum or vodka?
June 10, 2008 at 4:58 pm
niko said,
Have we talked about this before? Ciao Bella is the absolute best sorbet - their inky black cocoa flavor… I might have to get some this week after reading your post. I also really like their choc gelato too - both are really best in class…
Anyway, I have always looked for the same holy grail of dark choc flavor but without all the sat fat… very cool and useful post! BTW, the warm vs boiling thing is definitely true. This weekend I got a frozen hot choc at Jacques Torres and they used some kind of cold sludge that was different than syrup and it had the most intense dark chco flavor… best $4.50 ever spent vs Starbucks or Jamba…
June 11, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Sharona May said,
That looks wonderful. My husband has made ice cream a few times in our ice cream maker and man it is good.
Thanks,
Sharona May
June 18, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Amber said,
I made this over the weekend, and it was a huge hit! My husband is lactose intolerant, and really misses ice cream. I used 1/2 water, and 1/2 2% lactose-free milk. It worked great - was smooth, creamy and delicious! Only downside - it took longer than 4 hours to harden - wasn’t truly ready till it had been in the freezer overnight. Nevertheless - the guests were literally licking their bowls. This will go into permanent rotation!
June 18, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Lisa, sure you can use bourbon. Although rum probably gives it the Ciao Bella taste.
Niko, I forgot whether we talked about Ciao Bella’s chocolate sorbet, but I agree that it’s the best! Inky is the perfect way to describe it. Ironically, I’m not a big fan of their gelato. It’s good as ice cream, but not as intense as Grom or Il Lab. Speaking of ice cream, my favorite is at Blue Marble, the new place in Brooklyn. They have the BEST strawberry ice cream. It tastes fresh and tart. Even better than the chocolate.
Amber, glad it worked out for you. Although it takes a long time to harden, it just means that it stays scoopable when it’s been in the freezer for a couple days. A small price to pay.
June 18, 2008 at 8:05 pm
AppetiteforChina said,
Your photo shows off the texture of the ice cream really well!
June 19, 2008 at 10:09 am
Nick said,
Wow, I’ve been eating fudgsicles all week and I could have been eating this? I’m gonna go make this and freeze them in little icepop trays! Homemade fudgsicles!
June 28, 2008 at 8:41 am
keith said,
Very good dessert! I substituted the rum or vodka with bourbon. Came out very nicley.
July 27, 2008 at 7:01 pm
jen rau said,
i like my desserts full of fat but if this really tastes like a melted chocolate bar i’ll try it!
July 28, 2008 at 10:17 am
rachel said,
hi, this sounds incredible! no milk or cream or eggs! do you think it would work if i used equal/splenda/sweet n low or some other kind of artificial sweetener instead of the sugar?
if so i can see myself making this daily!
July 31, 2008 at 9:33 am
Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said,
Rachel, I don’t think it would work with an artificial sweetener, since it could mess with the texture. I don’t think it would taste as good either.
July 31, 2008 at 9:35 pm