French Classics Made Easy (62 page)

In most cases I use a very heavy sugar syrup to ensure a smooth sorbet (see Note), but I add it to taste, according to the fruit being used. This recipe, which is constructed loosely in order to give you freedom, will make as much or as little sorbet as you want or as the size of the fruit dictates. The fruit quantities given in the flavor variations that follow will produce about 1 quart of sorbet.

SERVES 8 TO 10

Fruit (see Variations)

Heavy Sugar Syrup (
page 359
)

Lemon juice (optional)

1.
Purée the fruit using a food processor or blender.

2.
Strain only when necessary to remove large seeds or fibrous content, for example for raspberries, pineapple, or citrus juices.

3.
Sweeten to taste with the heavy sugar syrup. If you add too much sugar, adjust the sweetness with lemon juice. Keep in mind that the purée will taste a little less sweet when frozen.

4.
Freeze following the directions for your ice cream machine. If you do not have a machine, you can use a food processor (see “Making Ice Cream the New Old-Fashioned Way,”
page 292
).

5.
Store sorbets in covered plastic containers in the freezer for up to a month. If the sorbet becomes too hard or icy, let it melt and refreeze in your ice-cream machine.

NOTE

The amount of sugar added to the purée plays a large role in the consistency of the finished sorbet. If too little sugar is added, the sorbet will be hard and icy; if too much is added, it will not freeze. In classic French cooking, the sugar required to achieve the proper consistency is added without regard for the natural sweetness of the fruit, often resulting in an overly sweet purée. When this happens, lemon juice is added to adjust the sweetness.

VARIATIONS

R
ASPBERRY
S
ORBET

[SORBET AUX FRAMBOISES]

I make raspberry sorbet more often than any other kind. It is excellent when served with other sorbets, with vanilla or coffee ice cream, and with fresh fruit. For about 1 quart, use 2 pints fresh raspberries or 2 packages (10 ounces each) unsweetened frozen.

B
LUEBERRY
S
ORBET

[SORBET AUX MYRTILLES]

I like the taste of both fresh and cooked blueberries (the flavor of blueberry pie). For cooked blueberry sorbet, after puréeing and sweetening the fruit, bring it to a boil, then chill before freezing. I often add a tablespoon or two of crème de cassis (black currant liqueur), which creates an unusual flavor. For about 1 quart, use 2 pints of fresh blueberries or 2 packages (10 to 12 ounces each) unsweetened frozen.

S
TRAWBERRY
S
ORBET

[SORBET AUX FRAISES]

Use dark red, full-flavored berries. For about 1 quart, use 2 pints of fresh strawberries or 2 packages (10 ounces each) unsweetened frozen.

P
INEAPPLE
S
ORBET

[SORBET À L’ANANAS]

Pineapple makes an excellent sorbet when the fruit is ripe and full of flavor. Choose a pineapple that has a sweet, ripe smell to it. This sorbet is excellent served with fresh raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, or mango, or with sorbets made from these fruits. To surprise your guests, hollow out a pineapple and fill it with sorbet. For about 1 quart, use a medium pineapple, peeled, cored, and cubed.

P
EAR
S
ORBET

[SORBET AUX POIRES]

Use ripe, juicy Comice pears when in season. Purée with a little lemon juice and sugar syrup to retard discoloration. For about 1 quart, use 4 pears.

L
EMON OR
L
IME
S
ORBET

[SORBET AU CITRON OU AU CITRON VERT]

Both juices create extremely refreshing sorbets. Strain the pulp and dilute the juice with an equal amount of water before sweetening. You can increase the flavor of all citrus sorbets by adding the grated zest of the fruit; you can leave the zest in or strain just before freezing. Lemon and raspberry sorbet served together are a wonderful combination. For about 1 quart, use 4 cups of diluted and sweetened juice.

G
RAPEFRUIT
S
ORBET

[SORBET AU PAMPLEMOUSSE]

This sorbet is extremely easy to make with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, which is available at most supermarkets. Try it flavored with a little white vermouth or Campari. If you squeeze your own grapefruits for this, you can add the grated zest for a more pronounced flavor; leave the zest in or strain just before freezing. Although I do not serve sorbets between courses as a palate refresher, grapefruit sorbet would work well for this purpose. For about 1 quart, use 4 cups of sweetened juice.

M
ELON
S
ORBET

[SORBET AU MELON]

Melon sorbet is good only when melons are truly at their perfection, otherwise it is not worth making. For about 1 quart, use 1 cantaloupe (or similar quantity of another melon).

M
ANGO
S
ORBET

[SORBET À LA MANGUE]

When ripe and full of flavor, mangoes make a marvelous sorbet. This purée requires very little sugar, and its flavor is improved with a touch of lime juice. For about 1 quart, use 4 ripe mangoes.

T
ROPICAL
F
RUIT
S
ORBET WITH
R
UM

[SORBET TROPICAL]

For about 1 quart, use 3 bananas, 3 cups orange juice, and 6 tablespoons dark rum. Add sugar syrup (
page 359
), if needed, or adjust sweetness with either lemon or lime juice.

S
ERVING
S
ORBETS

I find sorbets so easy to make, especially as quantities don’t really matter and sugar is added to taste, that I make sorbets whenever fruit looks particularly good or is in season. I often have a whole range of flavors in my freezer to choose from and will serve several together.

If you have a variety of flavors, use a small scoop (1½ inches in diameter) and fill a wine glass with the different flavors. If you’re planning this in advance, take the colors of the sorbets into consideration to help make an attractive arrangement.

To serve a single flavor of sorbet, use a large ice-cream scoop and, if desired, surround the sorbet with fresh fruit.

Even better for sorbets is an oval scoop that will produce “eggs” of sorbet 1¾ to 2 inches long. You can also shape these restaurant-style servings of sorbet by using two large dessert spoons to scoop and mold. Arrange the scoops on a cold dessert plate, with or without added fresh fruit. When using this scoop, I generally serve 3 scoops per person.

CHOCOLATE-ORANGE SORBET

[SORBET AU CHOCOLAT ET À L’ORANGE]

This recipe is for all those who want their chocolate without cream. I often flavor the sorbet with a little Coffee Essence (
page 358
) or Grand Marnier before freezing. I also make another wonderful variation by adding a cup of raspberry purée.

MAKES ABOUT 1 QUART

6 ounces (170g) unsweetened or semisweet chocolate

½ cup water

2 cups fresh orange juice, strained

Heavy Sugar Syrup (
page 359
)

1.
In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate in the water over medium heat. Bring to a boil and whisk into a smooth sauce. Remove from the heat and cool.

2.
Blend the chocolate sauce with the orange juice and sweeten to taste with heavy sugar syrup.

3.
Freeze, following the directions for your icecream machine. If you do not have a machine, you can use a food processor (see “Making Ice Cream the New Old-Fashioned Way,”
page 292
).

ICE CREAM

[LES GLACES]

French ice cream is simply frozen crème anglaise. This produces a rich ice cream, which many chefs make richer by using cream in place of the milk.

When making ice cream, I use one part heavy cream to three parts milk, and reduce both the number of egg yolks and the amount of sugar normally found in a crème anglaise.

Here is my basic ice-cream recipe, followed by the various flavors I make. Because the canisters of ice-cream makers can make anything from 1 cup to 2 quarts, the flavoring instructions are given per cup of ice-cream base. This way you can make as little or as much as you like of each flavor.

MAKES 5 CUPS BASE/ABOUT 1½ QUARTS ICE CREAM

3 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup minus 2 teaspoons (100g) sugar

6 egg yolks

1.
In a large saucepan, bring the milk, cream, and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes.

2.
Place the egg yolks in a bowl. Slowly beat in about 1 cup of the hot milk. Return the mixture to the saucepan and whisk rapidly over medium-high heat for several seconds. Do not boil. Remove the pan from the heat. The mixture should thicken sufficiently to coat a spoon. If the mixture is too thin, return the pan to the heat and whisk several more seconds. This procedure should take no more than 15 seconds.

3.
Strain into a large bowl and allow to cool. Refrigerate until cold.

4.
Freeze following the directions for your ice-cream machine, or use a food processor (see “Making Ice Cream the New Old-Fashioned Way,”
page 292
).

VARIATIONS

V
ANILLA
I
CE
C
REAM

[GLACE À LA VANILLE]

I often serve vanilla ice cream with a variety of fruit sorbets, and it is a perfect match for ripe cantaloupe. A few well-known French desserts use vanilla ice cream as a base:
Coupe Jacques
or
Royale
is simply diced fresh fruit with vanilla ice cream.
Poires
or
Pêches Belle Hélène
is poached pears (
poires
) or peaches (
pêches
) with vanilla ice cream that is topped with chocolate sauce. Peaches, pears, or strawberries with vanilla ice cream and a raspberry sauce are called
Cardinal
or
Melba.

To make vanilla ice cream, add 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract to each cup of base. (Or, flavor the base with a vanilla bean when you cook it. Add a vanilla bean to the milk when you bring it to a boil in step 1. Then remove the vanilla bean, split the pod, and scrape the seeds into the milk.)

C
HOCOLATE
I
CE
C
REAM

[GLACE AU CHOCOLAT]

Use 1½ ounces of your favorite semisweet chocolate for every cup of base. Although you can simply melt the chocolate in the base, the ice cream will be smoother if you make a chocolate sauce first. Use 1½ tablespoons water for every 1½ ounces of chocolate to make the sauce. Bring the chocolate and water to a boil. Stir until smooth and add to the ice-cream base.

C
HOCOLATE
I
CE
C
REAM WITH
T
OASTED
A
LMONDS

[GLACE AU CHOCOLAT ET AUX AMANDES GRILLÉES]

The lightly toasted and thinly sliced almonds give a wonderful flavor and delicate crunch to the Chocolate Ice Cream (above). For each cup of base used, add ¼ cup (25g) lightly toasted sliced almonds to the ice cream while it is still soft but nearly frozen.

M
OCHA
I
CE
C
REAM WITH
T
OASTED
P
ECANS

[GLACE MOKA AUX PACANES GRILLÉES]

This is one of my favorites. I flavor Chocolate Ice Cream (above) with 1 teaspoon Coffee Essence (
page 358
) or instant coffee granules per
cup of base. When the mixture is nearly frozen, I add ¼ cup (25g) chopped, toasted,
unsalted
pecans per cup of base used. The combination is truly delicious.

C
OFFEE
I
CE
C
REAM

[GLACE AU CAFÉ]

Use about 1 tablespoon Coffee Syrup (
page 358
) or 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules for each cup of base. By using decaffeinated espresso coffee beans for the coffee syrup, I can make a strongly flavored ice cream that won’t keep children and grandparents awake at night. Coffee ice cream is outstanding with Raspberry Sorbet (
page 288
) and with Chocolate Sauce (
page 344
).