Strawberry Sorbet

I'm a foodie and it goes without saying that I like wandering... in search of food experiences.. always. But at the moment, I'm going-easy on the events and experiences because we're saving our foodie dollars for the Christmas period. It's going to be a particularly special Christmas because I'll be with my two younger sisters, the three of us together for the first time in years. My sisters now have 'new additions' ie. we'll be meeting their new babies, both sons, born within 2 weeks of each other (and my birthday happens to be in the middle)! The highlight of 2011 for me has to be these two very cute nephews, making me a first-time aunty (as opposed to an aunty via marriage). Lenny and Blake turn 8 months old this month and we get to meet them for the very first time over Christmas... I can't wait!

Before we navigate our way to the Christmas festivities we'll be spending three nights in Sydney's CBD. That's 3 Sydney meals a day, for three days.. hence the need to dine less now... so we can relax a bit and dine out later. I would have loved to have dined at Peter Gilmore's 'Quay'... and tried his famous guava snow egg (for example).. but the set-menu prices would have meant spending about $500 on the night.. just for the three of us to have dinner. It's something I may have considered (for the experience)... but the husband definitely wouldn't have.

So while I'm on the topic of desserts, like the snow egg.. how about a scoop of refreshing sorbet instead? It's warming-up here in Australia and I now have ice confections in my fridge. I originally planned on a savoury dish for this week's recipe (it's been cooked and photographed)..but instead I decided to revisit a recipe from two years ago.. which is more in keeping with our current, warm spring weather and the abundance of strawberries here at the moment. So this is a sorbet using fresh strawberries, fresh cream and balsamic vinegar.

Some may think "Ewwww, vinegar & strawberries?" - but if that sounds unpalatable to you -trust me there is no vinegar flavour in the finished product. The vinegar makes the strawberries taste more like strawberries as strange as it sounds. You get a more intense natural strawberry flavour. I must add that I'm actually not a 'strawberry flavour' fan. If given a choice of flavours for an icecream or milkshake I'll always pass on strawberrry because it doesn't really excite me. But I enjoy fresh strawberries and I love the fresh "strawberries and cream" flavour of this sorbet.

I was originally inspired to do this recipe when I purchased a huge tub of strawberries for less than half price & my oven at the time, was on the blink. This particular creamy sorbet also can't be compared to a standard 'strawberry flavour' you'd buy at an icecream parlour or like anything you'd find in a supermarket (bottled or boxed). It sings "fresh, fresh, fresh strawberries" & won my teen over who won't eat fresh strawberries and hated the idea of vinegar in a dessert.

It has no eggs (unlike most icecream recipes), doesn't require making a custard first and you don't need an icecream maker! I've added a bonus crepe recipe too incase you want to make the crepe's that appear in the photographs.
I put the litre of milk beside the strawberries so you could see the size of the punnet. I don't normally buy full cream milk.. but it was purchased for a recipe.

Strawberry Sorbet
-600-650gm hulled/chopped fresh strawberries
-100gm strawberries sliced (to add during the freezing process)
-450ml thickened cream
-50ml balsamic vinegar
-3/4 cup caster sugar
-50ml water
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-Mash or process hulled, washed & dried strawberries in a bowl & stir in balsamic vinegar (using balsamic glaze is fine btw).
-Make a quick sugar syrup from water & sugar in a saucepan, on low heat. Simmer gently for 5min's after it has come to a gentle boil - remove from heat.
-Mix together strawberries & sugar syrup and put through a strainer. I used a tablespoon to do this (see photo's).. you'll be left with some pulp that isn't used in the recipe and it might take about 10min's or so.
-Add cream, mix well.
-At this stage you can put the mixture into an icecream maker OR, like I did, put mixture in a plastic container (with a lid).
-All freezers are different of course, but freeze for approx 3 hours -you want the mixture to be half frozen.
-When the mixture appears to be frozen around the edges, yet thick and sloppy in the middle, it's ready to take out and mix with an electric mixer.
-Cover and freeze again until almost frozen, give a 2nd whisk and add 100grams of sliced, hulled strawberries. Mix again & 'smooth' the top over with the back of a spoon.
-Put back in freezer until frozen.
-Before serving, put container in fridge (to allow mix to soften slightly and make it easier to scoop out).

Crepe's
-2 tablespoons butter
-100g plain flour
-1 pinch salt
-1 large egg
-1 large egg yolk
-1.5 cups milk
-Ricebran oil to fry crepes (or any vegetable oil)
-maple syrup to serve
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-Melt butter, set aside.
-In a large bowl, sift flour, add egg and egg yolk.
-Add pinch salt & milk, mix together well and add melted butter last while continuing to stir.
-Once batter is smooth, set aside for half an hour before using.
-Cook crepe's in batches in a little oil or oil mixed with a knob of butter
-Pour/drizzle maple syrup over cooked crepes just before serving.
My girl dries the washed strawberries, transferring them from one bowl to another.
Sink mess.
Ready to mash/process.
Mixture after syrup has been mixed with mashed strawberries, ready to puree through a sieve.
Getting down to 'just pulp'.. almost done.
Mixed with cream.. in the plastic container, ready for the freezer.



Freezing/mixing process...
Sorbet finished.

Making lovely crepes.. Mmm mmmm!

Folded twice into quarters...
Two crepes 'fanned' and plated with sorbet..


This was how my girl started her first 'taste'.. with the sorbet separate. Eventually the two were mixed together and maple syrup was added.

This is Lenny, my youngest nephew who will be travelling from Brisbane to Sydney to meet us at Christmas.