a whisk and a spoon

Tuesdays with Dorie: Creamy Dark Chocolate Sorbet

Yes–my week to pick again for TWD!!  I am crazy-excited!  My first turn came way back in March of ’08, when I chose Caramel-Topped Flan.  I think a lot of folks skipped that week.  Turns out flan is a love-it-or-hate-it thing (I’m a lover, btw).  We’ve made sooo many good things in the three+ years since then, and I’ve only missed out on a handful of them.  There are still a lot of good things left, which made my choice this month a hard one, but I hoped Dorie’s Creamy Dark Chocolate Sorbet would be a hit with most everyone (sorry, Kayte!!).

This sorbet really is creamy and intensely chocolaty.  It’s also super-melty.  Like, don’t blink or you’ll have a chocolate puddle where your sorbet once stood. Of course, that can more than possibly be chalked up to triple-digit temps in NYC and no A/C in my house!  No matter…eaten with a spoon or just slurped up out of a bowl, it’s delicious.  And so freakin’ easy.  I have a plan to work around the meltiness with the rest of my batch, and it looks something like this…

As always, hugs and kisses to Dorie, Laurie, Jules and the TWD gang for making every Tuesday fun and tasty. Don’t forget to check out the TWD Blogroll this week! 

Creamy Dark Chocolate Sorbet–  makes about 1 1/2 pints
recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Steph’s Note:  I added a pinch of salt to the mix.  Milk with any fat content will work.

1 cup milk
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

-Stir all the ingredients together in a 3- to 4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium heat and bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring frequently.

-Lower the temperature and boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and keeping a close eye on the pan- as the ingredients bubble and roll, the potential for boil over is high.

-Pour mixture into a heatproof bowl and refrigerate until chilled before churning the sorbet.

-Scrape the chilled sorbet mixture into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pack the sorbet into a container and freeze for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop.

Serving:  Unlike ice cream, with could be served as soft custard straight from the churn, this sorbet needs time in the freezer to firm.

Storing: Packed tightly in a covered container, the sorbet will keep in the freezer for up to two weeks.

Playing Around: 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract added to the cooled base will give you chocolate-peppermint sorbet.  You can even add crushed candy canes a couple of minutes before churning is complete.