Gale Gand is a terrific baker and her latest book, Chocolate & Vanilla, is a double-sided treat of a cookbook that'll have you flipping the book over-and-over almost as much as you'll flip over the chocolate and vanilla desserts inside!
Last weekend I was invited to a birthday party, and as I flipped through the pages of her book, I was intrigued by the delicious-looking recipe for White Chocolate Sorbet, which seemed a snap to make (which held a certain attraction too, I'll admit, during this busy holiday season.)
I had a hunch this would go perfectly well with my Buckwheat Cake, which has the earthy taste of blé noir, but with a surprisingly light, delicate crumb.
Once the last of the buttery cake morsels disappeared off everyone's plates at the party, all spoons headed towards the remains of the White Chocolate Sorbet left in the container.
And soon it was all gone.
Gale Gand's White Chocolate SorbetAbout 1 quart (1 liter)
Because sorbets are less-rich than ice cream, they'll become rather firm after spending the night in the freezer. So in addition to the vanilla, I added a shot of eau-de-vie de cacao, a clear distillation of cocoa beans that has the fine fragrance of chocolate in a distinctly hi-test base for flavor as well as texture. I would imagine this would be nice with a soupçon of Chartreuse or even light rum.
And although I did a double-take when I saw the scant amount of sugar in the recipe, any skepticism was dashed when I tasted the finished sorbet, which had just the right bit of sweetness.
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) whole milk
2/3 cup (160 ml) water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
8 ounces (225 gr) best-quality white chocolate, finely chopped
1. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, water, sugar, and vanilla bean until it's almost to a boil.
2. Remove from heat and add the pieces of white chocolate, whisking until they're melted. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl set within a larger bowl of ice. (Rinse and air-dry the vanilla bean, and reserve it for another use.)
3.Stir the mixture until cool.
4. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
(Note: If you chill the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours, there's likely to be a white chocolate disk hardened onto the surface of the mixture when you go to churn it, so it's recommended to freeze it just after it's been chilled over the ice bath.)
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Hi David, I just wanted to say that Gale Gand is one of my favorite pastry chefs. I've seen her show "Sweet Dream" in food network and it was great. She inspired me to bake!
Thanks for doing a great job running the Europe side of Menu for Hope III
Hi David,
I was really excited to see this recipe and your interview with Gale Gand. I love her recipes, they always work. I'm going to have to go and buy her book now.
I was also happy to see that someone besides me fishes the vanilla bean out of the milk, lets it dry and uses it again. I don't feel like such a cheapskate now. Or at least I feel like I have company.
Hi David!
I recently made this white chocolate sorbet and while it tasted delicious, we noticed that it was a bit chalky. I used a made-for-baking white chocolate. Do you know what might have happened to make it chalky and do you have any tips on avoiding the chalkiness in the future?
Thanks!
Kim
Hi Kim: Am not sure what you mean by "made for baking" but it's noted to use good-quality white chocolate. I used Lindt, which is pretty easily available and it came out very smooth and creamy. So perhaps try that brand, or a similar-quality one.
Hi Dave!
Thanks for the quick reply. I used Valrhona Chocolate that came in a very large bar that was too big for regular snacking (though my boyfriend would disagree). I've always been really happy with the quality of Valrhona's regular chocolate so I thought it would be ok in this recipe. I'll try it with Lindt next time and see how it turns out.
Thanks!
Kim
Could you point me in the right direction for figuring out how to do this without any dairy? Since my dad turned 50 he has become increasingly lactose intolerant. He loves your chocolate sorbet because it has a creamy richness like ice cream, and I am trying to figure out how to get a similar effect with other flavours. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Sam: White chocolate, by nature, contains milk solids, so if he's avoiding dairy, unfortunately he would want to avoid this sorbet.
Askinoise makes a white chocolate with goat milk, which is more-easily digested, and is delicious. I haven't used dairy alternatives (like soy) but goat milk would work as well.
Hi,
Very yummy recipe. I put in some threads of saffron and some Grand Marnier, as this was the alcohol I had in my cupboard. Which worked out very well.
Svein: That's a great variation. Love the idea of Grand Marnier in there. Thanks for writing in with that!