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This past week, it’s been everything elderflower around here. The weekend prior we visited friends who live outside of Paris and spent a lot of time wandering around their garden, which always makes me reconsider whether I am actually a true city boy.

I love being walking distance to almost whatever one could want, which you can do in a city but then again, I wonder what life would be like to wake up to the sounds of birds singing outside my window, plucking my own radishes from the garden, grilling dinner (and lunch), and enjoying a glass of wine with friends in my backyard, putting my feet up and not worrying about all those people stressing out on the subway or métro. Or listening to a gazillion cell phone conversations while trying to enjoy a seat at a café, or a quiet moment in the park.

All those things melt away the further away you get from urban life. While I’m not ready to give up my proximity to great bakeries and cheese shops, and walks to the market, whenever I am outdoors and away from it all, I wonder, “What would my life be like if…”

In the meantime, I’ve been rapturously enjoying the elderflowers from my friend’s tree. It was leaning up against their garage and I know you’re not supposed to rip off the flower heads off elderflower trees as the tree won’t regenerate the flowers the next time properly (or something like that), but when they said they had a few branches they wanted lopped off anyways, Romain gamely got on their roof with a branch trimmer, and went to town.

As the branches fell, I plucked off the flower heads and bagged them up. Halfway through, Romain yelled down, “Ça va, Daveed?” and I said, “Non,” to keep going. So he did.

I was thrilled to have a heavy bag of flowers and promised my friends a gift from what I was going to make with them.

I was excited to be able to do some recipe testing with them for my next book. The hardest thing about being a seasonally based cook and baker, and cookbook author, is that some seasons are pretty short. And not everything is easy to find. (I try not to use very exotic ingredients in recipes in my books, but I think having a few that are interesting to read about, or that fit into the overall story of the book, is worthwhile.) So having a windfall of elderflowers let me take advantage of the window of time to work on some elderflower recipes.

Because they’re so precious, you don’t want to have too many duds, which you tend to do when testing recipes. It’s painful to get rid of a chocolate cake because you decide it could use an extra egg, or less flour, but even more painful to toss out something that took two cups of elderflowers to make.

A few friends and acquaintances have said over the years that they always wanted to come and test recipes with me, and hang out in the kitchen. So I got in touch with a few of them to help pick the teeny elderflowers from the stems that I had in my giant bag.

Like the dim sum party that I had in San Francisco years ago, where I was going to make a whole lot of dim sum and a bunch of friends said they’d gladly come over to help. It the end – yup – it ended up being just me in my kitchen, making hundreds of dumplings all by myself. (So if you were at that party, that’s why I looked like I was ready to drop when everyone showed up to partake in all the dim sum I made.)

Same with the elderflowers. I spend five hours picking through them all, and my neck is now permanently curved like a question mark. But there’s no question that it was worth it when I tasted my first spoonful of this absolutely divine Elderflower Sorbet. It’s right up there with handmade dim sum, as one of the best things you’ll eat. I wanted to share it asap, and plan on enjoying it with a splash of Champagne or sparkling wine poured over it. But it’s really a treat just on its own, too.

Elderflower Sorbet

The wine in the sorbet helps keep it from freezing too hard. If you want to omit it, you'll probably need to take the sorbet out of the freezer several minutes in advance before scooping. I tried it with both amounts of sugar (sugar also helps keep things from freezing too hard) and preferred the flavor with 3/4 cup, although you're welcome to use either. For more information, check out my post, Tips for Making Homemade Ice Cream Softer I've not used dried elderflowers (which I just learned about), but if you try it with them, let us know how it turns out in the comments.
Servings 2 cups (500ml)
  • 1 cup (250ml) water
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup (100-150g) sugar
  • 1/3-1/2 cup (10-15g) fresh elderflowers
  • 3/4 cup (180ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons dry white wine
  • Heat water and sugar over low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the elderflowers. Cover and let steep for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
  • Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, pressing the flowers with the back of a soup spoon to extract as much flavor from them as possible. Add the lemon juice and white wine. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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79 comments

    • Karen

    Please check out Wikipedia, which states that the uncooked berries and flowers of the Elderberry plant are poisonous.

      • Elli

      the berries are, but if you sprinkle some flowers over your desert it won’t do any harm. my elderberry cake is topped with a lemon icing and a thick layer of blossoms and nobody ever had any problems after eating it, even after several slices..

      • Sherri

      His recipe does not use the flowers uncooked. I know the raw berries make me queasy (they contain cyanide in trace amounts), but it’s easy enough to avoid, and cook or process the berries in some fashion.

      • Marianne Ahrne

      There are two species of elder, Sambucus nigra with flowers in flat umbels or inflorescences, and black berries that is not poisonous. The other kind is Sambucus racemosa with grape shaped drooping umbels and red poisonous berries. This is called grape elder in translation from Swedish. They are easy to tell apart.

        • Robin

        So, are the flowers from racemosa poisonous as well?

        • SN

        The red ones are not poison, I use them all the time

      • E. nassar

      The stems and leaves and unripe berries are what you should avoid. Wikipedia is not always 100% right.

      • Susan Zabriskie

      Seeds, not the juice or flower

    • Jane Russell

    I’m so jealous! Fresh elderflower?? I think I might have to order some dried ones, just to experiment.

    • Cheryl

    I am reading from my falling-apart Rodale Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs which states that the “danger mainly comes from the roots, stems, and leaves”. The flowers “are probably nontoxic”… “the dried blossoms are used in tea blends”. Hope that helps clarify.

      • Jennifer S.

      I just made this recipe to make use of the abundance of blossoms I have this year. I decided to double the recipe, since i had harvested so many flowers, and used double the amount of water, sugar and blooms.
      Then, maybe it was the heat and/or too many gin and tonics…I forgot to double the amount of lemon juice and wine (I used the last bit of Lillet blanc in the fridge…), before putting it into my ice cream machine.
      Nevertheless, it froze up into a nice, smooth texture and had a definite elderflower essence! I was really happy with the outcome, as I feared I might end up with a lemon sorbet with a hint of elderflower.

    • Bernadette

    That looks so refreshingly wonderful David. Perfect for summer.

    I think you’d get used to country life just well, too. ;)

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Maybe it’s worth a try (!)

    • Gigi

    I have a couple of sambucus nigra shrubs in my garden, which, I *think* is the same plant that I see the Brits making elderflower cordial and now “Daveed” :) making sorbet from. They are only a couple of years old, but maybe in a few years, when they’re much larger and the flowers are more plentiful, I’ll give it a go. Thanks, David!

      • Sherri

      Sambucus is indeed the elder tree. Once the tree starts producing, it will be prolific. There are different types of sambucus, but I would not hesitate to experiment with any of the flowers.

    • Tricia R

    Thanks, I adore anything with elderflower! Would it be cheating to put 3 tbs of Elderflower liqueur (St Germain) instead of the wine – and cut the sugar a little?

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I’ve not used that liqueur but I’m sure it would work fine. I might cut it down to 2 tablespoons, or you can use the smaller amount of sugar indicated.

    • Rob

    I searched for a source of elderflowers for years, wanting to make Elderflower Champagne. Amazingly, an Elderflower tree has self-seeded & grown in our compost heap! It quickly grew large enough to make several batches of champagne per year, whilst still leaving plenty of berries to experiment with also. A real miracle : )

    • Susan B

    Elderflowers! Fläder in Sweden, where I discovered this lovely flavor. Friends who live in the country make syrup and cordial from the blossoms (try a splash in white wine, topped with sparkling water and garnished with a couple of fresh raspberries), but the syrup is commercially available. IKEA’s version is ok, d’Arbo is better. And don’t forget St. Germain liqueur for an alcoholic version. I’m sure fresh is immeasurably better, but the season is short…

    • Marilee

    The sorbet sounds delicious, like Spring on your tongue. But I had to laugh about your experience of inviting people to help you make dim sum. I’ve had the same experience with tamales. Everybody wants homemade tamales — and when one makes tamales one doesn’t make just one dozen — but seldom do they show up until the end of the process (i.e. time to eat).

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Yup! : )

        • Christy Wilson

        Next time I am in Paris I will let you know. I’d be delighted to “apprentice” and learn from you. Alternatively if you’re in NYC and want some “Jooisey” countryside, I’m willing to open my home and kitchen to you! I, too, thought I would miss the city, and door on occasion, but the beauty, space and chirping birds hacked more than compensated and NYC is an hour away when I need a fix!

      • Emma

      I can totally relate to the should have been a collective work dim sum experience !
      I will never do it again, so now if I serve dim sum to guests it will be a small appetizer soup with 4 dim sums et basta !

      • jay

      unbelievable! How do you even feel like entertaining when they show up after leaving you to do all the work??? I would probably group text a cancellation, honestly, lol.

    • Kace

    Does anyone have suggestions for trying this with dried elderflowers? I have access to the dried version but not fresh ones unfortunately.

      • lynne

      Make elderberry simple syrup. use in summer drinks, iced coffee, cakes, endless.

        • Kace

        Thanks! That’s just what I did. I subbed 7g of dried elderflowers and used the 3/4 C of sugar for my simple syrup and it turned out just fine!! Delicious for a hawt summer here in Sacramento!

    • Moema

    Can I order Elderberry syrup online and use it for the sorbert?

      • Shadder

      I have the syrup and was wondering the same! Hope we get an answer because this sounds delicious!

        • Libby

        I make my own elderflower cordial/syrup (I store it in the freezer for a year-round supply) and use this to make elderflower sorbet. I always add 3 tablespoons of St Germain elderflower liqueur towards the end of churning. It’s delicious!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I don’t know how you’d convert this recipe if using a pre-made syrup. I have seen recipes for elderflower sorbet that use the syrup rather than fresh flowers so you might try one of them. You could also find a recipe for Lemon Sorbet that you like and add a few tablespoons of the syrup. (There’s a recipe for Lemon Sherbet, and Lemon Sorbet, in my book The Perfect Scoop.)

        • Libby

        To make the sorbet with my home-made elderflower cordial/syrup I first dissolve 200g sugar in 500ml of water, cool it and then add 250ml of elderflower syrup. Chill, churn and then add 3tbsp of St Germain elderflower liqueur towards the end of churning. It has a lovely soft texture coming out of the freezer. And is delicious served with a splash of prosecco.

    • Andrea

    Where to find fresh elderflowers in the US?

      • Sherri

      Not sure where you live, but elders grow wild on the west coast, and when they are planted in a city- OMG, the trees get huge and you will have more flowers and berries than you know what to do with.

        • Mee

        I live in Northern California and the elderflowers that grow here aren’t quite the same. The essence is more tutti fruitti and less floral.

    • Laura Stokes

    I will wait for the elderberries so I can make jelly. It looks like grape but it is oh so good and tastes great in the middle of Winter. One of the things my sister loved

      • mela

      How does one make elderberry jelly? I live in a little town where they grow everywhere and nobody uses them. One woman told me she tried to make jelly but it was not very good. Would love to know your recipe.

        • Gabrielle

        Elderberry jelly is wonderful! Like Laura said, looks like grape but so much better. I only had the chance to make it once when I was volunteering at a teaching garden that had an elder tree. You have to cook down and strain the berries first to make juice. For about 6 half-pints I used 3 C juice, 1/8 C lemon juice, 1 box powdered pectin, and 4 1/2 C sugar. Then follow your standard jelly procedures (usually written on/in your pectin box).

    • Toni

    I would have helped you, David!

    • mumimor

    As a Scandinavian, I make liters of elderflower cordial every summer, and they are gone within weeks. I don’t really bother to pick the flowers, I just cook them very briefly with the stems in syrup, let them steep in the fridge over night and then strain them.
    This year I’ll definitely try to make a sorbet :-)
    Don’t worry about picking them. I’ve never had a problem. I leave some flowers on the bush/tree so I can make a cordial from the berries too, but it isn’t nearly as popular in my family so I prioritize the flowers.

    • Chris Moore

    I ordered dried elderflower tea, it was awful! It had the fragrance of an old attic and guess what it tasted like? Old attic! Tasteless! It was from Amazon where you can also order the dried blooms. However, because there was no EF taste in the tea which had a lot of the blooms, I don’t think dried is the way to go. I ordered the Elderflower syrup which is delish, but it is sweet. You would need to experiment with the sugar ratio.

    • PepperReed

    Oh My Goodness! My elderflower will begin blooming any day now and I know what I’ll make. Thank You!

    • Margaret Z.

    Can anyone tell me what does an elderflower taste like. I have heard of them but never had any.

    Thanks :)

      • Fenella

      Floral: Ikea sells pretty good elderflower cordial (delicious with fizzy water or prosecco, etc), and they also have a very good orange + elderflower marmalade.

    • Robert

    David, Have you ever used an invert sugar like glucose or corn syrup to give your sorbet texture a little richer and creamier body without over sweetening the sorbet? I have your Perfect Scoop book and your sorbet recipes only call for sugar. I was curious as to the reasoning for your preference.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Yes, I sometimes do. In the post How to Make Homemade Ice Cream Softer I give some tips on how to use it in ice creams and sorbets, and swamp some of it out for the sugar.

      I also did a post, When to Use, and Not Use, Corn Syrup (the corn syrup sold in supermarkets and natural foods stores is not the same as high-fructose corn syrup, and sometimes people confuse the two.) Invert sugar, like trimoline, isn’t easily available to home cooks so I don’t use it in recipes.

    • Margaret

    I discovered a wonderful green and elderflower tea at London’s Fortnum & Mason last fall. Now I can’t live without it which is too bad since I live in the US.

      • Chris Moore

      You can order bags or leaf of that tea from Amazon.

      • angelina

      Oh this sounds like I’d love it. Jasmine green tea is my daily go-to (a good artisanal one, and I love St. Germaine so I will have to try this tea, thanks!

    • Audrey

    Plant an Elderflower at your gate to keep witches out!

    • Robin

    Does anyone know if it makes a difference if the flowers make red or blue berries? I have many elderflower bushes but they all make red berries which I do not think are edible. Does that mean the flowers are not edible either? I love elderflower food stuff and would love to make my own syrup etc..

    Thank you.

    PS….I just finished your book about buying your apt. in Paris, David. Loved it. Also read Sweet Life a year ago while in Paris….loved it as well. And, made your Bouche du Noel for Christmas for our houseguest from Paris…..it was perfect! Merci!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I’ve used the berries in things like elderberry syrup and it was lovely. I cooked the berries and you can read some posts, such as this one: Are elderberry bushes poisonous? which explains the differences between red, blue, and black elderberries. (Note that I’m just linking to that site for informational purposes and if you’re unsure if something from your plants is edible or not, it’s best to take it to your local cooperative extension or to another expert to verify that.)

      Glad you liked L’appart! (And the other books as well.) And happy you and your guests like the Bûche de Noël as well! : )

        • Robin

        Thank you for your response, David….I’ll check out the links you gave.
        Have a happy day!

        • Robin

        May I send you a photo of my buche?

    • Sherri

    Regarding dried elderflowers. I use them in herbal medicine, but their delicate scent does not seem to preserve through drying. So for food uses (soda, mead, etc), I go for fresh, as labor intensive as it may be.

    • Karin Anderson

    I’m envious! In Germany they grow abundantly all over the countryside, but not so here in Maine. I guess I’ll have to console myself with a St. Germain Elderflower spritz :)

    • Julie

    Can’t find fresh elderflowers and I’m hoping to use Belvoir Farms cordial and/or St. Germain liqueur. Your sorbet recipe sounds divine, thank you!

    • Marianne McGriff

    David, Your Elderflower Sorbet looks wonderful! I’m just not sure I can find them in Indiana! The Elderflower Cordial is a staple at Ballymaloe House! I’m planning to take a copy(signed by you!) to Darina in August. Thank you!

    • Gavrielle

    Although I know elderflower is all the rage, I’m happy to let this be one of the recipes I enjoy reading about but will never make after your harrowing description of toil.

    Excited to hear about your next book! I just made your Racines Cake yesterday for my mother’s birthday. I was worried it might be too delicate to hold up 80 candles, but nope! I’ve made all of the chocolate cakes in Ready For Dessert now and they’re all glorious and, even better, reliable.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      Well, if it’s any consolation, I doubt very many people would pick as many as I did. In reality to make this ice cream, or most recipes, you only need 1 cup or two of the flowers, which can be picked in 15 minutes more or less.

      Thanks for your kind words about the recipes in Ready for Dessert – glad you like them!

    • Claudette

    I too make my own elderflower cordial. The tree will come to know harm picking the flower unbels. You should use the freshly picked blooms as soon as possible. Avoid picking from the roadside because of pollution. Shake the umbel heads to remove insects and rather than pulling off all the blooms David I take a pair of scissors and snip across as near to the flower heads as possible a small amount of stems are no problem.

    • Katie D

    Many years ago my neighbour made elderflower champagne each spring. It was delicious! Such happy memories of neighbourhood get togethers! All those toddlers running around are in their 40s now!

    • Natalie

    I never tried desserts with elderflower, but this sorbet looks and sounds delicious!

    • Terri Silver

    I don’t have elderflower, but I’m thinking about trying this with a fragrant white rose. Have you done it with roses, David? I’ll also try it in the fall with cornelian cherry (Cornus mas). We made liqueur from the berries last year but I think sorbet would be even better!

    • Tamsin

    This looks wonderful David, thanks for sharing the recipe. Whenever I make elderflower champagne or cordial I just put in the flower heads whole, no need to pick the individual flowers. I’m in the UK so just use what grows wild which is sambucus nigra. Good luck with the test of your recipe testing!

    • yannka

    Hello David,
    I have lots of homemade elderflower syrup so I will try to use it to make a sorbet, probably using your Lemon sorbet recipe with added syrup. Thanks for the great idea!
    Elderflower is very common here in the Czech Republic so we deal with an abundance of blossoms every year. By the way, we pluck the blossoms every year and the trees don’t seem to mind at all – they grow bigger and thicker each year with tons of flowers:)
    Over the years I started to use a “cold-brew” method for the syrup – I steep the blossoms in boiled but cooled water with lemons for 24 hours, then strain and mix into BOILING premade syrup which needs to have enough sugar to produce the final percentage of sugar you want after mixing with the infusion. I then bring the mixture to boil ASAP and then bottle it. I think it tastes better this way, less “cooked” compared to “scalding” the fresh flowers with hot water or syrup. I only bring it to the boil to “pasteurize” it and make it keep longer – your your sorbet recipe it is probably not even necessary.
    A few points regarding the comments:
    1. We never bother to remove stems from the blossoms when making syrup, “champagne” or just drying the blossoms for tea (which is an excellent cough medicine). Noone ever had even the slightest health/queasiness issues. If you prefer to remove the tough stem parts, which may be better for some recipes, it is much easier to use scissors as suggested above.

    2. I would not recommend trying to substitute dried flowers for a recipe like this. It would be like making mojito with dried mint. The flavour would be totally different.

    3. Be careful not to mistake elderflower and elderberry syrup! The first one captures the unique fragrance of the flowers, the other one uses berry juice. Definitely not interchangable in this recipe:)

    4. David, have you heard of elderflower fritters? We call them “kosmatice”, they can be eaten sweet dusted with confectioner’s sugar but also savoury. You need to use the whole bloosom of course – you hold the stem when dipping the blossom in the batter and placing it in the pan. I thought it was just our local delicacy but I just found out there are many recipes out there.

    5. Elderflower was holy to the old Slavic people. There is a saying which translates as “Hats off to camomile, but kneel down in front of elderflower.”

    • Julia

    Dear, David, I apologize for shoving in this comment out of place but I couldn’t figure out how to write under the post where you talk about your book “L’Appart.” Just wanted to let you know that I’m almost finished with this book which makes me quite sad — it was too short. But luckily it turns out, there are two more. I got them and looking forward. Your writing style is so light and so tongue-in-cheek and you have such talent to show events in your life and make them so relatable. I am a former writer and also an expat, whose life was put on hold for 30-some years raising children. Now, for living, I undo what you do — I teach fitness. But I so miss writing. While coming out of my mommy slumber and trying to find my new self, I am so grateful for the inspiration your book gave me. Thank you! So miss writing and so enjoy yours! Please write more.

    • Ronni Fogle

    Ok, David, this is all your fault! I went out today and bought two (count them – TWO)
    elderberry plants because I NEED to make this, and don’t know anyone who has one, so I can’t send MY significant other up on a roof to cut branches!!! And I had to buy 2 because they aren’t self-pollinating! At least I bought 2 different types and they are quite beautiful! Now, if they would just BLOOM!!!
    (And dig their own holes and plant themselves!!!!!!!)

      • Ronni Fogle

      By the way – I love your books, blog and recipes!!! Thank you!

    • Susan in London

    It was DELICIOUS! I made it straight away, what with it being the season, using the pinker flowers of Sambuca Nigra, served it to friends that night and will be picking again tomorrow. This is a huge hit at our table. Fab!

    • Kat

    I made the sorbet this weekend after spotting some in bloom elderflower bushes while out and about in the county (Maryland). Traipsed through a muddy field and some thorny bramble bushes to get the prize blooms. So, SO worth it! Without a doubt in the top 3 of sorbet flavors I ever tasted. Thank you so, so much for sharing this recipe, David!

    • Lisa

    Ah David, welcome to my personal dream: the country house in France. My obsession for the last couple of years has been this website, offering delightful dream fodder for ‘mini prix’ as long as you’re prepared to get them fixed up: Immobilier Delamarche

    And you’ve got from where that’s concerned after L’Appart! :D

    • Camilla Hawkins

    Loving this recipe, I’ve never thought to make Elderflower Sorbet but I bet it’s amazing. I’ve been making jam with elderflowers and the smell in the kitchen is just divine isn’t it:-)

    • Toni Ross

    Hi from California where my elderflower blossoms are pink but still hold the wonderful essence. I learned how to use the “elderflower tea” from a Swedish friend as a refreshing drink in the summer. I’m excited about turning my canned syrup into sorbet! I too cut the blossoms off just below the stem and also no problem with new flowers the next year. Thank you for all your recipes old and new!

    • Sheila

    David, first of all, your recipe for the sorbet is just sublime – a little goes a long way but what a delight on the palate. I’m English and am lucky enough to live in an area where there is so much to gather – elders, hedge garlic, mushrooms, sorrel and hawthorn to name but a few.
    On your site it’s also lovely to get input from around the world and I especially liked Yannka’s contribution. Food does bring us together doesn’t it …

    • MrsSage

    David,
    I know how easy it is for countrylife to seduce us, the city people, as we grow impatient about city’s shortcomings. I always contemplate the big move to the country as we go out of town frequently and have it very close. But this is where it stops, at contemplation. I enjoy countryside a lot but I simply enjoy the city life more. For now, at least. Maybe when we don’t need to work anymore … but no, I don’t think it’s practical (I’m talking about *real* countryside not some gated all-serviced community). Your comment on people’s noise (which I find as annoying as you) made me think of another experience I found to be even more frustrating. For a short period, as a young girl, I used to live in a village (for a city girl it was a punishment of sorts :)) and I resented the fact that the locals treated us as intruders (my parents are still considered newcomers after 25 years) and really stuck their noses into everything we did/bought/planted/didn’t do. This nosiness was what I resented the most. Also, I don’t know about Paris and France but here, some 1000 km to the south east, I find people in the countryside tend to be more reckless about the environment they live in and less openminded.
    Keep bringing the best of the countryside to your city life and your blog. It’s a delight.

    • Mel

    Very silly question, I’ve only used lbs and oz, the recipe states 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar which is equal to 100 to 150g of sugar but when it comes to the elderflower it states 1/3 to 1/2 cup which is only 10 to 15g, is this right and if so, how? Told you it is a silly question.

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      If you weigh a cup of sugar it’ll weigh a lot more than a cup of flowers as they are mostly air, whereas sugar is heavier. So the weights are correct : )

A

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