I've been without my computer for a few days while it's been in for an upgrade. This morning I was as excited as a new mother waiting for her baby to be delivered as I waited for my computer to be delivered. It 's now back and it's more beautiful faster than before.
When Laura at Eat Drink Live announced sorbet as the theme for the latest Hay Hay Its Donna Day I thought I might make something with a touch of chili or ginger to warm things up a bit. It's winter down here and a cold winter at that. Being autumn, and finding the shops full of persimmons all thoughts of some chocolate chili combo went out the window.
I followed Donna's original recipe, poaching the persimmon to soften it before pureeing. Frozen persimmon is not as tasty as fresh persimmon. This would possibly work better with the astringent persimmon. New Zealand grows the non astringent variety Fuyu, which I prefer to eat raw while it is still young and crisp.
DONNA HAY'S BASIC SORBET
- 3/4 cup 150g caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 cup 240ml water
- fruit puree of your choice
- To make the basic syrup, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat and stir without boiling until sugar is dissolved.
- Increase the heat and bring to the boil for one minute. Set aside to cool. While the syrup is cooling, prepare one of the fruit variations below.
- Combine the fruit puree and sugar syrup, place in an ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions or the instructions below for a thick and scoopable sorbet. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, place the fruit and syrup mixture in a metal bowl or cake tin, cover and freeze for an hour or until just beginning to set at the edge. Beat with an electric hand whisk and return to the freezer. Repeat three times at hourly intervals or until the sorbet is thick and smooth.
