This delicious Blackcurrant Sorbet is made with only three ingredients for a delicious fruity sorbet with all the flavour of your favourite blackcurrants. If you love blackcurrants then this easy sorbet recipe will make the ideal summer dessert for you.
During blackcurrant season, which is in July in the UK, sorbet is a great option to make to combat the oppressive heat and use your freshly picked blackcurrants at the same time.
This was inspired by my blackcurrant curd recipe, having enjoyed some curd stirred into natural yoghurt this got me thinking of more chilled dessert recipes to try with blackcurrants.
We are able to pick blackcurrants locally on a pick your own fruit and veg farm in my town in Surrey. This means I have quite a few blackcurrant recipes on my site already – blackcurrant jam, blackcurrant focaccia and blackcurrant smoothie are some of my favourites.
That sweet Ribena flavour with a hint of tartness is just delicious to me!
And sorbet is so refreshing!
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Ingredients
You only need three ingredients to make this delicious blackcurrant sorbet:
See recipe card for quantities.
- fresh blackcurrants – rich in flavour, slightly tart but with such a deep flavour, these are at the centre of the recipe.
- sugar – caster (superfine) sugar is used in this recipe. It is vital to balance the tanginess of the blackcurrants and to ensure the sorbet has the right sugar content to form smaller ice crystals (read more below!).
- water.
Sorbet process
In case you haven’t made sorbet before here is a quick outline of the process and the equipment needed for this recipe.
To make sorbet you make a sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar in water and then gently cook the fruit.
When making this sorbet, I like to cook the blackcurrants to make them really juicy and concentrate the flavour, whereas for sorbet made from other berries like raspberries you would just puree them straight into the syrup.
Next, you sieve to remove the stalks and skins, and then freeze-churn the resulting fruit syrup in an ice cream maker and finally freeze the sorbet fully in the freezer overnight.
In case you don’t have access to an ice cream machine, I’ve provided an alternate method below.
Nowadays though you can pick up a simple ice cream maker quite cheaply, it doesn’t need to be a huge fancy machine if you’ll only use it now and again. Mine is a *Lakeland ice cream maker I got on sale a few years ago.
The science behind sorbet
Sugar reduces the freezing point of water. When you make a sugar syrup (or simple syrup) by dissolving sugar in water heated gently, you can see how the resulting syrup is thicker than water. It freezes at a lower temperature than water.
If you just pureed fruit and froze it it would freeze pretty solid and would be full of large ice crystals. The churning process also makes the ice crystals smaller which makes sorbet softer than ice.
Fruit that is high in pectin (which includes berries such as blackcurrants) makes a thick sorbet as the pectin also prevents large ice crystals from forming further.
To freeze best and be easy to scoop, you need sorbet to be 20-30% sugar, and in fruit sorbet the sugar comes partly from the fruit and partly from the sugar in the recipe.
If the sugar content is lower than 20-30% the sorbet will be too icy, and if it is higher than that the sorbet might not freeze.
There is a scientific gadget that is used to measure sugar content called a refractometer – if you want to get serious about sorbet making you might want to invest in one, to make sure your sorbet will work every time.
But if you are just going to be making sorbet for dessert now and then when you have some delicious fruit then you can just keep the principles in mind.
If your batch of sorbet comes out too icy or will not freeze you can use this knowledge to make some adjustments. If it is too icy, melt down, add more sugar, then rechurn. If it won’t freeze, melt down, add more fruit puree to reduce the sugar content, then rechurn.
Instructions
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this blueberry sorbet recipe perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
In a large saucepan, add 250 g caster sugar and 250 ml (1 cup) water. Heat gently and bring to a simmer, simmer for a few minutes stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until all the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat.
Prepare your blackcurrants if freshly picked by removing them from the stems, picking out any leaves, then washing them in cold water.
You will need 500 g of prepared blackcurrants.
Add the blackcurrants to the syrup in the saucepan. Heat for 4-5 minutes at a low heat until the fruit softens and the blackcurrant juices start to run, stirring with a wooden spoon.
Sieve the blackcurrant syrup into a bowl, pressing the leftover fruit through with a spoon so you get all of the fruit.
Carry on until only seeds and the skin of the blackcurrants is left, and the mixture remaining is quite dry.
Leave the syrup in the bowl to cool completely. If the weather is hot it can also help to chill the syrup in the fridge once cooled (don’t put the warm syrup directly in the fridge, wait for it to cool down).
Prepare your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. For my machine the bowl has to be frozen for 12 hours before using, so I put it in the freezer the night before.
Pour the blackcurrant syrup into the ice cream machine with it already running (this stops the sorbet from freezing onto the sides of the bowl) so the churning mechanism is already turning.
Freeze-churn for 30 minutes or according to the instructions that come with your machine, until the sorbet has thickened and you can see ice crystals forming (the time taken and the results will depend on the temperature in your kitchen).
Pour the sorbet into a lidded container, I use a loaf tin which I cover with foil or clingfilm, and freeze overnight.
Serve using an ice cream scoop and enjoy!
So refreshing and ideal as a sophisticated dessert!
Without an ice cream maker
Please note that the best results will be obtained with a machine but this method can be used if you don’t have one. This option is also no-churn. In this method you manually break up the ice crystals rather than using an ice cream maker.
Once the blackcurrant syrup has cooled, after sieving, pour it into a shallow freezer container, cover and place into the freezer for 3-4 hours until lightly frozen.
Remove from the freezer and beat the mixture well with a fork or electric whisk then put back in the freezer. Leave for another 1-2 hours and beat again, repeating this freezing and beating process several times for best results.
More to try
FAQ
Yes, frozen blackcurrants will work just as well. Ensure you defrost them fully before following the steps as laid out in this recipe.
This homemade sorbet makes a small batch to serve around 6 servings and will last best for up to 2 weeks in the freezer, as it contains no preservatives.
Recipe
Blackcurrant Sorbet
Ingredients
- 500 g blackcurrants
- 250 g caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 250 ml water
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, add 250 g (1¼ cup) caster sugar (superfine sugar) and 250 ml (1 cup) water. Heat gently and bring to a simmer, simmer for a few minutes stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until all the sugar has dissolved.250 g caster sugar (superfine sugar), 250 ml water
- Prepare your blackcurrants if freshly picked by removing them from the stems, picking out any leaves, then washing them in cold water. You will need 500 g / 3.5 cups of prepared blackcurrants.500 g blackcurrants
- Add the blackcurrants to the syrup in the saucepan. Heat for 4-5 minutes at a low heat until the fruit softens and the blackcurrant juices start to run, stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Sieve the blackcurrant syrup into a bowl, pressing the leftover fruit through with a spoon so you get all of the fruit.
- Carry on until only seeds and the skin of the blackcurrants is left, and the mixture remaining is quite dry.
- Leave the syrup in the bowl to cool completely. If the weather is hot it can also help to chill the syrup in the fridge once cooled (don’t put the warm syrup directly in the fridge, wait for it to cool down).
- Prepare your ice cream maker following the manufacturer’s instructions. For my machine the bowl has to be frozen for 12 hours before using, so I put it in the night before.
- Pour the blackcurrant syrup into the ice cream machine with it already running (this stops the sorbet from freezing onto the sides of the bowl) so the churning mechanism is already turning.
- Freeze-churn for 30 minutes or according to the instructions that come with your machine, until the sorbet has thickened and you can see ice crystals forming (the time taken and the results will depend on the temperature in your kitchen).
- Pour the sorbet into a lidded container, I use a bread tin which I cover with foil or clingfilm, and freeze overnight.
- Serve using an ice cream scoop and enjoy!
Without ice cream maker
- Please note that the best results will be obtained with a machine but this method can be used if you don’t have one. This option is also no-churn. In this method you manually break up the ice crystals rather than using an ice cream maker.
- Once the blackcurrant syrup has cooled, after sieving, pour it into a shallow freezer container or baking tray, cover and place into the freezer for 3-4 hours until lightly frozen.
- Remove from the freezer and beat the mixture well with a fork or electric whisk then put back in the freezer. Leave for another 1-2 hours and beat again, repeating this freezing and beating process several times for best results.
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