Gale Gand’s White Chocolate Sorbet Recipe

18 comments - 12.20.2006

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Gale Gand is a terrific baker and her book, Chocolate & Vanilla, is a double-sided treat 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 is a snap to make.

I had a hunch it would go perfectly well with my Buckwheat Cake, which has the earthy taste of blé noir, but with a surprisingly light, delicate crumb. And I was right when I served them together at a recent dinner party.

It also pairs remarkably well with blueberries or summer fruits and berries, or dark chocolate. So consider serving it with a scoop of dark chocolate ice cream or chocolate sorbet, or just a scattering of dark chocolate shavings. Or how about Tangerine Sorbet?

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 Sorbet

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 creme 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 bit of Chartreuse, kirsch, or even light rum, about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons, about to taste.

Unlike other ice creams and sorbets, it's best to chill this one over an ice bath and churn it without chilling it overnight in the refrigerator. If you refrigerate it, the white chocolate will rise to the top of the mixture. It can be stirred in, but you might find it unsettling.

Course Dessert

1 1/2 cups (375ml) whole milk
2/3 cup (160ml) water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)
8 ounces (225g) best-quality white chocolate, finely chopped

Prepare an ice bath, setting a medium bowl inside of another (larger) bowl that's partially filled with ice and water. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, water, sugar, and vanilla bean until it’s almost to a boil.
Remove from heat and add the pieces of white chocolate, whisking until they’re melted. (Rinse and air-dry the vanilla bean, and reserve it for another use.) It you want to add some liquor (see headnote), stir it in.
Pour the mixture into the chilled bowl over ice and stir occasionally until well-chilled.
Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Notes

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.