Hollowed Out Lemons Make Enchanting Sorbet Cups
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
If you're looking for an easy to prepare, yet light and refreshing dessert to serve at a dinner party or family feast, sorbet is always a winner. Elegant, fruity, and with just the right amount of sweetness, it's the perfect end to a meal, even if you think you're too full to enjoy any more.
Sorbet is essentially a frozen fruit purée, or fruit juice enhanced with sugar, syrup, honey, or other sweetener. It's a simple creation, but one that delivers tons of flavor as well as a soothing texture that's ideal after a big dinner. And, with no milk, butter, or cream, it's a great option for vegans or lactose-intolerant eaters too, as well as being naturally gluten-free.
Sorbet comes in a wide variety of flavors, but it's hard to beat classic lemon. Any lemon recipe can brighten up the day as just the scent of the zesty fruit is enough to make us daydream about soaking up the sun on Italy's Amalfi Coast. But, what could be more delightful than serving your citrus sorbet in an actual hollowed-out lemon?
Bring out the citrus flavor by serving inside the fruit
As well as looking pretty, serving the sorbet inside a serving cup made from the fruit takes the classic dessert to a new, elevated level when it comes to aroma and flavor. Recipe creator Justine Colbert, known as Justine Cooks Vegan on social media, does so with her recipe and describes it "like eating the essence of a lemon."
Traditional lemon sorbet can be made with or without an ice cream maker, though preparing it without one may involve several stages of taking the mixture from the freezer and whisking it with a fork to break up the ice crystals to achieve the desired smooth consistency.
To make the lemon cups themselves, you'll want to cut off about a quarter-inch from the bottom of your lemons so they sit upright, then cut off the tops to make a decorative "hat" which will go back on top of the hollowed out lemon once it's filled with sorbet. This design also allows you to freeze it easier until it's ready to serve.
There are many other ways to get creative with lemon sorbet
Sorbet is a classic frozen dessert that provides international appeal. According to the Italian-born food writer Anna Del Conte in her book "Amaretto, Apple Cake, and Artichokes," sorbet, more than ice cream, can "exemplify the Italian taste" using pure basic flavors of the country (it's made from just lemon juice, sugar, and water). But it doesn't have to be basic as there are ways to amplify it to make it even more delicious.
Del Conte advises adding extra flavors like fresh young basil leaves to really bring out the tang in any lemon sorbet recipe. Or, if you're working with other fruits that are in season, you might want to spice things up with Grand Marnier for orange sorbet or kirsch for plum sorbet, for example, that will really complement the basic ingredients.
Other Italian chefs, such as Francesco Mazzei, suggest using lemon zest rather than simply the juice to really ramp up the natural, zingy citrus flavor, while other cooks enrich theirs with egg whites. To add creaminess but make it vegan, Justine Colbert ("Justine Cooks Vegan") uses frozen coconut cream to bring a new dimension to the dessert.
And, with any leftover sorbet, you could also blend with vodka and prosecco for the aromatic Italian blended cocktail sgroppino, the perfect citrusy drink on a hot day. Salute!