Saturday 2 June 2018

Raspberry Sorbet

A Sweet Pea Chef
Raspberry Sorbet
Raspberry Sorbet

Raspberry sorbet is the refreshing, fruity dessert of your dreams! Made with just 3 simple ingredients, homemade raspberry sorbet is low in calories, gluten-free, and dairy-free!

Raspberry Sorbet | Raspberry sorbet is the refreshing, fruity dessert of your dreams! Made with just 3 simple ingredients, homemade raspberry sorbet is low in calories, gluten-free, and dairy-free! | A Sweet Pea Chef

Hot summer days call for refreshing, light desserts that will curb your sweet cravings, but without inducing a sugar coma. When the weather’s nice, I like to spend as much time outside as possible, and that is a bit hard after a big slice of pie, for example.

But, does not mean you should stay away from desserts during summer. Of course not! Heck, what is life without dessert?

An overhead image of a bowl of fresh raspberries ready for the Raspberry sorbet.

As much as I love ice cream (who doesn’t?!), when I want to whip up something fruity, cool, and sweet, I’m a big fan of making homemade sorbet.

When it comes to sweet treats, it doesn’t get healthier or simpler than a sorbet. All you really need is a fresh fruit of your choosing. You can choose to kick it up a bit with raw honey for added sweetness or lemon juice for a little pop of flavor. I always try to make all my desserts as healthy as possible and use raw honey instead of sugar. Follow my easy raspberry sorbet recipe and make your own today.

An overhead image of fresh raspberries on a cookie sheet ready for freezing and making into raspberry sorbet. An overhead image of a food processor with whole fresh raspberries for the Raspberry Sorbet

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN A SORBET?

Sorbet is a light, refreshing frozen dessert that can easily be made with only a few basic ingredients. To make this homemade raspberry sorbet recipe, you will the following simple ingredients:

raspberries raw honey lemon juice warm water 

You can make sorbet with any fruit you want. I love using all the different berries and melons to make sorbet.  Isn’t summer just the most perfect season?

Although summer fruits are usually pretty sweet on their own, desserts can never be sweet enough, right?  If you don’t wish to skip dessert but still want to eat healthily, do what I do and, instead of packing your sorbet with sugar, use raw honey to sweeten things up. If you’re wanting to eat vegan, you can also use pure maple syrup — just use as little as you need to achieve your desired sweetness — don’t go crazy.

An overhead image of a food processor with processed fresh raspberries for the Raspberry Sorbet.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHERBET AND SORBET?

Whenever I see sherbet on a menu, I’m instantly reminded of the rich, creamy rainbow sherbets I used to devour as a kid! Such good memories.  Although people often use the terms ‘sorbet’ and ‘sherbet’ interchangeably, they actually represent two different desserts.

Sure, there are a lot of similarities…both sherbet and sorbet are made by mashing up fresh fruit and freezing it. The difference between the two is that sherbet also contains some form of dairy, usually cream or milk. Therefore, sherbet has a creamier, more ice cream-like texture, while sorbet is lighter, and is both gluten-free and dairy-free.

An overhead image of a food processor with raspberry puree made of fresh raspberries for the Raspberry Sorbet.

HOW TO MAKE RASPBERRY SORBET

Making sorbet is super easy and quick  – it’s awesomeness for sure. Sorbet is definitely one of those simple pleasures in life. The most important thing and the only skill you have to master is getting the texture just right. You don’t want it to turn too icy when in the freezer or starts falling apart the second you start scooping.

Make sure to always pick the best fruit for your sorbet. Using good, fresh fruit makes all the difference! Fruits full of pectin like raspberries (or other berries) are a great choice and will make a yummy, creamy, almost ice-cream like sorbet. Pick the freshest raspberries and follow my recipe for the raspberry sorbet to turn them into a light, refreshing dessert!  That all being said, if you only have store-bought berries, that will work as well – the major difference is that you don’t really have much control over how sweet or fresh the berries were when they got picked.

A close up of two scoops of fresh Raspberry sorbet in a glass decorated with whole fresh raspberries.

IS RASPBERRY SORBET HEALTHY?

Raspberry sorbet is a great option when craving a dessert but want to stay away from processed sugars and fats in traditional desserts. Made with raw honey, lemon juice, and fresh fruit, sorbet is just an upgraded, frozen version of a fruit snack, but so much better! Sorbet is made without dairy which makes it a great dairy-free dessert, too.

A close up of scoops of fresh Raspberry sorbet in a glass decorated with whole fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Sorbet

Raspberry Sorbet

Raspberry sorbet is the refreshing, fruity dessert of your dreams! Made with just 3 simple ingredients, homemade raspberry sorbet is low in calories, gluten-free, and dairy-free!

3 cups raspberries 2 tbsp raw honey 1 tsp lemon juice 1/4 cup warm water, (as needed)
Lay out the fresh raspberries over a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Freeze the raspberries until completely solid, which should take at least 2-3 hours, but I usually just leave them in the freezer overnight.

Place the frozen raspberries into the bowl of a food processor or heavy duty blender, along with a little raw honey, and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Blend until smooth. You may need to add a little warm water and press down with a spatula to help the process along. Eat immediately for a softer texture, or transfer into a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3-4 hours or until firm.

This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.

The post Raspberry Sorbet appeared first on A Sweet Pea Chef.

Cookie and Kate
Ultra Crispy Baked Potato Wedges

healthy potato wedges recipe

Yessss. Let’s make homemade crispy potato wedges. These potato wedges are impossibly crispy and crackly on the outside, with tender, pillowy potato insides. They’re the perfect homemade solution any time the French fry craving strikes.

These wedges are generously seasoned with pepper, garlic powder and onion powder before baking, which makes them mysteriously and utterly irresistible.

Since these potato wedges are baked in heart-healthy olive oil, rather than deep-fried in canola oil, they are far more redeeming than your average French fries. They’re as healthy as fries can be, basically.

slicing potatoes

Here’s the secret to making ultra crispy potato wedges: Soak your raw potato wedges in hot water for 10 minutes before baking. This step releases some of the starch in the potatoes and lets them absorb moisture, which leads to crisp outsides and moist interiors.

In fact, with this method, the outsides almost seem to have a double layer of crispness. It’s magical. Granted, you could skip the soaking step if you’re in a hurry, but your potato wedges will be about 80 percent as awesome. (I’ve tried.) We owe a thank you to the geniuses at America’s Test Kitchen for this little trick.

Continue to the recipe...

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