David Lebovitz's Chocolate Sorbet
Begin with 6 ounces of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate.
And, finely chop it up into bits!
In a large saucepan, add your sugar.
And your cocoa powder, salt, and water.
Now, whisk!
Bring the mixture to a boil and whisk some more.
Now, it's time to remove the mixture from the heat and stir in your finely chopped chocolate.
Don't forget a teaspoon of vanilla and the remaining 3/4 cup of water.
Time to blend.
Then, let it chill.
Once it has chilled thoroughly, freeze the dark chocolate mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Watch as it turns into sorbet.
Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and dig in -- all summer long!
Author Notes: Despite having no dairy or eggs, this sorbet is impossibly creamy. It also remains perfectly scoopable without going hard or icy in the slightest, even after several days in the freezer. Lebovitz credits this remarkable consistency to the high proportion of bittersweet chocolate. Recipe from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz (Ten Speed Press, 2007) —Genius Recipes
Makes about 1 quart (1 liter)
- 2 1/4 cups (555 ml) water
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 3/4 cup (75 g) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- 6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a large saucepan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a boil whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk for 45 seconds.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it's melted, then stir in the vanilla extract and the remaining 3/4 cup (180 ml) water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 15 seconds. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
More Great Recipes:
Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts|Desserts|Chocolate
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5 months ago JOYCE
JOYCE
I recently became extremely lactose & fructose intolerant, so no more ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbert or fruit sorbet. My son made this chocolate sorbet for me when he got back from Paris. It was PERFECT in every way! Dark chocolate flavor, smooth & creamy...ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!
about 1 year ago tota
I am wondering why Saba, you would use corn syrup? This is not something I would've thought to add or substitute...this has never been icy when we've made so you might want to just go with the recipe as is....corn syrup is kinda on my no-no list.
about 1 year ago Saba
Hi Tota, I usually make ice cream in the Jeni Britton Bauer style (eggless, with cream cheese, corn syrup, and cornstarch) for texture and scoopability issues. I read about how to replace sugar with corn syrup and that's how I came up with the amounts. In retrospect, 3/4c of corn syrup is probably too much. I am looking at revisiting the amounts. Karo Light Corn Syrup is the standard in candy making, and as I understand, is not the same as High Fructose Corn Syrup. Here's an article that discusses Jeni's ice cream method and the use of corn syrup: https://www.craftsy.com...
I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. And thanks for letting me know your sorbet was creamy. I will also try it with all sugar.
about 1 year ago Saba
I have been making ice cream for a while, but am new to sorbets and they are sometimes icy and not very scoopable. So I tried tweaking the ingredients: 2.125 cups water, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3/4 cup corn syrup (everything else the same). I used high quality cocoa powder and dark chocolate, and added 1/4 tsp espresso powder. Amazing results: smooth, scoopable, rich, and creamy. By the way, I only have an immersion blender and it worked great!
10 months ago Shahreen Reza
Corn syrup is disgusting and incredibly unhealthy- Americans are obsessed with sugary chemical substitutes. Saba - David has been living in Paris for years and I promise you that Europeans would never touch corn syrup with a ten foot rod. Try Grand Marnier if you want to play around with consistency but stay away from the horror that is fed to the American masses aka high fructose corn syrup *shudder-*
5 months ago JOYCE
There is a difference between 'corn syrup' & 'high fructose corn syrup'.
over 1 year ago Virginia
Yes! Absolutely delicious. Made one batch inspired by the instructions (only cocoa powder - no other chocolate, all the water in the pot at the same time, and 2T of bourbon) and one as written. I have also tried Ina Garten's recipe. Ina's is tasty but David's real recipe and inspired are both winners. The one with just cocoa is light and refreshing. The one as written is dense and fudgey - more like an amazing fudgecicle. For my first "inspired" batch, I used Trader Joes Dutch processed cocoa powder. For the "real" batch, I splurged for some Valhrona Dutch processed cocoa powder and 87% dark chocolate. Either way, this recipe is going into permanent rotation at our house.
over 1 year ago Zahara B
I did beat it to thin it once it cooled thoroughly. It still gummed up my ice cream maker in 5 minutes. It was half frozen, half not, but too thick for the paddle to go through.
over 1 year ago Zahara B
I did beat it to thin it once it cooled thoroughly. It still gummed up my ice cream maker in 5 minutes. It was half frozen, half not, but too thick for the paddle to go through.
about 2 years ago ellencooks
Nance - try beating the mixture better to dissolve the sugar once it is heated through.
about 2 years ago Nance
It was not the sugar but the chocolate that would not break down. It was like little fat globules. I melted it, put it in a blender and refroze it yesterday. I'll see what it's like today. Thank you!
about 2 years ago Nance
Mine came out grainy. Has anyone had this issue? If so, how do you correct it?
about 2 years ago Emily Loh
Absolutely delicious, brought this to a party and it was a big hit with everyone.
over 2 years ago Juju Sprinkles
Oh wow, no need for ice cream machine! This is fantastic! Here are 30 ice cream to try for the summer in SF: http://bit.ly/1hlILpT
over 3 years ago LLStone
I'm late to the party, but this is really great! I just made a batch for an ice cream social at work, and it's fantastic.
over 3 years ago Betsy Traub
I accidentally mixed all of the water to cook ingredients instead of some of the water and it still turned out beautifully. Super creamy and very rich. A little dollop of fresh whipped cream would be a great addition!
over 3 years ago ellencooks
Diana - see Robert Cardinalli's comment below how he made it without an ice cream machine.
over 3 years ago Diana
how do i make this without an ice-cream machine?
over 3 years ago Barney Wrobel
Why add the water in 2 parts? I'm going to try adding all the water in stage 1 and see what happens...either way, with both cocoa AND dark chocolate, this proves to be an intense sorbet. (love the espresso & amaretti addition, ellencooks)
over 3 years ago ellencooks
Barney - hope I caught you before you made the sorbet. Yes, you are right, it is a very intense chocolate dessert and very tasty. Do not make the same mistake I did. Forgetting the recipe called for adding the water in stages, I just did it in one. The result was a very hard sorbet, so hard as a matter of fact, it had to come out of the freezer 30-40 minutes before serving. Do the two stage water...you will be happier!
over 3 years ago Sharon
I am thinking of trying this onto try this on the frozen dessert setting in my Vitamix. Any thoughts?
Sharon
almost 4 years ago Vitaj
Try a tablespoon or so of vodka or some other alcohol in the recipe - it seems to keep a coconut-milk ice cream that I make pretty scoopable.
almost 4 years ago Perrin Harkins
I enjoy the flavor of this, but I'm amazed at the description that it doesn't get hard in the freezer. In my freezer (set to the recommended 0 F and checked with a thermometer) it gets so hard that it has to sit out for 20 minutes before it can be scooped. My guess is that the Lindt 70% chocolate that I used has less sugar and more cocoa solids and cocoa butter. That would cause the mixture to freeze more completely. I'm experimenting with invert sugar to try make a softer version that can be scooped directly from the freezer, but that may not be possible without a lot more sugar.
almost 4 years ago LilyB612
If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can always just use your food processor by putting the bowl in your freezer (with the makings of cold deliciousness inside) and taking it out to process your sorbet every hour or so until it's done. Works great!!
almost 4 years ago palakh jain
can we make the chocolate sorbet without the icecream maker?
Showing 25 out of 85 comments