- Prep Time:
10 mins - Cook Time:
30 mins - Total Time:
40 mins *
This cool and refreshing blackberry sorbet is a perfect summer treat. You can add sage for a surprising yet delicious addition or leave it out. It’s amazing either way!
* Plus chilling and freezing time.
It’s April – time to shed the heavy coats of winter and lighten up physically and figuratively. This also applies to desserts. Although I love chocolate opera cakes and rich cheesecakes just as much as the next dessert-loving human being, I do feel like spring is a good time to explore lighter recipes.
This blackberry sorbet is a perfect example. Its intense fruit flavor and almost creamy texture makes dessert still feel special without being heavy. It’s a refreshing way to end a summer meal. The addition of sage adds another layer of flavor that compliments the blackberries beautifully.
I wish I could take credit for this ingenious combination but this recipe is courtesy of Jami Martino, a chef and friend, who is teaching a culinary course at Houston Community College (HCC) downtown campus this spring. I had the pleasure of tasting this sorbet as part of the lunch series Jami’s students host each Thursday during the semester.
The weekly lunch service allows the students to practice working in a restaurant setting while giving diners the opportunity to enjoy a gourmet lunch at an amazing price. At $15 for a 6 course lunch, it’s the best deal in town. The prix fixe menu changes weekly and offers an appetizer, soup, salad, intermezzo, entrée, and dessert course. The week I visited, I had mussels marinières, beef consommé royale, crab and grapefruit salad with citrus vinaigrette, this blackberry sage sorbet, coffee rubbed grilled flank steak with garlic mashed potatoes and broccolini, and mixed berry shortcake for dessert. Every course was expertly prepared and delicious.
I highly recommend attending one of these lunches if you’re in the Houston area. If you would like to make reservations or want to know more about upcoming menus, contact Jami at jamie.martino1 (@) hccs.edu.
This blackberry sage sorbet is the first of a trio of fruit-herb based sorbets I have planned. My husband reminded me that we also have a recipe for a lovely grapefruit mint sorbet that I’ll post in a couple of weeks. So, stick around – summer desserts are just getting started.
Blackberry (Sage) Sorbet
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes (plus chilling and freezing time)
- Yield: 1 quart 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezing
- Cuisine: American
Description
This cool and refreshing blackberry sorbet is a perfect summer treat. You can add sage for a surprising yet delicious addition.
Ingredients
- 20 ounces ripe blackberries, either fresh ones or frozen and thawed ones (I used frozen/thawed ones)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 ounce fresh sage, leaves and tender stems (about a small bundle), optional (see Notes)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Prep blackberries. In a blender, purée blackberries until smooth. Strain blackberry mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a 4-cup glass measuring cup, rubbing it through with a rubber spatula. Discard the remaining seeds and solids. You should have about 2 1/3 cups blackberry purée. Set aside.
- Make sorbet base. Combine water, sugar, and sage over medium high heat. Heat mixture until it just begins to simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let steep, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Strain sugar syrup into a large bowl. Stir in blackberry purée and lemon juice until evenly mixed.
- Chill. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Freeze. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions until sorbet is the consistency of thick slush. Then, transfer the sorbet to a freezer-safe container, cover and freeze until firm before serving, 3 to 4 hours.
Notes
- If you are not using the sage, you can skip the 30 minute steeping time. Just heat the water and sugar together and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Then remove from heat and stir in the blackberry purée and lemon juice until evenly mixed.
- Recipe courtesy of Chef Jami Martino.
Keywords: blackberry dessert, blackberry sorbet
Mollie says
Thank you for sharing this! I have made this over and over for the last few years and it has brought great joy to many people. I decided to make the processing of the blackberries easier and started using a food mill. It cuts my time in half.
★★★★★
Nguyet Vo says
Thank you so much, Mollie! I love that this recipe has made so many people happy. Using a food mill is such a great idea. I wish I had one!
Robbie says
I love this recipe. Second time I made it, I changed the method slightly. After steeping the sage in the sugar water, I poured that in with the unprocessed still slightly frozen blackberries into the blender and whizzed it. Then I put it through the strainer. The thinner liquid went through the strainer much more quickly than just the blackberries by themselves. Plus the mix was still extremely cold, as the sugar water had also cooled in its 30 minute steeping time. So I was able to churn immediately. The result was identical to the original.
★★★★★
Nguyet says
Hi Robbie! I love your method of mixing the sugar syrup with the berries. I’ll have to give that a try. Thanks for the tip and the 5-star review!
Robbie says
Hi Nguyen, This looks amazing, however my sage bush is very small, I don’t have anywhere near enough fresh sage, and I cannot buy it where I live. How do you think dried sage would work? I know the quantity would be a lot less, I would google that and make sure I get it right if you think it would work. Thanks so much for sharing such an exciting recipe.,
Nguyet says
I have only ever tried steeping with fresh herbs but I think using a high-quality dried sage is worth a try here. I would recommend making sure the dried sage is still good. It should smell like sage and not smell musty or have no smell. After making the sugar syrup, taste it and see if you like it before adding in the blackberry purée. I hope that helps. Please let me know how it turns out for you.
Vanessa says
THanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Taming of the Spoon says
If the sorbet is kept in a well-insulated, air-tight container, it will keep for a couple of weeks in the freezer.
Suzanne says
This looks so good! I’ve never had blackberry and sage together! What a great combination!
Taming of the Spoon says
Thanks! It’s an unexpected combination but it’s so yummy!!
Lucy Piper says
I just had 12 adults and children over for our weekly family dinner. I wanted to try this sorbet, but thought the children would rather have their favorite Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream. I made a double recipe of the coffee ice cream and a single of the sorbet. The sorbet was licked clean by everyone–adults and children alike. The children were doubtful at first, but after a tiny sample, they were all in. Many comments about the fresh taste. This I will do again and again. It may replace the favorite!
Taming of the Spoon says
Thank you so much for the comment. It totally makes my day to hear that someone else loves a recipe as much as I do.