When you’re looking for a cool treat, one that is light and refreshing, you need to try my Coconut Vanilla Sorbet.

Tip: Reserve the vanilla bean pod(s) for your granulated sugar. You’ll have vanilla-flavored sugar for future recipes.

Prep Time: 30 minutes for churning
Inactive Prep Time: 49 hours
1) 1 hour to steep the cooked coconut mixture before cooling.
2) 24 hours to chill (refrigerate before going into the ice cream machine)
3) 24 hours to freeze the sorbet mixture.
Total Time: 2 days 1 hour 30 minutes
Yields: 4 servings

Equipment: ice cream machine, large mixing bowl, mesh sieve, paring knife, 1 (4-quart) sauce pan, 2 (1-quart) plastic containers with tight-fitting lids, ice cream scoop, 4 ice cream serving bowls

Ingredients:
2 (13.5-ounce) cans of coconut milk, unsweetened
1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups of coconut water
1 whole vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeded, and scraped
1 spring of fresh mint
1 pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
Garnishes:
1/2 cup unsweetened toasted shredded coconut
4 sprigs of fresh mint

Instructions for the Coconut Vanilla Sobet:
Combine the coconut water, sugar, 1 sprig of fresh mint leaves, vanilla bean (including the pod), kosher salt, and coconut milk into a saucepan set over medium heat. *Scald the coconut milk, stirring occasionally. You want to make sure all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Let the mixture steep for 1 hour, then strain into a bowl, removing the mint and vanilla pod.

Next, cover and refrigerate the mixture for 24 hours.

Transfer the mixture to an airtight container, and place it into the freezer for 24 hours.

Instructions for Toasted Coconut:
Add unsweetened coconut to a dry sauté pan over medium-low heat. Swirl the pan around until you start to smell the coconut flakes, and they turn a light golden brown.

Place your dessert glasses in the freezer for 30 minutes before serving. Remove the Coconut Vanilla Sorbet from the freezer for 10 minutes before serving.

Scoop the Coconut Vanilla Sorbet into the dessert glasses. Sprinkle some toasted coconut over the top and garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

There you have it, my Coconut Vanilla Sorbet.

Notes:
1) *Scald: As the liquid heats, bubbles will appear around the outer rim, just under the boiling point.

2) Cooking Time and Temperature:
Medium-low heat, long enough to *scald the coconut milk mixture. Turn the heat off and steep for 1 hour.
Ice Cream Machine Churning Time:
30 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken.

3) Refrigerate the “bowl insert” for the ice cream maker overnight. Pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl, turn the machine on, and churn for 30 minutes.

4) Don’t worry if the mixture doesn’t thicken as much as you’d like. Whenever any sugar-and-water mixture is used without the proteins that eggs add, the freezing temperature decreases.

5) Tip: Reserve the vanilla bean pod(s) for your granulated sugar. You’ll have vanilla-flavored sugar for future recipes.

6) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/