A few weeks ago, the Rocking Rebel and I discovered a great fruit picking garden: a huge, sunny field in the middle of nowhere filled with strawberry and rhubarb plants, red currant and blackcurrant bushes, blueberry bushes, different varieties of gooseberries and beautiful colorful flowers. Since then, we’ve returned on several occasions, with several of our nieces and nephews, who all loved stuffing their little faces with freshly picked berries and attacking the slide in the middle of the picnic area.
You can even make yourself some coffee or tea right there in the middle of the field! How awesome is that?
It’s like a beautiful oasis….
Because there were so much gorgeous flowers – and since I had my camera with me to take pictures of the kids enjoying themselves – I decided to release my inner nature photographer, and I was able to take some great shots!
Looks pretty doesn’t it?
I’m particularly proud of this one. It reminds me of an Apple screensaver…
This is some serious wildlife photography, right?
But what we really came there to do was fruit picking, obviously…
So we soon decided to tackle this gorgeous little gooseberry bush, loaded with plump, purple gooseberries just waiting to be picked.
Just mind the thorns! They’re mean!
At the end of the morning, we had a basket full of delicious fruit.
So the first thing I cooked up once we got home?
Ice cream! Well, sorbet to be exact. Beautifully pink gooseberry sorbet with elderflower!
I got this recipe from Susanna Tee’s ice cream book and I absolutely love it. It’s a great way to use some of the Elderflower Syrup I made earlier this summer! I’ve slightly adapted the original recipe though: instead of using green gooseberries, I’ve used the purple ones, as they give the ice cream a bright pink color. I also decreased the amount of elderflower syrup, so as not to overpower the delicate, tangy flavor of the berries.
Just start by washing a bunch of gooseberries and picking the stems from their little bottoms so you won’t end up with woody bits and fibers in your sorbet.
Next, cook up a simple sugar syrup.
Once the syrup has come to a boil, plop in the berries…
But be careful! This may splatter!
Once the berries have softened, pour the contents of the pan in a heatproof container.
Doesn’t that look beautifully fresh and summery?
After the berry-soup has cooled, blitz it up with a stick blender.
Then pass through a sieve so you’ll end up with a smooth puree.
Squeeze in some lemon juice…
… pour in a little elderflower syrup…
… and stir in a little whipping cream.
Then churn it by hand or in an ice cream maker.
And in no time at all you’ll have the most beautiful, delicious ice cream!
- 500g (or 1 pound + 1 ounce) purple gooseberries
- 625ml (or 2½ cups + 5 teaspoons) water
- 150g (or ¾ cup) sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 100ml (or ⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) homemade or storebought elderflower syrup
- 125ml (or ½ cup + 1 teaspoon) whipping cream
- Wash the gooseberries and pick the little stems from their little bottoms.
- In a medium-sized pan, combine the sugar and water. Heat over low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has come to a boil.
- Carefully add the berries and gently cook for 10 minutes or until you can easily squash the berries against the side of the pan with a spoon. Carefully pour the contents of the pan in a heatproof container and leave to cool to room temperature, uncovered.
- Once the berry-syrup has cooled, use a stick blender to turn it into a smooth puree. Strain the puree through a sieve to get rid of the seeds. Discard the seeds. Add the lemon juice, elderflower syrup and whipping cream to the puree, whisking to combine.
- Chill the mixture in the fridge for an hour, then churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freeze-proof container, cover with a lid, and place in the freezer for at least four hours or until ready to serve.
- Twenty minutes before serving, take the sorbet out of the freezer and allow to soften in the fridge or on the counter.