This lemon sorbet with limoncello was inspired by a dessert I tasted at La Mercerie, a little gem of a restaurant on the corner of Soho’s Mercer Street in New York City. Basically a fresh lemon, carved out and filled with lemon sorbet, the ideal dessert for a citrussy little fix. When a friend sent me a bottle of limoncello as a gift – a lemon liqueur from the south of Italy – I bought a massive crate of lemons to recreate it at home.
You do need an ice-cream machine to make this lemon sorbet with limoncello. Since base is quite thin, the machine will give it enough volume to transform from what looks like regular lemonade into a luxurious lemon sorbet. The egg white is what gives this sorbet body and what will make it solidify into a creamy dessert. Do not skip this ingredient!
Once filled, make sure you refreeze the lemon bowls with the sorbet – they melt quickly. Feel free to make this alcohol-free by replacing the limoncello with additional lemon juice.
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Bon appetit!
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lemon sorbet with limoncello
Equipment
- ice cream machine
Ingredients
- 6 to 8 lemons for the lemon bowls
- 250 g 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 240 ml 1 cup water
- grated zest of 2 lemons
- 120 ml ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 120 ml ½ cup limoncello
- 1 egg white
Instructions
For the lemon bowls
- Prepare your lemon bowls by cutting about 6.5 mm (¼ inch) off the bottom of each lemon (the bum end) so they stand upright without tipping over. Next, cut about 19 mm (¾ inch) from the stem and reserve – this will be the “hat”.
- Use a paring or serrated grapefruit knife to dislodge the lemon flesh by gently cutting around the diameter of the lemon between the flesh and the pith.
- Use a spoon to remove as much as the juice and pulp as possible.
- Strain this and reserve for the sorbet.
- Get your lemon as clean as possible on the inside.
- Stand the lemon on a parchment lined baking tray along with the lemon hats.
- Freeze until you are ready to serve your sorbet.
for the limoncello sorbet
- Add the sugar and the water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, and simmer until the sugar has dissolved – about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- When ready to make the sorbet, lightly whisk the egg white and add it to the limoncello mixture and combine. Place the mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Transfer to a container and freeze for a few hours until the sorbet hardens slightly.
- When ready to serve, scoop out the sorbet and place it in the lemon bowl making sure to get as much of it as possible inside the lemon.
- Top with an additional scoop of sorbet and the lemon hat.
- Serve immediately.
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