Apricot sorbet

A refreshing apricot sorbet, perfect for hot summer days :). Homemade sorbets are wonderfully light and packed with fruit, so it’s worth making the most of summer’s bounty. For sorbets, we use sugar syrup (or an equivalent such as corn syrup or golden syrup), which improves the texture of the sorbet, making it smoother and easier to scoop. The syrup lowers the freezing point of the mixture, helping to prevent it from becoming too hard.

Makes approximately 1.5 litres.

Ingredients for the apricot sorbet:

• 1 kg apricots
• 3 tablespoons honey
• juice of half a lemon
• ½ cup corn syrup, golden syrup or sugar syrup*

Halve and stone the apricots. Arrange them cut side up on a baking tray, drizzle with the honey and bake for 20 minutes at 180°C. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Place the cooled apricots and the remaining ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth (you can also use a hand blender). Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge until thoroughly cold, preferably overnight.

Pour the chilled sorbet mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a container, cover and freeze for several hours.

The apricot sorbet can also be made without an ice cream maker. Pour the chilled mixture into a freezer-safe container and place it in the freezer. During the first 3 hours, blend or stir the mixture every 30 minutes to prevent ice crystals from forming and to make the sorbet lighter and fluffier. Freeze until firm.

*Sugar syrup: Pour ½ cup of water into a small saucepan and add ⅔ cup of sugar (or less, to taste). Stir, bring to the boil and cook for about 3–4 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. The syrup can be made a day in advance.

Enjoy!