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This Raspberry Sorbet is soft, delightfully tart, and bursting with fresh berry flavor! It can be made with store-bought purée or fresh raspberries!
In New York, late season raspberries are our last burst of Summer color before pumpkin spice season takes over. Even though I am a pumpkin spice fanatic, I always want to give fresh raspberries all the time I can! Perfectly chilled raspberry sorbet is a delightful way to close out the summer season. Who can say no to its bright berry flavor highlighted with lemon and sweetened with just a little sugar? This Raspberry Sorbet captures everything I love about raspberries in each refreshing spoonful (after spoonful…).
In case you’d like to join me, I’m making all the raspberry desserts possible with those last fresh raspberries of the season. Now is the perfect time to make Raspberry Rhubarb Crumble, Traditional Raspberry Linzer Cookies, Mixed Berry Pie, Lemon Raspberry Bread Pudding, and Mixed Berry Crumble, just to name a few!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this raspberry sorbet:
- An easy showstopper: This bright raspberry sorbet is made with only simple syrup, raspberry purée, and lemon juice. Just mix them together and let your ice cream maker do the rest!
- Perfect texture: Soft and refreshing, each spoonful of this sorbet exquisitely melts in your mouth.
- Safe for most dietary restrictions: Yes, you’ve found a dessert that is naturally vegan. It has very little added sugar and absolutely zero dairy products!
Recipe Tips
- Keep it chill: Your raspberry sorbet will be much easier to make if all the ingredients and even equipment are cold.
- Stop spinning: Avoid overmixing your sorbet by stopping your ice cream maker once the sorbet looks like soft-serve ice cream. Otherwise, your sorbet will become too hard once it freezes.
- Taste before spinning: The ingredients are delightfully simple here, but that means that each needs to shine! Raspberries vary in sweetness as do store-bought purées. Add a bit of simple syrup, taste and repeat.
If you’ve added all the lemon juice and simple syrup, but the flavor still doesn’t pop, try just the tiniest pinch of kosher salt. Sometimes just a little salt will amplify all the other flavors without adding sweetness.
Ingredients
- Raspberry Purée: You can use homemade or store-bought raspberry purée for this sorbet. Remember raspberry purée is simply raspberries and sometimes sugar, so be wary of mixes with too many additives.
- Sugar: I use granulated sugar in this sorbet. It is here for the more obvious flavor reasons, and to improve texture and stability.
Sugar helps you get that melt-in-your mouth quality! It also keeps the sorbet from being too icy, as sugar inhibits freezing.
- Water: Water is important in sorbet-making to dissolve the sugar. Tap water is fine. I usually use cold water just because I want a slow and steady heating process.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice is the linchpin of the flavor here! My motto for citrus juices is that fresh is always best. If you must use store-bought lemon juice, try to find a frozen option that is frozen fresh juice. Sometimes lemon juice is even in the refrigerator section. If it looks dark in color, then it is no longer going to taste fresh.
Variations
- Add alcohol: You could add a bit of chambord! I would never keep you from living your best life! Be aware that too much alcohol might make the sorbet overly soft, because it also inhibits freezing. Call it a frozen daiquiri instead and no one will be the wiser!
- Use it as a cake topping: Raspberries and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Top your favorite One Bowl Chocolate Cake with this sorbet, but be sure to serve it immediately!
- Make it a smoothie or a cocktail: Add fresh fruit and yogurt to this sorbet to make a delightful smoothie! You could also put a scoop of sorbet in your favorite champagne or prosecco for an effortless yet elegant cocktail.
Substitutions
- Sugar: Sugar is not only a sweetener but it impacts the texture as well. Yes, it is possible to reduce the sugar, or replace it with raw honey or a powdered sugar substitute. However, I cannot personally vouch for the outcome of such sugar substitutes in this raspberry sorbet recipe. If you head that direction, please share with me how it goes!
- Lemon: I find that lemon is my preferred citrus to pair with raspberry, but you could experiment with other citruses!
Think about citrus as a way to highlight the flavor of the berries.
- Raspberries: I designed this particular recipe for raspberries, but you could absolutely try it with another berry of your choosing! It’s helpful to taste for sweetness along the way. Leave me a comment to let me know which fruit ends up being your favorite!
How to make a purée from fresh raspberries for your Raspberry Sorbet
- Plan: Consider first the amount of raspberry purée you will need. It takes about twice as many fresh raspberries as the desired volume of purée.
- Berry choice: Choose the juiciest, ripest raspberries or the resulting amount of purée will be less than predicted. Generally you will need about double the amount of berries by weight.
- Blend the berries: Blend fresh raspberries with an immersion blender, traditional blender, food processor, or Nutribullet. Stop blending once the raspberries are broken up.
- Strain and store: Press the raspberries through a fine sieve with the back of a large spoon in order to catch the seeds. Transfer your purée to a container and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.
- Blender-Free Option: You could toss your raspberries in a little sugar and let them sit overnight. The sugar pulls out the moisture and lets you strain the seeds easier without needing to blend them! You will not need to refrigerate it before use.
How to Make Raspberry Sorbet
Use these instructions to make the perfect raspberry sorbet every time! Further details and measurements are in the recipe card below!
Prepare your ice cream canister:
Step 1: Pre-freeze the canister for your ice cream machine for at least 24 hours. I also like to pre-freeze the container where I will store my sorbet (a loaf pan, generally).
Make the simple syrup:
Step 2: In a small sauce-pot, combine sugar and water. Stir to incorporate and bring just to a boil.
Step 3: Remove your simple syrup from the heat, and cool it to room temperature. Refrigerate it before using.
Note: This simple syrup recipe makes about double the amount needed for raspberry sorbet. Save the rest for cocktails, soaking cake, or more sorbet! If you make half of this simple syrup recipe, be wary of the sugar not dissolving completely before it boils.
Chill your raspberry purée:
Step 4: If using fresh raspberries, prepare your raspberry purée {directions above!}. Whether your purée is store-bought or homemade, let it cool in the refrigerator. If your ingredients are cold it helps the sorbet to cool faster and be less icy.
Combine ingredients:
Step 5: Combine the raspberry purée, lemon juice, and half of the simple syrup in a bowl. Whisk vigorously or immersion blend.
If you are using store-bought purée, start with half the simple syrup. Add more to taste. The sugar content varies wildly between brands.
Step 6: Spin the combined ingredients in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The sorbet is done when it starts to create ripples that hold and don’t just fall back into the mixture. This will seem like a ‘soft-serve’ texture, and it’s important to stop spinning at that point. If you over-spin your sorbet, it will be hard (and not soft) once it is frozen.
Store:
Step 7: Transfer the sorbet to a frozen container and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Freeze it for several hours or overnight. Honestly, it will be delicious immediately! I suggest trying at least one spoonful just to treat yourself!
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
Don’t forget to pre-freeze the canister for your ice cream machine! I keep one canister in the freezer at all times. This helps me to avoid the sad disappointment when an ice cream or sorbet craving strikes!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store your raspberry sorbet in a freezer-safe container covered with plastic wrap for at least several hours or overnight. For the best flavor, homemade raspberry sorbet will keep in the freezer for about a month (if you don’t eat it all!).
It is actually beneficial to make your simple syrup and purée in advance so that they are cold before making your sorbet. Simple syrup can stay in the fridge for months, whereas raspberry purée can be made about a week in advance.
You are only limited by the size of your ice cream machine! This recipe already makes double the amount of simple syrup required, so why not make double the sorbet?
In order for the sorbet to cool faster and be less icy it is helpful to fully chill all of your ingredients. I also freeze my ice cream machine’s canister 24 hours in advance as well as the container I plan to use for sorbet storage.
You can absolutely make this same recipe with frozen raspberries. Simply follow my instructions for making your own purée. It is helpful to thaw the berries before attempting. It’s actually easier than using fresh.
Sorbet has no dairy and the base is typically fruit but it can also be chocolate or another flavor. Sherbert has a sorbet-like base to which yogurt is added. Neither sorbet nor sherbet are heated. Ice cream’s base is cream, milk, and sugar. It is heated and then added to whole eggs or egg yolks.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Raspberry Sorbet
Ingredients
- 2 cups raspberry purée
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice juice of approximately 1 lemon
Instructions
Prepare your ice cream canister:
- Pre-freeze the canister for your ice cream machine for at least 24 hours. I also like to pre-freeze the container where I will store my sorbet (a loaf pan, generally).
Make the simple syrup:
- Note: This simple syrup recipe makes about double the amount needed for raspberry sorbet. Save the rest for cocktails, soaking cake, or more sorbet! If you make half of this simple syrup recipe, be wary of the sugar not dissolving completely before it boils.
- In a small sauce-pot, combine sugar and water. Stir to incorporate and bring just to a boil.
- Remove your simple syrup from the heat, and cool it to room temperature. Refrigerate it before using.
How to make a purée from fresh raspberries for your Raspberry Sorbet:
- Consider first the amount of raspberry purée you will need. It takes about twice as many fresh raspberries as the desired volume of purée.
- Blend fresh raspberries with an immersion blender, traditional blender, food processor, or Nutribullet. Stop blending once the raspberries are broken up.
- Press the raspberries through a fine sieve with the back of a large spoon in order to catch the seeds. Transfer your purée to a container and refrigerate until you are ready to use it.
Chill your raspberry purée:
- If using fresh raspberries, prepare your raspberry purée. Whether your purée is store-bought or homemade, let it cool in the refrigerator. If your ingredients are cold it helps the sorbet to cool faster and be less icy.
Combine ingredients:
- Combine the raspberry purée, lemon juice, and half of the simple syrup in a bowl. Whisk vigorously or immersion blend.
- Spin the combined ingredients in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. The sorbet is done when it starts to create ripples that hold and don’t just fall back into the mixture. This will seem like a ‘soft-serve’ texture, and it’s important to stop spinning at that point. If you over-spin your sorbet, it will be hard (and not soft) once it is frozen.
Store:
- Transfer the sorbet to a frozen container and cover the surface with plastic wrap. Freeze it for several hours or overnight. Honestly, it will be delicious immediately! I suggest trying at least one spoonful just to treat yourself!
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go!
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed homemade ice cream recipes!
Can this be made without an ice cream maker?
Hi Patricia! Yes, you can make this sorbet without an ice cream maker, it’s just going to take a lot more stirring! You’ll want to do everything as written in the recipe until you get to Step 2 of the ‘Combine Ingredients’ section. After you’ve combined your ingredients, pour into a shallow container and put in the freezer. After about 30 minutes, check–when the edges start to freeze you’ll want to stir them into the center. You’ll have to check every 30 minutes or so for around 3 hours (or until the sorbet is all the way frozen). You’ll then want to follow the instructions for the ‘Store’ section as written! Come back to let me know how it turns out and enjoy!
This looks stunning.
The question I have is, you mention this can be made with other berries. I just picked a LOT of peaches off my little peach tree and I am wondering if I can make this with Peach Puree?
Ultimate goal is to make peach sorbet and then swirl the raspberry puree in with it as I put it in the container to freeze.
Made this for Easter and it was delicious!! The entire family loved it! Making it again next week.
Hi Darcey! It would be a delightful Easter treat, thank you for coming back and commenting!
The flavor of this sorbet is so delicious but I am obsessed with the color! It’s so gorgeous! Also, very easy to make. I used fresh raspberries and the extra step took a bit of time, but it was 100% worth it. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Rebecca! She’s a stunner! Thank you for coming back and commenting! 🙂
SO GOOD! I absolutely love raspberry everything and this sorbet was perfection. I used it for non alcoholic mimosa floats for a girl’s night. Will make again for nightly indulging. YUM.
Hi Elizabeth! That sounds absolutely delicious, save a glass for me! 😆
WOW!!!
The flavor in this sorbet was so fresh. Nothing like the synthetic ones you get at the grocery store!
I made it with some raspberry puree from the store and it was incredible. I can’t wait to see how it will turn out with fresh raspberries.
We had it for dessert with some sweet wafers.
Hi Claire! I couldn’t agree more, and paired with some sweet wafers would be perfection!
This was so delicious and refreshing! Really loved how simple it was.
Hi Shruthi! Thank you so much for coming back and commenting!
Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.
Thank you, Helan! I am so glad you and your family enjoyed it!