Mathilde's Champagne Sorbet or how to impress your friends with the easiest dessert ever
My mémère grew up in a different time, where most women left their jobs when they got married and stayed at home to cook and clean and raise children. That is what she did, plus some. This tiny, feisty woman never seemed to sleep and never stopped moving. When I would stay with my grandparents when I was younger, by the time I got up she had already walked to the boulangerie to get fresh baguettes for my breakfast, ironed all of the clothes (including underwear) that she had washed the day before, started making the vegetables for lunch...and so much more that I don't even know about. As you can imagine, holidays were always amazing. She would bring out course after course of food, followed by homemade tarts (with her homemade puff pastry crust), delicious cheeses, and if I was lucky, my all time favorite, homemade Champagne Sorbet.
I would love to say that I am just like my grandmother, but let's be honest, I'm more like the super busy, easily distracted, kind of lazy (maybe lazy isn't the right word. I just really like to make things easier for myself instead of harder!) American version of her. But she is a smart woman, and I have come to realize that some of the things that she made that were so impressive are actually pretty simple, like her Champagne Sorbet. Really, you are going to be amazed when you make this. It will impressive the chaussettes right off your friends or guests and make you look like a French dessert making genius, while in reality it took a total of 4 ingredients and about 15 minutes of prep followed by half a day of freezer time. I can say this with complete confidence because I just recently hosted a quatorze juillet party for the people in my French conversation group and they were all blown away by the sorbet. The key to making it look really good is to serve it up in a fancy wine glass or champagne coupe with some sort of garnish. I like to make mine out of sparkling rosé because #1. I love rosé and #2. it gives the sorbet a lovely pink hue. The only difficult part about making this dessert is planning ahead and giving it enough time to freeze (half a day should be plenty). So, are you ready to give it a try?
You can make this without an ice cream maker but I would recommend just getting one. They are not very expensive and make life so much easier. I got the one I have from Amazon and you can check it out here using my affiliate link.
Mathilde's Champagne Sorbet
What you will need:
- 2.5 cups of Champagne or sparkling wine
- 1.25 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- juice from 1 lemon
In a small sauce pan, mix 1.5 cups of the bubbly with the water and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Let cool and then add the rest of the champagne and the lemon juice. Cool this mixture in the fridge and then just follow your ice cream maker's instructions to make the sorbet. Take it out of the ice cream maker and put it in the freezer overnight or for about 5 hours. Because of the alcohol it can take a little longer to freeze up and will look somewhat slushy at the beginning. Just give it time in the freezer, taking it out every couple of hours to mix it up. If you do not have an ice cream maker I believe that you can freeze the mixture by putting it in a shallow pan and stirring every half hour or so to break up the ice. I've also read that you can you blend it up once it's frozen which would be even easier.
Note: For a recipe like this measurements do not need to be exact. I like to taste my mixture before churning it to see if it is sweet enough, tart enough, and champagne-y enough. Also, don't worry about using expensive champagne for this. I used a $10 bottle of sparkling rosé from our local wine and cheese shop and the sorbet was delicious! And you can always make a Kir Royale (one of my favorite ways to drink cheap bubbly) out of the little bit that is left over with some crème de cassis.