Friday, June 5, 2009

Cardamom Rhubarb Sorbet and Creamsicles

I read this post on Rhubarb Sorbet from Two Peas & Their Pod a couple weeks ago & decided that's what I wanted to try with some of the rhubarb I had from the farm.
#153 - cardamom rhubarb sorbet
The base came together easily enough but the flavor was a little too subtle for me, I thought it needed something else to really make it sing. I wasn't sure which way to go (nutmeg? cinnamon? ginger?) so, I put the question out there on Twitter, @lonebaker gave some suggestions for pairings with rhubarb from The Flavor Bible. The suggestion of cardamom & vanilla struck me as the most interesting & I really like cardamom. I love the extra punch they gave this sorbet. The sorbet mixed up to this beautiful creamy texture & tasted like an amazing Scandinavian baked good.

Cardamom Rhubarb Sorbet
(adapted from Garrett McCord of Vanilla Garlic)

3 1/2 c fresh rhubarb, chopped
2 1/2 c water
1 2/3 c sugar
1/4 t salt
2 t dried lemon zest
1/2 t cardamom (I really like cardamom if you aren't sure start with 1/4 t & taste it before adding more)
1 t vanilla extract
2 t corn syrup

Place the rhubarb, water, sugar, salt & lemon zest in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover & let simmer for 5 minutes. The rhubarb should get very soft. Let cool.

Using a blender or immersion blender, process the rhubarb mixture until smooth. Press through a fine strainer to remove the pulp. (Ours was pretty fine so a lot went through the strainer & I think had no effect on the finished sorbet.) Stir in the cardamom, vanilla & corn syrup. Cover & chill until very cold.

Process in your ice cream maker until creamy. Place in a container & freeze.

Makes about 1 quart.

I also wanted to make popsicles since I'd just found these great popsicle molds at IKEA that remind me so much of being a kid.
Morning 153 - Sorbet & Popsicles
But I wanted them to be more like creamsicles. So, I left about 1/4 of the rhubarb sorbet in the ice cream maker & stirred in about 1/2 c of heavy cream. Then I filled my popsicle molds & put them in the freezer overnight.
IMG_3883
The result was sooo good. I love the added smoothness to the texture & taste that the little bit of cream gave to the sorbet. (Matt actually preferred the regular sorbet as he thought the cream took away some of the tang.) I had my 10 year old cousin over today who said he hated rhubarb & yet he ate two of these popsicles. The only issue was getting them out of the molds, the sticks kept pulling out because these were softer than your regular popsicle.

If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://agoodappetite.blogspot.com OR at http://agoodappetite.com then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at katbaro AT yahoo DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author unless otherwise noted.
© 2007-2009 Kathy Lewinski



7 comments:

  1. Love that flavor combo. Wasn't a huge fan of cardamom until my mom started using it in cookies. Love the stuff now, and that sounds like an amazing treat!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Never tried that flavour combo. Sounds and looks delicious

    ReplyDelete
  3. I need to go pick up some rhubarb from my inlaws!

    ReplyDelete
  4. how unique! i'll tell ya, rhubarb doesn't get enough glory, and neither does cardamom. this is fantastic, kat!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the popsicle too. Lovely idea Kat.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was looking at popsicle moulds the other day too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Would never have occurred to me that cardamom and rhubarb would go so well together.
    So that's what the flavor bible book is about. I'll have to check it out.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comments! Matt & I love to read them but if you link to online drugs or real estate or such in anyway we will delete you. Due to the amount of spam we are now moderating all comments.