Blackberry Lavender Sorbet

It feels a bit strange that I waited this long to incorporate lavender into a recipe, given the name I’ve assumed to represent my baking ideations and processes. Everyone who knows me (or at least knows me well) can attest to how much I love lavender’s ability to gratify the olfactive organs and, in turn, quell most inquietudes. While my adoration for lavender precedes me, I’ve been apprehensive about publishing a recipe with lavender as a main ingredient out of fear of being banal or clichéd. In wading through these platitudes, there is no memory to recall–let alone cling on to–regarding my initial encounter with the fragrant purple herb. No image. No blur. No flash. Nothing. This absence was not enough of a reason to justify a recipe because what is there to say when there is nothing to say?

I’ve said before that when words fall short of all we have to say, sometimes baking a cake is enough. Similarly, I think my affection for lavender need not have a memory so ingrained in the innermost recesses of my heart to justify a recipe. Recipes don’t need prerequisites to justify their existence or creation anyway. Their broader purpose is to serve as sources of inspiration that encompass the fragments of oneself that live on in a form so tangible that it’s edible. 

I might not ever be able to recall my first encounter with lavender with the same nostalgia I can recall a former friend I don’t speak to anymore, an old lover whose hand I can’t embrace anymore, or a pet I can’t call out to anymore. This time around, there are no old memories to unearth and retell. Lavender is the breaking off point from the past. This recipe, I’ve come to believe, serves that purpose too. 

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Blackberry Lavender Sorbet

Course: Dessert

Keyword: Blackberry Sorbet, Lavender

Author: Shawn

Ingredients

• 6 cups blackberries washed and dried
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp culinary grade lavender
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 ½ tbsp cherry liqueur optional

Instructions

• Add the blackberries to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a container and ensure you have 4 cups of blackberry purée.
• Return about 1 ½ cups of blackberry purée to the food processor, along with the sugar, lavender, and liqueur to a blender. Process until the mixture is smooth. Add salt and lemon juice and pulse to combine.
• Pour the mixture into a container and refrigerate overnight.
• Prepare the ice cream maker per the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Pour the sorbet base into the mouth of the ice cream maker. Depending on the manufacturer’s instructions, churn the sorbet for 30 to 60 minutes or until smooth and fluffy.
• Scoop the sorbet into a freezer safe container and freeze for 4 hours or overnight to harden, or serve immediately if you prefer a soft serve texture.

Enjoy! <3