Raspberry sorbet popsicles

To keep things interesting in today’s food world, you need to combine twenty different ingredients that are sometimes rare and often expensive in a single plate of food. This is true for savory and sweet dishes, and it even applies to popsicles.

The simple and unadorned ice pops that we grew up with, those icy desserts on a stick found in every periptero (Greek kiosk) in Greece, have now become edible art. Creams, sauces, pulps, juices, alcohol, biscuits, whole fruits, powders, sprinkles, everything you can imagine can go in and onto them.

Many are tempting, others not so much, but what ultimately matters when we put something into our mouth, is its flavor. How something tastes is the only thing that’s of importance to me when it comes to any type of food. Especially a fruit sorbet.

And this raspberry sorbet is nothing but delicious. The flavor of the raspberries is so vibrant, so pristine, only enhanced by the sugar syrup and the lemon juice that’s added. And that color, that almost fuchsia color, you can’t fake that no matter how hard you try.

So go, make these, enjoy them!

Raspberry Sorbet Popsicles

I always use fresh raspberries for this sorbet, but frozen (and completely thawed) berries should work just as well. Raspberries are sweet but also sharp, making this sorbet not too sweet.

Not all raspberries are the same, some are sweeter than others so once you’ve made your sorbet mixture, give it a taste to check if it’s too sour. If it is, add more of the sugar syrup (you’ll make 250 ml and the recipe calls for 200 ml so you’ll have some extra if needed).

I used these popsicle molds but any other type will do. Vodka shot glasses work miracles and that’s what I’ve used before in these cherry sorbet ice pops and these mango sorbet ice pops.

Yield: 9 popsicles (90 ml each)

Ingredients

for the sugar syrup
250 ml water
110 g caster sugar

for the sorbet
400 g fresh raspberries
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
200 ml sugar syrup

Special equipment: small saucepan with lid, blender or food processor, fine sieve, popsicle molds or vodka shot glasses, wooden sticks


Preparation

for the sugar syrup
In a small saucepan, add the water and sugar and place over medium heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved and turn heat up to medium-high. Once the syrup comes to the boil, turn heat down to medium and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Then take the pan off the heat, put the lid on and allow syrup to cool completely before adding it to the sorbet.

for the sorbet
In a blender or a food processor, add the raspberries, the lemon juice and the sugar syrup. Blend until smooth and pass through a fine sieve to get rid of the raspberry seeds. Careful though, don’t throw away even a drop of that precious raspberry pulp!
Give the sorbet mixture a taste to see if it needs more sugar syrup in case it is sour, or a little more lemon juice in case it is too sweet, although I doubt it will be too sweet.

Empty the mixture into the popsicle molds or shot glasses, filling them by 3/4, and place in the freezer. Once the sorbet begins to set, add the wooden sticks. Leave the sorbet popsicles in the freezer for 3-4 hours or until completely set.

Alternatively, you can pour it into an ice cream machine and then in a suitable container and into your freezer, thus making simply a sorbet and not pospicles.

Taking out the popsicles from the molds or shot glasses is a piece of cake as long as the sorbet has set properly. Run the sides of the mold/shot glass under cold running water and holding the wooden popsicle stick with your hand, pull the popsicle out. You’ll probably feel some resistance at first, but it will eventually come out.

You can keep the sorbet in the freezer for up to 1 month.