Chocolate and Violet Sorbet
- 30 sweet violet flowers
- 175 g caster sugar
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 125 g high quality dark chocolate
Warm 500 ml of water in a saucepan with the caster sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved,
do not allow the syrup to get too hot.
Add the washed violet flowers to the warm syrup and leave to infuse for up to 1 hour.
Remove the violets with a slotted spoon, and rewarm the syrup in the pan.
Add a little syrup to the cocoa in a small bowl and blend well before returning the cocoa mixture to the pan.
Break the chocolate into small pieces and add to the pan, whisking well to dissolve the chocolate.
Bring the mixture to the boil, then immediately remove the pan from the heat
and place in a pan of iced water for at least 15 minutes.
When the mixture is completely cold pour into an ice-cream maker and churn until set,
then transfer to a plastic container and freeze overnight before serving garnished with violet flowers.
This sorbet is lovely at the end of a rich meal
and can be served with a raspberry sauce easily made by processing raspberries
with a squeeze of lemon juice in the food processor
and then straining the sauce through a sieve to remove the seeds before serving with the sorbet.