Homemade Lime Sherbet

I admit, I have never really been a fan of sherbet, that is, until last year.  On hot days, I don't like to eat, so I found that a nice cold fruit smoothie was not only refreshing but filled me up.  I had a really tasty smoothie at Jamba Juice last summer, and it had lime sherbet in it.  I find myself substituting sherbet into my smoothies instead of yogurt now.  I bought some lime sherbet when I moved into my new house and my kids were eating it up faster that I could use it in my smoothies, so I knew the flavor would go over well with everyone.

After making the peanut butter ice cream last week, I've been inspired to keep more homemade stuff on hand in the freezer, since it really is just so easy.  In my Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, there are a LOT of ice cream, sherbet, sorbet, and frozen ice recipes.  My son and I found a recipe for a sherbet cake we are going to make together, involving lemon and raspberry sherbet (first I need to get a springform pan).  I thought it would be a good idea to make our own sherbet for the cake, but since we don't have the pan yet, I decided we'd try lime as our tester flavor of sherbet.

How good was the lime sherbet?  So good that I made it last night and it's completely gone now.  We all had a bowl for dessert last night and then Hazel and I had our strawberry lime smoothies for lunch.  In fact, it was so good, there's no question that I will ever have any other type of sherbet in my freezer but homemade.  In fact, I actually whipped up a batch of orange sherbet while the kids were eating dinner and that's in the freezer now (think creamsicle- check back soon for this recipe).

And you're welcome!

Lime Sherbet:

1 TBSP lime zest
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 6 limes)
1 1/2 cup cold water
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 TBSP sugar
2 tsp triple sec or vodka (or 1 tsp vanilla- I make my own vanilla, and it's from vodka and vanilla beans so I figured it'd be an ok substitute)
2/3 cup heavy cream

1) Put sugar, lime zest, and salt in bowl of food processor, fitted with blade.  Pulse for 1 minute until zest is incorporated into the sugar.

2) With the food processor running, add the water and lime juice.  Mix for 1 minute until all the sugar is dissolved.  Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl that has a lid.

3) Add alcohol or vanilla to the strained mixture, stir, cover, and place in the freezer.  Leave in freezer for about 30-45 minutes, until the temperature of the liquid is about 40'.  Do not let it freeze.

4) After removing the liquid from the freezer, pour the heavy cream into a bowl.  Using a whisk, beat the cream until stiff peaks form.  (I cheated and used a hand beater, and whipped it on medium until stiff peaks formed).

5) While slowly whisking the cream, after the stiff peaks formed, keep whisking while adding the liquid mixture from the freezer.  Turn the ice cream maker on, while it is turning, slowly pour this liquid into it.

6) Run the ice cream maker for about 25-30 minutes until the sherbet is thick and creamy.  Place in an airtight container with a lid and freeze for about 3 hours until firm before serving.

Source:  Cook's Illusrated Cookbook