First Frost: Apple Sorbet with Calvados

The crunch of my dogs’ feet on frozen grass tells me something has changed since yesterday’s walk. There is a crispness in the air that enhances the deep blue of the cloudless sky. My nose is cold and I can see Molly’s breath trailing behind her, a fluffy sign of her seemingly boundless energy.

Billy ferrets out some tiny animal in a tuft of frosted grass, disturbing it from its warm hiding place. Spider webs shine like jewelled necklaces in the sun.

The windfall apples in the old orchard have a frosty sheen to them. I fill my pockets with this autumnal bounty and make my way back home.

In honour of autumn I shall make some fresh apple sorbet with the fruits of my morning’s harvest. I start by preparing the apples: peel, core, slice and pop into the freezer. I cut a lemon in two, peel it and remove the pips and pith and pop this into the freezer, too. Once they’re frozen, it’s a matter of just two minutes in the Thermomix before I am tucking into a chilly memory of this year’s first frost.

Tongham Wood Apple Sorbet with Calvados
Basic Thermomix recipe from “Fast and Easy Cooking” by Janie Turner, included in every purchase of a Thermomix TM31 from UK Thermomix. See www.ukthermomix.com for details.

70g granulated sugar
500g frozen apples
½ a lemon, peeled, pith and pips removed, also frozen
2 Tbsp Calvados liqueur
1 or 2 Tbsp apple juice, if required
1 egg white

1. Weigh the sugar into the bowl of the Thermomix and grind 5 seconds/Speed 10.
2. Add the frozen apple pieces and frozen lemon. Crush at Speed 5 until powdered.
3. Scrape down the sides of the TM bowl with the spatula.
4. Add the Calvados. Turn the speed gradually up to 9 while using the spatula to stir vigorously clockwise then anti-clockwise until fairly smooth – about a minute. If the mixture is very dry, you will need to add a touch of apple juice, non-alcoholic cider or even just water during this time, in 1 to 2 Tbsp amounts. Note: at this point you have a basic sorbet that is vaguely like a granita. Note the colour and texture.
5. Add the egg white and continue to churn vigorously with the spatula at Speed 9 until smooth (up to 30 seconds more). Hmmm… my sorbet is getting lighter in colour.
6. Insert the butterfly whisk and whisk 30 seconds/Speed 4 until light and creamy. Golly, look how the volume is increasing! It is important to work fast to keep the sorbet frozen. Serve immediately or place in the freezer for later enjoyment.

If you’d like you can serve a duo of sorbets from the same batch by serving up a scoop of the granita-like first stage and then adding a scoop of the final, Italian-style sorbet that has the egg white in it. The textures are quite different and make a nice contrast in both colour and texture. “It’s all about presentation,” to quote Michel Roux, Jr. on Masterchef The Professionals.

Of course, you can make 2-minute sorbet in the Thermomix with any frozen fruit. Mango is really yummy for a tropical treat. Summer fruits abound year-round in supermarket freezers if you’re waxing nostalgic for those hot days gone by. Just add ice cubes for added moisture to help crush the seeds. How about Pear and Vanilla sorbet? Or Blueberry? Kiwi is a real treat, too. The only limit is your imagination.

Try making sorbet with your guests at a dinner party and they’ll be as amazed as you are at how fast and easy it is. Get them to weigh in the ingredients using the built-in weighing scales; you can churn with the spatula and then everyone can sit down to a glorious, homemade, fast and easy dessert.

Bon appétit !

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