Chocolate Sorbet

Last summer we took a trip to the mountains and after a day hike, stopped at a local cafe for gelato. Browsing the tray of dozens of colorful tubs, there was one flavor that stood out to me and my elder daughter: chocolate sorbet. It looked so dark and lush – we both ordered it and promptly fell in love. It had such a deep chocolate taste, nothing like I’d ever had.

The sorbet base is really why the chocolate is allowed to take center stage; there are no egg yolks, cream or milk to dilute the strong cocoa flavor. Yet it was still so creamy. Weeks later when we were back home, I wanted to recreate it.

Recipe Origins 

I talked about it in my newsletter last August and how I landed on my first attempt: 

I examined various chocolate sorbet recipes online and noticed they’re all fairly the same: a little over 2 cups water boiled with 1 cup sugar, 1/2-3/4 cups cocoa powder (most opted for the greater amount), six ounces of chocolate, and an extract and a liqueur (the latter keeps the ice cream from freezing too solid). A few of the recipes mention Ina or David, but most don’t share an original inspiration/adaptation. The method is the same: making a simple syrup (common to sorbets), sometimes adding cocoa to bloom it, and, if chocolate is in included, it is chopped and subsequently stirred into the hot liquid where it melts.

The earliest recipe I found for a chocolate sorbet comes from Pierre Hermé: the method is the same but Hermé keeps it really simple, using just sugar, water, and lots of chocolate. I did see a few people mention a graininess to the ice cream so I wanted to avoid that.

I really liked the first version I had made but I was convinced I could do even better; so I kept fiddling with it over the next few months. My main goal was to make sure it was very smooth and wasn’t at all grainy: this meant incorporating a strong blending and sieving step. I also wanted to do without the alcohol so I added a little syrup to act as a crystallization inhibitor. 

Recipe Ingredients 

Water: filtered water, or water you would drink. 

Sugar: fine granulated sugar. I like using brown here, it adds a slight smoky flavor from the molasses. 

Corn Syrup: light or dark, or golden syrup. I tried honey once and it did not work as well (the ice cream was less smooth/creamy).

Cocoa powder: this isn’t absolutely necessary but if you like an intense cocoa flavor, add it.

Salt: fine sea salt. If using table salt, add JUST a pinch or you will find it too salty. Table salt also doesn’t taste great with chocolate. 

Corn syrup: this is there less to sweeten and more to make for a 

Chocolate: dark chocolate or semi-sweet and chop it before adding it to the pot. If you are aiming for a dairy free sorbet, make sure your chocolate is dairy free too! 

Vanilla: pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Don’t skip it – it does add to the flavor. 

How to Make Chocolate Sorbet Recipe 

Chop the chocolate into small bits. Set aside. 

Add the water, sugar, corn syrup or honey, salt, and (if using) the cocoa powder to a pot. 

Whisk well and set the pot over medium low heat. 

We’re only going to cook the liquid until it starts to steam just slightly – we’re looking for the sugar to fully dissolve. 

Once the sugar has dissolved, turn off the heat and add the chopped chocolate. 

Stir as the chocolate melts. 

If you have an immersion blender, use it to blend the base until it’s smooth. 

If you don’t have one, transfer the mixture into a blender or food processor and blend. 

Add the vanilla and stir to just combine. 

Pour the base through a mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. Let it come to room temperature then cover with plastic wrap (or a lid) and set in the fridge for at least eight hours to fully chill. 

Don’t skip that chilling step! 

When ready to churn, pour the base into your ice cream machine (follow it’s instructions – some bowls need to be chilled for a day before churning) and churn until frozen. 

Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze overnight. 

Troubleshooting & FAQ 

My sorbet is too hard to scoop. 

Assuming you didn’t skip the corn syrup, it could be that the sorbet was just kept in the coldest part of the freezer. Let it sit on the counter for 5 minutes then try scooping it. 

My sorbet is gritty. 

Sometimes the cocoa leaves a bit of powderyness in the sorbet but more likely this is because the sorbet mix wasn’t fully blended. This is why I use the immersion blender or a blender; that way the chocolate fully melts and blends into the syrup base. 

The chocolate flavor is too strong/not strong enough. 

This will mostly be dependent on the chocolate you choose and if you opt for the cocoa: a darker chocolate, with cocoa added to the base, will give a deeper chocolate flavor. Without the cocoa, and if your chocolate is not very dark (less than 70% cocoa solids), will produce a lighter chocolate flavor. 

Chocolate Sorbet Recipe

Chocolate Sorbet

Rich and intense chocolate ice cream made with a sorbet base of water and sugar.

Prep Time: 16 minutes mins

Cook Time: 7 minutes mins

Cooling Time: 8 hours hrs

Yields: 1 quart

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Ingredients

• 230g dark chocolate 70% cocoa solids, chopped
• 480g or 2 cups filtered water
• 150g or ¾ cups brown sugar, light or dark (can increase to one cup if you desire a sweeter sorbet)
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup, light or dark
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2-3 tablespoons dutch cocoa powder use the greater amount for a stronger cocoa flavor
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract to be stirred in after cooking

Method

• Note: you will need an ice cream machine to churn the chocolate sorbet base.
• Chop up the chocolate (225g) into small pieces (bean sized). Set aside.
• Add the water (480g or 2 cups), sugar (150g or ¾ cup), corn syrup (2 tablespoons), and salt(¼ teaspoon) to a pot. If using the cocoa (2 tablespoons), sift it in. Whisk the mixture well and set over medium low heat. Stir as the sugar melts.
• When the mixture starts to steam and the sugar is fully dissolved, turn off the heat.
• Add the chopped chocolate and stir as it melts. Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture very well (if you don’t have one, transfer the mix to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth).
• Set a fine mesh sieve over a heat safe bowl. Pour the base through the sieve (this is just to get rid of any lingering bits that didn’t get blended). Stir in the vanilla. Let the mix come to room temperature then cover and set in the fridge overnight (or up to 2 days) to fully chill.
• When ready to churn (follow your machine’s instructions for churning, it may ask you to freeze the bowl for a day beforehand) gently whisk the mix then pour it into the churning bowl. Churn to freeze then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze. The sorbet will keep for about a month but I find it’s best eaten within the first two weeks.

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