Quite by accident (or divine providence) the house I’m spending some time in this summer is equipped with an automatic ice cream maker – something I’ve never tried to use before. And I happened to show up with too much tea… So quite innocently and unintentionally, I’ve found myself on the holy grail of frozen tea desserts. There’s nothing like smooth, creamy, luscious sorbet and gelato infused with loose leaf tea. (Haven’t gone the ice cream route yet – but stay tuned!)
If you have an ice cream maker (old style makers start at $10, and the fully automatic ones are $50 – $60) steep & churn one of these tea-based recipes for a homemade dessert at your next summer party. Although not sugar-free, both of these can be made fat-free. The Pink Rose Lemonade sorbet is fine-flavored and sophisticated. Mint garnish is perfect for it – you might even try finely chopping some mint leaves over the top. And the Earl of Grey gelato is in a world of its own – I made one version with fat-free half and half, and no one would ever guess.
If you try the steep & churn, you’ll keep your ice cream maker busy all season long and never go back to the grocery store freezer for another pint!
Pink Rose Lemonade Sorbet
Pink Rose Lemonade Sorbet
4 C water
3 T Pink Rose Lemonade Herbal Tea leaves
0.75 C sugar, plus
2 T honey
Juice of 1 lemon (preferably Meyer Lemon)
Bring water to boil, add Pink Rose Lemonade leaves, and remove from heat. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain out leaves. Add sugar and honey. Stir until dissolved. Add lemon juice. Stir. Chill tea, covered, until cold, then freeze in an ice cream maker.
Earl of Grey Gelato
Earl of Grey Gelato
1.75 C whole milk and 0.25 C heavy cream OR 1.5 C fat-free Half & Half and 0.5 C low-fat milk
1/3 C sugar
2 T corn starch
1.5 T Earl of Grey loose black tea leaves
For the fruit swirl (optional): 0.5 C fruits of your choice (I used blueberries), 1 T sugar, 1 t corn starch
Pour 1 1/4 C whole and 1/4 cup of cream into a heavy saucepan. Add the sugar and heat over medium heat until near boiling. Remove from heat, add tea leaves and steep for 6 minutes. Strain out the tea. Add the corn starch to the remaining 1/2 C of milk and whisk to combine. Pour this into the saucepan and whisk to combine. Return to heat over medium heat. stiring with a wooden spoon to make sure the milk doesn’t burn. Once the mixture is the consistency of thin gravy, take it off the heat and put it in a bowl to cool to room temperature then put the bowl in the refrigerator to cool completely. Follow your ice cream maker’s directions to freeze the gelato, then when it’s finished, swirl in the blueberry mixture with a spatula, if desired.
For the swirl, just combine the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly and crush the blueberries, making sure the starch blends in well. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring continuously, until the sauce has thickened. Cool to room temperature then keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to use.