‘Old school’ Raspberry sorbet (prepared with Italian meringue)

Raspberry sorbet – even when prepared in the easy, “standard sorbet way” – usually turns out very nicely. But this time, we will go that extra mile and add a further delicious dimension – with the help of classic soft Italian meringue. Read on! 

The Old school-way of making superb sorbet – combine your sorbet with some Italian meringue!

While slightly more laboursome than just whisking together a typical sorbet, you will find that the result really speaks for itself. The soft Italian meringue is not used as an add-in (such as the crisp meringues used in other recipes). Instead, it becomes an integral part of the sorbet, generally improving the consistency and, arguably, the flavour-depth. And unlike the often-seen suggestion to whisk in raw egg whites in sorbets, properly prepared Italian meringue should also be “health safe”. 

UPDATE: For an egg-free alternative to Italian meringue – make aquafaba meringue: it’s actually easier, and provides the same advantages!

First step: Make ‘sugar-adjusted’ simple sugar syrup, purée the raspberries and prepare the sorbet base

The simple sugar syrup (adjusted)

Simple sugar syrup (= a mix of sugar and water) is a standard core ingredient when making sorbets. But since the Italian meringue contains quite a lot of sugar, the basic sorbet-recipe needs to be adjusted accordingly: otherwise, the end-result would likely end up being sickeningly sweet.

The base recipe I normally would use for sorbets typically contains 500 ml  of simple sugar syrup (=made up of equal parts of water and sugar). For this recipe, however, I would suggest that you start out with a simple sugar syrup made up of 2 parts water and 1 part sugar.

For 500 ml sugar syrup, this would mean about 170 ml (0.7 cup) sugar and the rest water. This will work out nicely in the end anyway, since the Italian meringue will add about 40 ml (0.16 cup) of sugar in itself.

The raspberries

I find berries easy to love, and raspberries particularly lovable. They already figure in a few recipes on this site (check out my favourite raspberry frozen yoghurt, for example). For this recipe, both fresh and frozen berries will do fine. And all you actually have to do is to purée them (using a handheld mixer typically does the trick for me), and add the lemon juice.

Following the standard sorbet recipe, I would recommend an amount of berries equal to the amount of sugar syrup: in this case, about 500 ml (2 cups).

Heavenly raspberries … who can resist them?

Personally, I like to feel the raspberry seeds when enjoying my sorbet. In case you happen to be one of those who hate any hint of solid texture in your sorbet, however, feel free to run the purée through a sieve – that way, you will end up with a perfectly smooth sorbet.

The typical sorbet base – normally, nothing more would be added at this stage

Second step: Prepare Italian meringue = make more hot sugar syrup and whisk with egg whites and sugar 

How to make Italian meringue

As you may remember, my chef friend Peter Englund taught me how to prepare Italian meringue. All the detailed instructions (including all the good things to be said about this truly classic sorbet-ingredient) are in this post: go there for the exact recipe!

In super-short summary, begin by making (yet another) sugar syrup [note, however, that the proportions of sugar and water now should be roughly 2 sugar to 1 water!]. This time, the sugar syrup should also be boiling hot!

Then, preferably using a kitchen assistant, whisk together the egg whites and the sugar.

Once foamy and soft [think softly whipped cream], begin to – while whisking continuously – drizzle in the hot sugar syrup. Continue whisking until the meringue has reached a half-baked, firmer stage [think firmly whipped cream]. This process should take about 10-15 minutes or so.

‘Half-baked’ and with a consistency close to firmly whipped cream: the Italian meringue is ready for use

On the quantity of Italian meringue to be prepared

If you follow my instructions, you would only use about 1/4 of the Italian meringue to be prepared. So, why make more than needed?

Mainly because it can be rather difficult to make smaller quantities, practically speaking. But making more than strictly necessary will also save you quite a lot of time and efforts when it is time to make your next sorbet: the prepared meringue stores wonderfully in the freezer, making the preparation of the next few batches of sorbet a breeze.

Third step: Churn the sorbet base and blend in the Italian meringue when the sorbet is almost ready

Yes, that’s it. You are almost done now.

The Italian meringue about to be blended into the sorbet base. Soon, the meringue will only be noticable by the way it pales the colour of the sorbet

The meringue should be well blended into the sorbet, after which you may continue churning a few more minutes in the ice cream machine. But at this stage, you could also simply pour the sorbet into a freezer-safe container, cover with plastic film and a lid and put it straight into the freezer.

Again, be mindful about how much meringue you add – for a standard batch of sorbet, count with the meringue-equivalent of (roughly) 1 egg white. If you overdose, you will end up with a sorbet-variety called spoom. But unlike spooms, the main idea here is that the meringue never should change the basic flavour- and consistency character of the sorbet – only enhance the good qualities and making them better, not different.

Ready for the freezer (or immediate consumption). Notice the increase in volume, and also how the original colour from above has paled.

This Old school Raspberry sorbet really stands out in comparison to typical “standard” sorbets. The pure fruit flavour is there, and even seems to have received a boost in terms of flavour depth. And both the consistency and structure are impeccable! Food-technically speaking, the meringue acts as a stabiliser and ensures that enough of the important air is maintained within the sorbet. Even prolonged storage in the freezer did not bring about any particular deterioration, and the sorbet remained perfectly scoopable all along.

These days, my friend Peter the chef tells me, most chefs no longer bother with making Italian meringue for sorbets – instead, they often just add some whisked-up raw egg white. But while it may seem a bit tedious to prepare the Italian meringue, I strongly hope that all real lovers of sorbets and ice creams at least once get the chance to experience the greatness of sorbets prepared this classic way. I even have some friends who claimed to ‘not really like sorbets’ but changed their minds after having tasted this recipe! 

Since the Italian meringue is not supposed to impact on the main flavour (other than to boost it, possibly) it is perhaps a bit difficult to understand what could possibly make it all so good. But trust me – once you have had a taste, you will understand 🙂