As we continue our culinary journey through the flavours of summer aboard the Northern Belle, we are excited to share another exquisite recipe from our kitchen. With Wimbledon season approaching, what better way to celebrate than with a refreshing dessert featuring the quintessential summer fruit: strawberries. Every year, over 38.4 tonnes of strawberries and over 7,000 litres of cream are consumed at the tournament, all of which are sourced here in the UK.
200ml Water
150ml Caster Sugar
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 tbsp Glucose Syrup
250ml Laurent Perrier Rose
50g Stabilizer (optional)*
250g Strawberries
Micro Thai Basil
Prepare the Syrup: Place the sugar and water in a medium-sized pan. Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, then remove from heat.
Cool and Mix: Add the lemon juice, glucose syrup, and stabilizer (if using) to the syrup. Leave to cool completely, then add the champagne and stir well.
Churn: Pour the mixture into an ice-cream maker and churn until almost frozen. Transfer to a freezer container and freeze overnight. Alternatively, freeze for 8 hours, whisking with a fork every few hours to break up the crystals.
Serve: Serve the sorbet with fresh strawberries and garnish with micro Thai basil.
*In the kitchen here on the Northern Belle, we use a sorbet stabilizer, a mixture of natural ingredients that improves the texture, mouth-feel, and storage of sorbets and ice creams. At home, you can skip this step unless you want to experiment with the texture.
Chef's Tip: To make this sorbet non-alcoholic, you can use a non-alcoholic sparkling wine or simmer the champagne with the syrup to burn off the alcohol. You can also experiment with different flavours, such as a sweet dessert wine or cocktail-flavoured sorbets like lemon, lime, and vodka, or a mojito sorbet with lime, rum, and fresh mint.
Enjoy this delightful summer treat, perfect for Wimbledon season!
Warm regards,
Matthew Green
Head Chef – Northern Belle