Hot Chocolate Gone Wild!

I was thinking of some unique desserts to have at my New Year's Eve gathering and ran across a recipe for chocolate sorbet from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments.

Chocolate sorbet? Well it is certainly unique and that is what I'm going for. I'm not a coffee drinker and always wonder why people like iced drinks that are supposed to be hot. So considering this sounds like hot chocolate gone wild, how exactly would a cold glass of hot chocolate taste? Hmmm...Okay, I am mildly curious. 
 
So I prepared the sorbet and snuck to the freezer to get a spoon full and oh my! I was very pleasantly surprised. Chocoholics beware...this was a very rich, decadent, sinful dessert. I can hardly describe what it tastes like...a fudge brownie maybe? Ganache? Whatever it is, thankfully it is way too rich for me to devour more than a few teaspoons at a time. So all is well.

 
Chocolate Sorbet

2 1/4 cups water
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk, for 45 seconds.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it's melted. Stir in the vanilla extract and the remaining 3/4 cup water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 15 seconds. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.


All photographs are actual pictures of the recipe listed, prepared by Virtually Everything Sweet, and cannot be used without the owner’s consent.