This berry lime sorbet is full of fresh strawberries, raspberries, lime juice, cranberry juice and a little bit of guarana or honey and that is it. No added sugar or salt. No milk or cream. Even the guarana or honey is optional if your berries are nice and ripe. This healthy, refreshing dessert is the perfect warm weather treat.
Let’s get started…
The first thing you need to do is freeze your berries. You can buy already frozen berries or cut the stems off of 16 ounces of fresh strawberries (really ripe berries will give you the sweetest flavor) and place them on a baking sheet along with 6 ounces of raspberries.
Freeze them for an hour or two, if you are ready to make your sorbet now or place them in the freezer the night before and they will be ready for you in the morning.
Once the berries are frozen, place them into a high speed blender or food processor along with 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice and 1/4 cup of cranberry juice. I usually start by pulsing the mixture a few times to get things moving and once the berries start breaking apart a bit, turn the food processor to medium speed and blend until smooth.
If things are not blending smoothly, add a little bit more cranberry juice. You should not need more than 3/4 cup in total and usually 1/4 cup does the trick.
Gorgeous, right? Once the sorbet is blended smooth, give it a quick taste. I don’t always add guarana or honey. Like I said earlier, if your berries are really ripe, this sorbet will be nice and sweet. If the berries were not super ripe, you may want to add a tablespoon or so to balance their natural tartness.
I prefer to use guarana syrup as my sweetener. I love the flavor and always have it on hand, but honey or even maple syrup will also work great.
On the other hand, if you want to amp up the tartness in this sorbet, add another big squeeze of lime juice into the mix. Sometimes I am hankering for something sweet, but sometimes I need tart and sour flavors.
The good news is that we have some options here…
You can enjoy your sorbet right away or transfer it into a freezer proof container (I use bread pans), cover it tightly with plastic and let it hang out in the freezer to firm up a bit.
In my opinion, this berry lime sorbet is perfect after two hours in the freezer. It is firm, but still easily scoopable, so if I am making this for a party or cookout, I plan on making it about two hours ahead.
If you are making it for yourself and have lots of leftovers, just keep it covered in the freezer and set it out for about 15 minutes before you scoop some out for a mid afternoon snack, a refreshing dessert on a hot summer evening or a fruity midnight snack.
This sorbet is awesome. So fruity and delicious. The flavors are sweet, tart and satisfying and the texture makes me feel like I am having ice cream… and I always can go for some ice cream! I love having a bowl of this berry lime sorbet after a hard workout or yard work on a hot afternoon or just when I want something sweet and frosty.
So the next time you are looking for a good use for quickly ripening berries or just want a simple, healthy dessert, make yourself a batch of this berry lime sorbet. I know you will love it.
Berry Lime Sorbet
Ingredients
- 6 ounces of fresh raspberries
- 16 ounces of fresh strawberries, stems removed
- 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice
- 1/4-3/4 cup of cranberry juice
- 1 tablespoon of guarana, honey or maple syrup (optional)
Instructions
- Place the strawberries and raspberries on a baking sheet or plastic cutting board and freeze them for 1-2 hours
- Place the frozen berries into a high speed blender or food processor
- Add 1/2 cup of fresh lime juice and 1/4 cup of cranberry juice in with the frozen berries
- Blend until smooth, adding additional cranberry juice, if necessary
- Taste and add 1 tablespoon of guarana, honey or maple syrup, if you prefer more sweetness
- Transfer the mixture into a freezer proof container, cover tightly and freeze for several hours or until your desired consistency is developed
- Enjoy!
