Mango Sorbet

It seems kind of strange to be writing about Mango Sorbet in November as the weather is getting colder, but I found some great, ripe mangos in the produce store and I couldn’t resist. The wonderful thing about this dessert is its consistency. It has a creamy richness and depth of flavor that make it seem more like a gelato than a simple fruit puree. I’ve adapted this recipe from the Williams-Sonoma “Ice Creams & Sorbets” cookbook, modifying it to eliminate the corn syrup (which I never seem to have around when I want it) and adding the flavors from a favorite Jacques Pepin recipe for Mangos with Lime and Cognac. The Pepin dessert is prepared with fresh, cubed mangos and is good as a light dessert or even as a breakfast fruit bowl (don’t worry, there’s not much Cognac in it!) It struck me that the same combination would make a great sorbet.

A quick note on the ice cream maker. I use a Williams-Sonoma gelato maker that was purchased as a splurge several years ago. It has its own refrigeration unit, a powerful motor and has the ability to make two sequential batches of sorbet. If you like ice creams and sorbets, it is worth every penny and simplifies ice cream making enough to encourage you to experiment. (Two particularly successful experiments created Persimmon Sorbet and Cosmopolitian Sorbet. I’ll post those recipes sometime in the future.) However, any decent ice cream maker will work just fine.

Mango and Lime Sorbet

• 2 to 3 large ripe mangos


• 1 Lime


• 2 or 3 tablespoons of Cognac


• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar

Peel the mangos and remove the flesh. I’ve seen many methods for peeling, but I’ve had the most success with a very sharp vegetable peeler. When cutting the flesh, don’t try to be too efficient; the flesh closest to the pit can be very fibrous. Puree the mango flesh in a food processor or blender. Measure the volume of puree, you should have about 1 2/3 cups. If you have significantly more or less adjust the volume of sugar and Cognac appropriately.

Juice the lime and peel the rind. Use only the thin green layer of the peel, the white pith is bitter. Very finely mince the peel. (Alternatively, you can use a grater). Add the juice and peel to the mango puree along with the sugar and Cognac. Mix well and chill in the refrigerator until quite cold.

Prepare the sorbet following the instructions for your ice cream maker.