The first time that I ever had the combination of almonds and apricots was at a brunch in Paris. It was in the form of pitted fresh apricot halves stuffed with crushed amaretti biscuits, dotted with butter, sprinkled with sugar, broiled until tender, and finally drizzled with heavy cream. The dear friend who served them to me has gone on to open a wildly successful barbecue restaurant in London, leaving small indulgences such as those apricots behind.
However, I never forgot them.
I thought of them again as I contemplated what to do with a container full of apricots that I picked up at the store. I had initially intended to make something Moroccan with them, but then they got too squishy to eat and I earmarked them for sorbet. After waiting too long to do even that, they got downgraded (or upgraded, depending on how you see it) to jam. Finally, life interfered with the cooking once again and the poor things had to be tossed. So I got myself another container of apricots, resolving to not let them go to waste like I had the others (I hate throwing food out).
This recipe is adapted from David Lebovitz‘s Fresh Apricot Ice Cream recipe. Although fairly faithful versions of it can be easily found via any internet search, I would highly recommend purchasing his book The Perfect Scoop. It is a must for anyone wanting to tinker around more with homemade ice creams and sorbets.
The original recipe calls for almond extract, but as amaretto — that sweet, almond-flavored Italian liqueur — is often made from crushed apricot pits, it seems even more fitting to use it instead of the extract. The addition of heavy cream makes this sorbet feel rich and indulgent, yet it is still tart and refreshing to eat. I have also kept Susan‘s suggestion to use an invert sugar; I agree that it really does improve the texture and mouthfeel of homemade sorbet. For a better and more convincing argument than I could ever write, I refer you to Susan’s amazing blog post here.
Ingredients:
1-1.25 pounds of fresh, ripe apricots (approximately 10-15 of them)
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of glucose or another invert sugar such as golden syrup or honey
1 cup of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of amaretto
The juice of one lemon
How to prepare:
1. Split the apricots into halves and remove the pits. Cut each half into quarters.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the apricot quarters with the water and the sugar. Cook over medium heat until the apricots just begin to soften. This should take between 6-8 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the glucose, and let everything cool to room temperature.
3. Once the apricots have cooled, purée them in a food processor. Press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve with a silicon or flexible plastic spatula. Discard the solids. Chill the strained purée overnight in the fridge.
4. Once the purée is properly chilled, add the heavy cream, the amaretto, and the lemon juice.
5. Churn the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When the mixture is smooth, return it to the freezer to harden.
The sorbet should keep for about two weeks in the freezer.
coolcookstyle 
Looks amazing.
Thank you, Ronit! It was deliciously smooth and creamy.
That’s looks delicious. Oddly enough, one of the few kitchen gadgets I don’t have is an ice cream maker. If I had apricots that were past their prime I’d have thrown them in my dehydrator. I love home made ice cream but I don’t know if my hubby would eat anything other than his basic favorite flavors which would leave me to eat it all. I may try the apricots with amaretto though.
Thank you, Poodle! It was delicious. I’m especially happy with the texture of this one. You don’t really need an ice cream maker to make good ice cream. You can get great results by just pouring the ice cream mixture into a metal pan, putting the pan in the freezer, and stirring it up every hour or so till it’s set. In any case, apricots and amaretto is a very classic and very delicious combination!
YES. Sounds right up my street. And thanks for the shout-out. X
My pleasure! Thank YOU for being my frozen treat guru 😄
The beautiful color alone makes me want to eat a whole bowl (and it’s only 7 am!) I’d love to get an ice cream maker at some point. Any recommendations?
Thank you so much, heidiskye333! I think at a certain point, all of the are kind of the same. The lowest end Cuisinart I think does a perfectly fine job so long as you are able to properly freeze the bowl. The old school crank ones that use ice and salt are perhaps the most reliable though. If you look on Dave Lebovitz’s blog, I think he has a good ice cream maker buying guide.
I love Cuisinart! They have never let me down. When I was a little kid my best friend and I tried a hand cranked ice cream maker. It was a lot of work but it was fun. Thanks for the heads up, Dr Bacon. I’ll swing by Dave Lebovitz’s website and see what he suggests. Love your photos! They’re always great!
Aww! You’re so sweet! Many apologies for the delay in response. The semester started today and the planning leading up to it was crazy! More later and many hugs!
yum! looks even better than the popsicles we ate on saturday!
Thank you, veritasinlustrat! I was juat thinking that a roasted plum sorbet or granita would be wonderful too. Glad to see you here!
What a beautiful color, Daisy! Alas, we never find good apricots here…
No! Seriously no good apricots??? Well, I think this would work with roasted apricots, which is a great way to coax maximum flavor from mediocre fruit.
In any case, thank you for your kind comment and all your support!
This looks delicious and easy! Very tempting. I’ll make sure I’ll try the recipe when apricots are in season.
Thank you, Baconbiscuit.
Thank you, Caro! It’s a great way to use them up 🙂 Thank you again for the kind comment and all your support!
The colour is amazing – very summery and fresh looking. The idea of adding amaretto is particularly appealing.
It was so pretty. I kind of wanted to wear it since I’ve been rocking the sherbet-y colors lately 🙂
Thanks for the kind comment and for dropping by!
My mouth waters.. you need to open up a shop or something with desserts LOL. And I will be your taste tester lol
Darling Kay, you will be my number one tester!
Thanks for the wonderful comment and the support!
The sorbet sounds wonderful. Apricots and almonds (in this case Amaretto) are such a lovely flavor combination,
Thank you, Karen! I love the two together and they make a marvelous sorbet. Thank you again for the kind comment and the support!
Looks delicious and I’m sure it tastes even better than it looks. I love apricots, especially when they’re fresh and without any other food additions.
I would give your sorbet a try but no food processor in my household.
Thank you, darling Lucas! Apricots are my favorite fruit. I even like bad ones 🙂
Do you have a blender or a food mill at home? That will do the trick too!
I have a blender/mixer thing.
That could work! Many apologies for the late reply, Lucas! The semester has started and my teaching schedule is a killer!
I always have trouble with differences in educating system. Here in Poland pupils started new school year on sept 2. University students like me still have a month free
Lucky you! We generally start either the last week of August or the first week of September. I remember that the European schools don’t kick off until October. But we finish is May. In any case, enjoy the extra month, Lucas!
We end in August, so it is the same amount of months,
Great minds! I made a similar sorbet last week! LOVE this flavor combo!
Isn’t it wonderful? I took some to an end-of-summer taco dinner last week. Wonderful! Btw, the new ice cream maker works so much better! I wonder if it’s because it’s cooler out . . . or if it’s because this ice cream maker is more expensive 🙂
Yum! what a refreshing dessert!
It was super refreshing! We had a blast of heat and humidity a couple days ago and it was perfect! Thanks for the kind comment, Leslie!