Creamy avocado, sweet coconut cream, crystallized ginger, fresh lime juice, and Himalayan pink sea salt in a creamy sorbet? Oh yeah! Sweet and creamy juxtaposed with salty and spicy are the perfect combination in this creamy, frozen summer treat… It’s August, what more could you want than frozen Salted Ginger, Coconut, and Avocado Sorbet?
Have you been to McAllen, Texas (or Brownsville or South Padre Island)? It’s hot. And it’s humid. Walking out the front door this time of year is painful, and I promise, I am not being a drama queen! Frozen desserts are so appealing right now, and given my propensity for healthy, seasonal ingredients, avocados came to mind!
“I know one thing about the place I came from,’ I say. ‘We didn’t eat dessert.’
‘Then you came from a horrible and backward place and must stay here out of self-preservation.”
~~ Josin L. McQuein, Arclight
Our youngest son Gerritt is finishing his culinary degree at the Culinary Institute of America at San Antonio. He’s the youngest of 4 sons, and the last to join me in the kitchen. This week, he spent 4 days with us in McAllen for an outpatient surgery procedure – ear lobe repair after years of gauging. This is his physical appearance means of signaling to “the world” that he is now a cooking force to be reckoned with (ie. a professional). 😀 So, he and I cooked together – a lot – when he wasn’t asleep on the operating table, or recovering and asleep at our home. He and I came up with this idea to do a frozen dessert with avocado and coconut cream. It started out as an ice pop… Remember: “Popsicle” is a trademark! I cringe whenever I see another recipe with “Popsicle” in the title… Avocados are available year-round in McAllen (subtropical climate and 5 miles from Mexico), and I can always count on finding nice, ripe avocados. I sort of combined tropical flavors and Indian flavors in coming up with this combination.
Cream of Coconut is a great pantry item as it combines coconut milk with natural sweeteners such as sugar cane; this dessert require no simple syrup! My recipe for Salted Ginger, Coconut, and Avocado Sorbet really is simple. I use my Ninja blender, but any blender or processor will do. Add the avocado, cream of coconut, fresh ginger, lime juice, and salt to the bowl or pitcher. Blend until gorgeously smooth. Add the chopped crystallized ginger. Pulse once to combine. Add mixture to the prepared pan or ice pop molds, then freeze. That’s it!
What are you doing to beat the heat in August? If you’ve got a favorite frozen dessert, or an idea you’d love to see developed into a recipe, please let me know through a comment on this post, or an email through my “contact” page! Stay cool!
Salted Ginger, Coconut, and Avocado Sorbet
Ingredients
- 2 large avocados peeled and seeded
- 1 can coconut cream this is a sweetened product see notes
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup crystallized ginger chopped
Garnishes
- Himalayan pink sea salt
- toasted shaved coconut
Instructions
- Add avocados, coconut cream, sea salt, minced ginger, and lime juice to the bowl of your blender or processor. Blend until very smooth. Add the chopped crystallized ginger, and pulse just to combine.
- For sorbet, scoop into a pan (an 8 1/2" x 4" loaf pan works well).
- For ice pops, pipe into individual molds. See notes.
- Freeze until solid (overnight for ice pops).
- Either scoop into dishes or unmold your ice pops. Garnish with toasted coconut and/or Himalayan pink salt if desired.
Recipe Notes
I initially made this frozen dessert as an ice pop. The ice pops were difficult to unmold given the creaminess of the mixture (I think). I then tried the same mixture as a scoopable sorbet, and we liked it much better!
The mixture coming out of the blender is quite thick. For ice pops, spoon it into a zip bag, then cut a slit in a lower corner about 3/4" wide. I then squeeze the mixture in a round-about way until each is about 1/4" below the top (allows for expansion). This process provides for a more even distribution of the crystallized ginger. Once the ice pop molds are full, tap each one gently on the counter and freeze well (preferably overnight).
Makes 6 ice pops or 8 small scoops (4 servings).
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