Sorbet Recipe

Prepare dough

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a small baking sheet with parchment and brush lightly with neutral oil. In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, sugar, and salt until evenly combined.

Cut in butter and almonds

Add cold diced butter to the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or fingers, work butter into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Stir in the finely chopped toasted sliced almonds and vanilla extract until distributed.

Bake crumble

Spread the crumb mixture in an even thin layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10–12 minutes, stirring gently halfway through, until edges are golden and aroma is toasty. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Remove from oven and let cool completely on the sheet; crumble further with a fork into small cookie-like pieces once cooled.

Soak and blanch almonds

Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer, pour over blanched almonds in a heatproof bowl, cover and let sit 10 minutes. (If using already blanched almonds, this step hydrates them for blending.) Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid.

Make almond milk

Place soaked almonds in a blender with 1.5 cups fresh water and the reserved 1/2 cup soaking liquid (total 2 cups). Blend on high for 1–2 minutes until smooth and milky. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or nut milk bag into a bowl, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids (or save for baking). You should have roughly 1.5–1.75 cups almond milk.

Prepare sugar syrup

In a small saucepan combine granulated sugar and 1 cup water. Heat over medium, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes then remove from heat and allow to cool slightly (5 minutes).

Combine sorbet base

In a mixing bowl combine the strained almond milk, cooled sugar syrup, fresh orange juice, lemon juice, almond extract, and salt. Taste and adjust: the mixture should be bright and slightly sweeter than you want the finished sorbet because freezing mutes flavor. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (at least 2 hours) until very cold.

Churn and freeze

Once chilled, pour the sorbet base into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer instructions until it reaches a soft-serve consistency (usually 20–30 minutes). Transfer to a shallow airtight container, smooth the surface, cover, and freeze at least 4 hours (preferably overnight) to firm up.

Scoop and plate: Remove sorbet from freezer 5 minutes before serving to soften slightly. Using a warmed scoop, portion sorbet into chilled bowls or glasses.

Garnish: Sprinkle a generous tablespoon of the almond cookie crumble per serving over or beside the sorbet. Add 2 toasted whole almonds and a small mint leaf for each portion for aroma and presentation.

Serve: Serve immediately so the crumble retains some crunch while the sorbet is cold and smooth.