I love sorbet. I always have. I miss ice cream every so often, but sorbet easily fills this void. Dairy-free ice creams tend to often disappoint, but the naturally dairy-free wonder that is sorbet, never fails to satisfy the need for an icy treat.

And yet… a major hole existed in my sorbet world: Chocolate. I missed the creamy chocolate-y texture of old fashioned chocolate ice cream… until I found the chocolate sorbet at La Dolce Vita. Their chocolate sorbet was creamy, tasty, not too sweet, and incredibly rich. While it is indeed vegan, it was not what you normally find in the “vegan ice cream” section- there is no avocado, tofu, or other alternatives: it’s straight and simple sorbet.

Enter Alice. I’ve likely mentioned Alice Medrich‘s book “Pure Dessert” many, many times. One of my favorites of this book is her chocolate sorbet. When I discovered the recipe a few years ago, I went wild with it. I tried it as is (many times) and then with goat’s milk, with rum, peppermint, cacao nibs, orange, candied orange, burnt sugar, various toppings and more.

And then The Writer took me back to Dolce Vita. Between spoonfuls of ice cream, he expressed his love for chocolate and I remembered my ice cream maker collecting dust on the shelf and Alice’s amazing recipe. I pulled the ice cream maker down and The Writer didn’t mind testing this one out for me. I’ve never seen someone inhale my ice cream with quite so much relish. It reminded me I should make this one again and again. Now you can too. I’ve made Alice’s version here (with no embellishments) and served it with raspberries, one of my all-time favorite combinations.

Alice’s Chocolate Sorbet
1 scant cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 cups boiling water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 Tablespoons rum (optional)

Combine the sugar, cocoa, and salt in a pot and whisk in about 1/2 cup of the boiling water. This will form a thick paste. Stir in the remaining water over medium heat just until small bubbles appear around the edges. Be sure to mix in the chocolate that sticks to the bottom.

Remove from the heat and add the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl, cover and chill for at least 4 hours. I prefer to put it in the tupperware I am going to use once it’s frozen, and then chill it over night if possible. If using rum or other additional flavorings, add right before pouring into the ice cream maker.

Follow ice cream maker’s instructions for freezing. While the sorbet is turning, keep the tupperware in the freezer. Place finished sorbet back in the frozen tupperware and freeze for at least 3-4 hours.