Cooler weather still leaves room for a seasonal sorbet recipe! Fresh plums, creme de cassis and homemade rosemary-infused gin come together to create Plum Rosemary-Gin Sorbet, a sophisticated frozen dessert in an irresistible shade of pink! No ice cream machine required.
I’ve been laying low this week. I had surgery earlier in the week and though it was an outpatient surgery, it was under general anesthesia which has left me knocked out! I somehow imagined jumping back to my normal hurry-scurry pace in a day or so however but such was not the case. Between lots of napping I took a walk down memory lane, poking around in the earlier days of Boulder Locavore.
In the first few years of Boulder Locavore I shared a variety of seasonal recipes I loved however I often wrote about three sentences and used tiny photo that did not showcase the recipe at its best. One of my early favorites was this Plum Rosemary-Gin Sorbet. Made with seasonal plums which give the sorbet a gorgeous fuchsia tone, the recipe is simple to make with a sophisticated depth of flavor thanks to crème de cassis and a touch of home infused rosemary gin.
I made this recipe around the time I made and shared Hedgerow Gin, an infused liqueur made traditionally with hedgerow fruits. I fell head over heels with Italian Prune Plum which have a yellow fruit and dusty looking purple skin that shines to be a brilliant jewel tone. Any plum variety will certainly work so pick your favorite.
We are in the strange time of year when days might start with the promise of a cozy sweater being mandatory, only to yield to multiple clothes changes and a beastly hot end to the day. Plum Rosemary-Gin Sorbet is a great dessert for the unpredictable mercury, with plums being in season and with bold flavor. The sorbet may be made in a traditional ice cream machine or without a machine (instructions included in recipe).
Recipe

Plum Rosemary-Gin Sorbet
Ingredients
- 3 ounces granulated sugar
- 1 ½ pounds Italian Prune Plums , cut in half and pitted
- 3 ½ tablespoons Rosemary-Infused Gin
- 1 tablespoon Crème de Cassis
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- In a small pan, add the sugar to 4 ounces water. Over medium heat bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 5 minutes until sugar fully dissolves. Stir while mixture boils. Remove from heat.
- In a medium size pan, place all plum halves with ¼ cup water. Bring to a simmer over low heat, cover, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until fruit has softened (you are essentially lightly steaming the fruit to soften it making the juice able to more freely be extracted from the fruit). Remove from heat.
- Place the plums and any liquid into a food mill and process with a medium sized disc until all available juice and pulp has been extracted. If you do not have a food mill, place plums and liquid into a sieve or strainer and push through with a spoon to extract the pulp and juice. Discard the peel.
- Add the plum mixture to the sugar syrup. Add the gin, Crème de Cassis and lemon juice. Stir to combine and cool in the refrigerator until fully chilled or overnight.
- Freezing the sorbet: Electric Ice Cream machine: Process by manufacturer’s instruction. Without a machine: Place sorbet in a shallow freezer-proof pan. Allow to almost freeze, and stir the mixture. Repeat the freeze/stir process a few times to ensure a consistent texture. The alcohol prevents the sorbet from a completely rock hard freeze allowing the mixing not to be too difficult.
Nutrition
This delicious recipe was originally published in September 2011 and has been updated in 2016.
Brandy says
That sorbet looks amazing! Not only is the color beautiful but it sounds delicious!
Kelly Hutchinson says
This is such a gorgeous sorbet! I would never have thought to use plums! Genius!
Lindsey Paris says
What a gorgeous color it turned out to be! I could eat that whole brick for myself!
Pam Wattenbarger says
I had a gelato with rosemary in it not too long ago and it was so good. This plum rosemary gin sorbet sounds great.
Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says
That sounds absolutely delicious. I love sorbets, but I’ve never had plum sorbet. I’ve also never made my own sorbet at home. This will be perfect for me to try, because we have a neighbor with a plum tree.
Patricia Ellingford says
now I will have to try that one. have some blackberry and apple liqueur on the go at the moment – hopefully it will be ready for Christmas. hope you are keeping well. Sorry you have had to have minor surgery but hope you get back on your feet and full throttle shortly. I know you don’t do slow. Take care.
pattypan xx
marla says
Such a pretty sorbet!
autumn says
This combination of flavors sounds just perfect! It doesn't hurt that it has all of my favorite things either.
Peggy says
Oh this looks so heavenly! I've always preferred sorbets over ice cream so this is my kind of treat =)
Nava.K says
Looks so tempting with the beautiful color, what more with gin, I can't resist.