1.  Apricots top the fruit section of a “Healthy Food Hot List: The 29 Healthiest Foods on the Planet.

2.  I love apricots.

3.  Last summerNPR’s The Splendid Table profiled Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home , which led me to reinvest in an electric ice cream maker.  Went right to William’s Sonoma and splurged on a Cuisinart. It’s a lot of fun to experiment with the science of ice cream according to Jeni.

4.  Apricots are in season and better than ever.

This dessert is beautiful, simply elegant, easy to make, and so, so satisfying.  If there is any left over, serve it on top of fruit salad, use it in a smoothy, or boil it down for apricot jam. IF there is any left over.

FROZEN APRICOT MOUSSE A LA NEIGE – Serves 6-8

Click Here To Print Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds organic apricots, washed, halved and pitted.

2 cups cold water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract or 1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur (optional)

1 cup organic heavy cream – splurge on this, buying something local if possible

DIRECTIONS:

1.  The night or morning before you want to serve dessert, put the bowl of the ice cream maker in the freezer. (We store ours there.)

2.  Combine the apricots, water, and sugar in a large sauce pan, bring to a boil and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apricots have broken down and the thickened reduced fruit mixture measures 4 cups (32 liquid ounces), 30 minutes or so.

3.  Cool slightly, and add the almond extract or liqueur if using.  While still warm, stir the fruit through a coarse sieve into a large glass measuring cup to remove the toughest bits of the apricot. Skip this step if you don’t object to a little pith.

5.  Turn the fruit into the bowl of of the ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions to process the mixture.  This takes 20-30 minutes using an electric machine.

6.  Store the frozen fruit in the bowl of the ice cream maker or turn it into a 1 quart container and freeze until you want to serve it.

7.  Scoop the frozen apricot (sorbet) into stemmed glass flutes and slowly pour 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream over the top of each serving.  The cream will freeze on the top and in the crevices.  Serve immediately with a pitcher of extra cream.  Someone is going to want to indulge in a little more.

Washed apricots

Halved, pitted and ready to boil

Cooked them down a little bit before adding the sugar

Starting to break down

Add the sugar at the beginning or half way through

Some of the mixture caramelized on the bottom of the pan: not a problem

Removing the paddle

Covering with a Lily Pad to store until serving

Easy to scoop

Pouring on a layer of cream

Ready to eat

Have fun with style of the extra pitcher