Lemon Basil Avocado Sherbet

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Adapted from Sweet Life.

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3 Avocados, medium size, seeded and peeled
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
1/2 c.  Honey or 2/3 c. Powdered sugar
2/3 c. Fresh squeezed lemon juice
Zest from 1 lemon
15-20 Fresh basil leaves

Blend the avocado, lemon juice, lemon zest and basil leaves in a blender until smooth.

Add the cream and honey.  Blend again until well combined.

Note: Adjust the amount of honey to your taste.  Start with 1/3 cup and slowly add more to sweeten the avocado mixture.

Divide the avocado mixture into containers.  Cover and freeze for a few hours or overnight.

Before serving, let stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.

My comments:

I don't own an ice-cream machine and I have no interest in buying one. Knowing me, an ice-cream machine will likely have the same fate as a pasta maker in this house: used a few times and then live out the rest of its life in some dark corner at the top shelf, never to be seen again.

However, I've always wanted to make my own ice-cream. I've seen some pretty fab combination of flavours and it's almost a sin that I can't try the recipes.  So when I came across this simple sherbet recipe, I jumped all over it.  I had reservations on using avocado in a dessert but I figured if it isn't great and no one else will eat it, my son will still eat it and it won't go to waste.  I am not kidding when I say he's a human-garbage-can; that boy will eat pretty much anything under the sun.

I was a bit off my rocker the first time I made this.  I bought a bunch of limes instead of lemons because I could've sworn the recipe asked for lime.  Anyhow, those limes were expensive so I went ahead and made Lime Avocado Sherbert, following the original recipe almost to the T.  It was great!  I loved the taste of the lime and my son couldn't get enough of it.

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However, my mom and Hubby didn't care for the lime.  So when I made it again, I gave the lemons a whirl.  While shopping for the lemons, I saw fresh basils on sale - *gasp* I Love Basil!  I can never pass up a sale on basil.  So I brought some home and threw a bunch into the avocado mixture.  I like this lemon basil version even more.  It's the basil that made this dessert rock, but then, I think everything tastes better with basil, I really do.  Initially, I found the lemon flavour in the avocado mixture was a bit overpowering but it mellowed out once the sherbet was frozen and it was perfect for me and my little guy.  Next time, I'll attempt a lemon-lime basil avocado sherbet.  Mmm...that sounds super yummy!!

I really love this recipe.  It is easy to do and it is a healthy dessert for a toddler, way better than store-bought ice-cream.  Because of its simplicity, you can easily adjust the amounts of each ingredient and tailor the final product to your family's taste buds.  I prefer the taste of the sherbet sweetened with powdered sugar but since this is mostly for my son, I substituted the powdered sugar with honey.

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I divided the sherbet into the Baby Cubes and I give my little guy one serving for dessert along with his favourite fruit.  Once in awhile, I would fill a mini ice-cream cone with fruits and 1/2 a serving of the sherbet for variety.  He loves this avocado sherbet in very shape and form.

Comments

sweetlife said…
Awesome revamp, basil ...great idea!! thanks for sharing, I will try basil next time!! glad you enjoyed it!!

sweetlife
17/3/11 3:15 PM
Jenna W said…
This looks like a really tasty recipe! (I like that it looks more like ice cream than the recipe from Sweet Life does.) Thanks for sharing. Incidentally, I noticed that you've blocked pinning to Pinterest on your blog. That made me kind of sad. :( I was trying to pin the recipe to save it for later and share with others.
29/3/13 6:49 PM
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