In Italy there are two things called sgroppino: a cocktail made of vodka, lemon sorbet and Prosecco, and this dessert – a blend of tart lemon ice cream, cold, puréed strawberries and chilled sparkling wine. It’s sheer heaven on a hot summer day.
Ingredients
- 225g caster sugar
- Grated zest of 5 large lemons, plus 250ml juice
- 400g fresh strawberries, hulled
- 150ml double cream
- 375-400ml chilled Prosecco
Method
- 1. First, make a lemon and strawberry ice cream. Put 250ml water in a pan with the sugar. Put over a low heat and leave until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and cool.
- 2. Stir the lemon zest and juice into the syrup, cover and chill overnight.
- 3. The following day, purée the strawberries in a food processor and push through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove the seeds. Chill for at least 2 hours until needed.
- 4. Strain the lemon syrup through a sieve into a jug to remove the zest, then stir in the cream. Churn the mixture in an ice-cream maker for about 20 minutes until stiff, then add the strawberry purée and churn once more until it has the texture of ice cream.
- 5. To serve, have some small, tall glasses to hand. If possible, chill them for a while beforehand. It’s ideal to work with your ice cream as soon as it’s made, while it’s still slightly soft. If that’s not possible, put the ice cream in the freezer until you need it. When you’re ready to serve the sgroppino, take the ice cream out of the freezer for 10-15 minutes to soften, then return half to the ice-cream maker. Place the other half in the freezer to keep cold. While churning, add half the Prosecco to the ice cream, a little at a time, until you achieve a mixture that’s soft but not soupy (it takes 3-4 minutes). Spoon into 3-4 glasses and serve, while you repeat the procedure with the remaining ice cream from the freezer for top-ups.
Nutritional info
Per serving (based on 8): 255kcals, 10.1g fat (6.3g saturated), 0.9g protein, 34g carbs, 32.4g sugar, trace salt