Screaming for ...Spice Dreams?

Ice cream season is upon us! For the foreseeable future I'll be sticking with dairy-free sorbets, which is fine by me--especially if they all turn out to be as good as Coconut-Ginger Sorbet. Creamy, laced with with shreds of coconut, and refreshing, but with a little heat from ginger--this sorbet is a classic. It's from a new book called Spice Dreams: Flavored Ice Creams and Other Frozen Treats by Sara Engram and Kimberly Toge, which is all about adding spices like basil, cardamom, chile, mint, and thyme to frozen desserts. Some of them can get a little wacky (not that I haven't tried making bizarre ice cream flavors before), but the combination of ginger and coconut is spectacular.

Coconut-Ginger Sorbet

Makes about 3 cups

3/4 c sugar
3/4 c water
1 t ground ginger
1/8 t salt
1 (14-oz) can coconut milk
1/4 c sweetened flaked coconut
1/4 t vanilla

Combine the sugar, water, ginger, and salt in a medium, heavy saucepan. Heat the sugar mixture over medium heat, stirring gently, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the syrup is clear, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let steep for 1 hour.

Combine the coconut milk, flaked coconut, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Strain the syrup mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the coconut milk mixture. Whisk until the syrup and coconut milk are completely mixed. Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight. The sorbet mixture may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Freeze the chilled sorbet mixture in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and freeze in the freezer for 2 to 4 hours before serving.