By now, we all know I love a good Ninja Creami recipe. Today’s is one of the more simple recipes I have developed, but the flavour is incredible. Better yet, this simple Ninja Creami strawberry sorbet requires only two ingredients: strawberries and pure maple syrup.
Ninja Creami strawberry sorbet
This Ninja Creami strawberry sorbet rivals any strawberry sorbet I’ve had. With fresh and juicy summer strawberries, it is absolutely bursting with fresh berry flavour. Somehow, the maple syrup seems to amplify the strawberry rather than add it’s own flavour, which is perfect here.
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan and easy to make. I can think of no better way to enjoy cheap summer strawberries and beat the summer heat in one go.
Tips for your strawberry sorbet
I haven’t tested this recipe with frozen strawberries. I assume it would work, but I developed this in the height of summer when strawberries are at their best (and cheapest).
If you don’t want to use maple syrup, agave syrup will also work. We want a liquid sugar to add body and viscosity to the sorbet. Liquid sugars work much better than regular white sugar in Ninja Creami recipes, in my experience. I haven’t tested any sugar replacements in this recipe and I can’t offer any advice there.
My experience has been that cooking strawberries will always get the best taste out of them, Ninja Creami wise. It helps make things easier for your machine, too. This is why the recipe cooks the strawberries and maple syrup before freezing.
If you are extremely frugal when de-hulling your strawberries, I find you can get about 490g strawberries from 500g of whole strawberries. This is not the economy for lazy strawberry hulling! The recipe specifies 500g strawberry, but of course 490g won’t ruin the sorbet.
Which Ninja Creami function should I use?
I have the NC300 machine which uses 470ml tubs. This advice pertains to my particular machine, only because I have no experience using the newer machine.
I thought I’d chat quickly about what I have learned about the functions of the machine after testing so many Ninja Creami recipes. There’s no real consensus as to whether the buttons really do anything different or are just a bit of a marketing ploy.
My personal experience has been that most are similar, but I can hear the motor working harder when I choose light ice cream. My theory is that this function uses higher motor powder because fat and sugar both soften ice cream. Without them (as in, a light ice cream recipe) you are blending a more icy mixture, hence the extra power for that function.
The other thing I have noticed is that you are better off choosing the same function again as opposed to choosing the respin function. I don’t think re-spin does that much, and sometimes you have to re-spin a few times to get your desired consistency. It is much more efficient, in my opinion, to choose the original function twice.
Which brings me to this recipe. I chose gelato function and it generally needs to be spun again. I choose gelato function again. Although I am sure many of the other functions would be fine too, this is just what I do. Sorbet would obviously work and I think light ice cream would be great as well.
Troubleshooting
This is a very easy recipe, but there is one variable: sugar. Sugar in ice cream prevents it from freezing solid and the more sugar is added, the less the ice cream will freeze.
Strawberries vary in their sugar content depending on where you are, the season, whether or not they are local, etc. This means that you can’t be 100% certain how much sugar is in the recipe.
If your ice cream doesn’t freeze up well, it likely has too much sugar. It is unlikely in this recipe, but it is worth mentioning. Super ripe and juicy summer strawberries will be sweeter than winter ones. They are also some strawberry varieties that are sweeter than others.
If you are using a super ripe, super sweet strawberry, use 50g maple syrup.
There is a flip side, however! An ice cream with too little sugar will have a more icy texture as opposed to a creamy, cohesive one. It will, of course, also lack sweetness. If you suspect that your berries aren’t very sweet, add the 75g maple syrup. You can experiment with a full 100g for particularly sour strawberries, but I haven’t tested the theory in this recipe.
One other thing that tends to happen with icier, lower sugar recipes is that a ring of unblended mixture remains around the edge of the tub. The solution to this is to process your mixture, allow it to soften a little, then use a spoon to scrape down the edges of the tub. Simply re-process to incorporate and you are good to go.
More Ninja Creami recipes
- Ninja Creami strawberry ice cream
- Ninja Creami raspberry sorbet
- My Ninja Creami ice cream e-book, with 10 recipes including pistachio ice cream, sticky date ice cream and real chocolate ice cream (there is also a vegan version of the e-book)
- Ninja Creami chocolate ice cream
Ninja Creami strawberry sorbet
Equipment
- 1 X NC300 Ninja Creami machine with 470ml tubs
Ingredients
- 500 g washed and hulled strawberries (weighed after hulling, see notes)
- 50-75 g pure maple syrup or agave syrup
Instructions
- Chop the strawberries, then place them and the maple syrup in a medium pot. Cook over a low medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until they are juicy, syrupy and entirely cooked through. Set aside to cool.
- Once cooled, transfer the mixture to your 470ml Ninja Creami tub. Place in the freezer with the lid off for 16-24 hours. Leaving the lid off while freezing can help avoid the mixture developing a hump in the centre, which might damage your machine.
- When ready to eat, process your mixture using gelato, sorbet or light ice cream functions. I find this recipe needs two spins on gelato function to reach an ideal consistency.
- Store leftovers in the freezer with the lid on.
Notes
- If you are conscious about only taking the green part of the strawberry (no lazy hulling here) you can get about 490g of hulled strawberries from a 500g container of unhulled strawberries.
- You can experiment with other liquid sweeteners if you don’t want to use maple syrup. I actually find it complements the strawberry flavour really well, but you might prefer a more subtle sweetener like agave. I haven’t tested rice malt syrup – it’s quite a bland sweetener but it might work with super sweet strawberries.
- I haven’t tested any sugar alternatives at this stage.
No Comments