Baked Apple Sorbet

As I have already announced, Fall is my favorite time of year.  I am so happy to live back in the land of apple picking.  I really missed this Fall tradition when I lived in the South.  A few weeks ago I got together with a friend and her cute nieces and nephew, and we all went apple picking.  Along the way we took a hayride and found a pumpkin to bring home.  It was a beautiful Fall day and it was so much fun to taste and pick a wide variety of apples.When I got home from my day of apple picking, the first thing I made was my mom’s apple crisp.  I have since made several other apple recipes including applesauce, apple butter, and apple custard pie.  And it is likely not suprising that I also made an apple-inspired sorbet.  I have had my eye on Jeni’s recipe for Baked Apple Sorbet for quite some time, so I finally took the chance to make it with my freshly picked apples.  I stepped it up a notch with the addition cloves and star anise because I love my apples spicy, but the recipe is otherwise all Jeni’s.

Enjoy this fun Fall sorbet, as I will be returning to making Fall-inspired ice creams in the coming weeks!

Baked Apple Sorbet
Slightly adapted from recipe in Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream at Home
Makes 1 quart

1 1/2 cups unfiltered apple cider
6 medium tart apples (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 to 4 whole cloves
1 whole star anise (optional)
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out, seeds and bean reserved

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine all the ingredients, including vanilla pod, in a large baking dish, tossing to combine. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes to one hour, or until the apples are tender. Firmer apples will take much longer to bake.  Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove the vanilla bean, cloves, and star anise.

Pour the apple mixture into a food processor or blender until completely smooth (you may need to do this in two batches). Force through a sieve into a medium bowl, to make mixture more smooth.  Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Set bowl of apple mixture in the ice water bath to cool, 20 minutes, whisking occasionally. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Once chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Churn until the sorbet reaches to consistency of a barely pourable smoothie. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.