For the lactose-intolerant...

I wanted to create a sorbet that was dairy-free, but was still rich and chocolate-y. Because what is dessert without chocolate, really? I did a quick search on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Chocolate and Zucchini, and came upon Clotide Dusoulier's recipe for Dark Chocolate Sorbet. When I read over her list of ingredients, I was shocked on the sheer quantity of dark chocolate used, but I guess one can never have enough chocolate. For its healthful antioxidant qualities, of course.

I made a few modifications to her recipe (including reducing the quantity of chocolate just a smidge) and came up with the following recipe:

Dark Chocolate Orange Sorbet

2 cups water

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped

1/2 t. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 T. Cointreau 

In a saucepan, whisk together the water, cocoa powder and sugar. Bring to a boil, whisking continually. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate melt and then add the vanilla and salt. Let cool on the counter and then chill in the fridge overnight. Do not skip this part!

Stir the mixture again and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the Cointreau at the very end of the churning process.

Surprisingly the sorbet is not grainy, as I was worried that the cocoa powder would make for a grainy consistency. I was also thinking of trying Frangelico or Amaretto in lieu of Cointreau. But, I do have a soft spot for the orange-chocolate combination. Ben & Jerry's used to make a delicious chocolate orange ice cream but sadly, the flavor was retired years ago.