Enjoy a taste of paradise with my refreshing Coconut Sorbet, a homemade recipe inspired by our luxurious trip to the Maldives.
My creamy Coconut Sorbet is a luscious vegan and dairy-free frozen dessert perfect for a hot summer day. The coconut flavor is heavenly, with the perfect sweetness to make you feel like you are on a beautiful island.
Serve it in a cold bowl or fresh coconut shell to make it a tropical frozen treat.
Enjoying Coconut Sorbet in Paradise
To celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, we went on a luxurious trip to the Maldives. The Maldives is known for its powder-white sand banks, crystal clear turquoise water, and lavish overwater bungalows. The Maldives is also known for its abundant fish (mainly tuna), rice, and coconut, which the Maldivian diet relies heavily on.
During our stay at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort, we swam with whale sharks and manta rays, relaxed in our overwater suite, enjoyed breathtaking views of the Indian Ocean, dined in an underwater restaurant, and indulged in everything coconut.
From coconut pancakes to coconut fried rice with sweet chili prawns, toasted coconut ice cream, coconut sorbet, fish curry, and mas huni (a traditional Maldivian breakfast that mixes grated coconut and tuna). I also had a palate cleanser of coconut lemongrass sorbet, which was also divine! I literally could not get enough of the exotic fruit.
One of my favorite dishes was the Coco Loco—a refreshing dessert of coconut ice cream and coconut sorbet topped with toasted coconut and coconut foam. Thus, the inspiration for my Coconut Sorbet recipe.
What is Coconut Sorbet?
A sorbet is a dairy-free, vegan, and gluten-free frozen fruit dessert. It is made with fruit juice and sugar (or a simple syrup) and churned into a creamy ice cream consistency. In this case, coconut is the exotic fruit in the sorbet.
My Coconut Sorbet recipe uses sugar, coconut water, coconut cream, coconut milk, a pinch of salt, and lime juice to enhance the coconut flavor. A typical ice cream uses milk and cream to get its luscious texture. Since Coconut Sorbet uses coconut milk and coconut cream in its base, it produces the closest texture to ice cream.
List of Ingredients in Coconut Sorbet
A proper sorbet is perfectly balanced with fruit puree or juice, sugar, acidity, and salt, which is why my Coconut Sorbet includes all those elements.
The coconut water, coconut milk, and coconut cream are crucial in the sorbet. Most sorbets get their juice freshly squeezed from the fruit. The ripeness of the fruit will impact the flavor of the fresh juice. Whereas, with coconuts, you will rely on the flavor from a can unless you obtain your ingredients from a fresh coconut.
Most of the best coconut products come from Asia, so I would strive to get brands like Aroy-D and Thai Kitchen, my favorite products. Trader Joe’s also has excellent canned coconut milk but not coconut cream.
This is a brief overview. Please refer to the full recipe description at the end of this post.
- Coconut milk (unsweetened)
- Coconut cream
- Coconut water
- Sugar
- Lime juice
- Salt
How to Make Coconut Sorbet
Once you learn to make Coconut Sorbet at home, you will not want to buy it at the grocery store. It’s easy, quick, and tastes so much better! All you need are the ingredients and an ice cream maker.
This is a brief overview. Please refer to the full recipe description at the end of this post.
Make simple syrup – bring the sugar and coconut water to a boil to dissolve the sugar and make a simple syrup. Cool it down to room temperature.
Mix – the simple syrup into a bowl with the coconut cream, coconut milk, lime juice, and salt.
Chill – cover the coconut sorbet base and chill it in the fridge until cold.
Churn – pour the coconut sorbet base into the ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions. Typically, the lowest speed is used for 15 – 20 minutes. The Coconut Sorbet is ready when it’s smooth, thick, and sticks to the arm of the machine.
Freeze – transfer the Coconut Sorbet to a freezer-safe container, cover, and freeze for at least 2 hours. When you are ready, scoop and enjoy!
Tips and Tidbits
Here are a few tips and tidbits on how to open a coconut and find the perfect sorbet ratio.
How to Open a Coconut
Opening a coconut is easier than you might think! The first step is puncturing a hole in one or two of the three “eyes.” Hammer a clean screwdriver or nail into the “eyes.”
Flip the coconut over and drain the coconut water into a glass. If you want to use the coconut water, strain it through cheesecloth to remove any small pieces of coconut skin.
Now, it’s time to crack the coconut. While you hold the coconut in one hand, carefully tap the coconut using the back of a knife with significant force around the equator (against the grain in the middle) of the coconut.
Constantly rotate the coconut after each tap until it organically cracks open in an almost even line. Viola! You have opened a coconut!
The Egg Test
The key to perfect sorbet is a master fruit puree/juice ratio to sugar. The amount of sugar not only sweetens the sorbet but, more importantly, stabilizes the texture of the sorbet.
Too much sugar and sorbet will never freeze. Too little sugar will make it hard and icy. The perfect amount of sugar will create a creamy consistency.
More or less, the master ratio is 4 cups of fruit juice to 1 cup of sugar (or 2 cups of simple syrup) or a sugar concentration between 20% and 30%. However, every fruit contains different levels of natural sugar, and without a Brix refractometer, you will not know the sugar concentration.
You can perform a simple egg test to determine the correct amount of sugar in fruit puree. Wash and dry an uncooked egg, then carefully place it in your sorbet base.
When a portion of the egg, about the size of a quarter, is visible above the surface of the sorbet base, you have the perfect ratio. If the egg sinks to the bottom, add more sugar. Add more fruit puree if the egg is almost completely floating on top.
More Coconut Recipes
- Nutella Stuffed French Toast with Coconut
- Coconut Shrimp (Fried + Air Fryer) with a Sweet Red Bell Pepper Chili Sauce
Coconut Sorbet
My creamy Coconut Sorbet is a vegan and dairy-free frozen dessert perfect for a hot summer day to make you feel you are on a tropical island.
Ingredients
- 1 (13.5 oz) can of coconut milk
- 1 (13.5 oz) can of coconut cream
- 1 cup coconut water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Make a simple syrup in a saucepan by combining coconut water and sugar. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the sugar completely dissolves. Set aside and allow the syrup to cool down to room temperature.
- Whisk the simple syrup, coconut cream, coconut milk, lime juice, and salt in a bowl until combined. See notes to make sure your ratio is correct.
- Cover the coconut sorbet base and chill it in the fridge until it is completely cold. It should be at least 40°F before churning.
- Pour the coconut sorbet base into the ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's directions. Typically, it's the lowest speed for 15 - 20 minutes. The Coconut Sorbet is ready when it's smooth, thick, and sticks to the machine's arm.
- Transfer the Coconut Sorbet to a freezer-safe container (I like to freeze a container, so when I put the sorbet in, it won't melt when I remove it from the machine). You can enjoy the Coconut Sorbet now, but it's better to cover and freeze it for at least 2 hours.
- When you are ready, scoop and enjoy!
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