BANANA CASSIS SORBET

What was tutti frutti before it became a concoction, created by an industrial flavour lab, that could strip the paint off a freshly painted car? The seemingly poorly matched flavours in this sorbet make for some interesting reactions. Nobody picks the flavour combo — it’s our own little version of tutti fruitiness.

MAKES 500 ML (17 FL OZ/2 CUPS)

100 g (3½ oz) fresh blackcurrants

100 g (3½ oz) banana, roughly chopped

90 g (3¼ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

25 g (1 oz) dextrose monohydrate

5 g (¹/₈ oz) gelatine sheets

Put the blackcurrants and banana in a saucepan with 200 ml (7 fl oz) of water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the fruit is tender. Use a stick blender to blend the mixture until smooth; if there are still too many lumps, pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, forcing as many solids as possible through the sieve with the back of a ladle.

Combine the sugar and dextrose and add to the purée.

Soak the gelatine in cold water for 5 minutes, or until soft and pliable. Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze out any excess liquid.

Make sure the fruit purée is warm; if it isn’t, warm it for a moment, then add the gelatine and stir to dissolve.

Cool the sorbet in a bowl set over ice, before churning in your ice-cream machine, as per the manufacturer’s instructions.

The sorbet will keep in the freezer for up to 4 weeks.