Summer

Sage Infused Plum-Blackberry-Honey Gelato

by:
August  4, 2010
4.3
3 Ratings
Sage Infused Plum-Blackberry-Honey Gelato
  • Serves 1 quart
Author Notes

I love the combination of plums and herbs. I’ve worked with thyme (see my Grilled Pluot recipe with Lemon-Thyme Shortcakes and Honey-Thyme Caramel Sauce) but I love sage. I love the way plums are strong enough in flavor to stand up to the sage and make such a lovely combination. Add the honey and you have a nice little trio singing in harmony together with all the individual flavors coming through. I added some blackberries to really get that full summer richness since my plums weren’t as ripe and juicy as I wanted, and finished it off with a dollop of Plum Brandy. If you’re working with completely ripe plums, the blackberries are likely not needed. - ChezSuzanne —TheWimpyVegetarian

Test Kitchen Notes

I had exceptional wild plums, wild blackberries and honey from wild blackberries to make this with so the flavors just exploded in our mouths. When I tasted this right from the ice cream maker, I thought the sage was pretty predominant, but a day and a half later it had become a mysterious flavor thread that intrigued everyone. Make this and be grateful for creative cooks like ChezSuzanne! – Amber Olson —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 ¼ cups whole milk
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 bunch of fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped (about 20 leaves)
  • 1 pound black plums, pitted and cut into large chunks
  • 1 handful fresh blackberries (about 10) (optional: see headnote)
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice
  • ½ cup honey (I used blackberry honey, but other flavors likely work too)
  • 1 tablespoon Plum Brandy (you can substitute Crème de Cassis with great results.)
Directions
  1. Bring the cream, milk and salt to a soft simmer in a small pot. Add the sage leaves and continue to simmer for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let steep for about 20 minutes while you make the plum base. Strain out the sage leaves.
  2. Put the plums, blackberries, water, sugar and lemon juice in a small pot over medium-low heat. Simmer until the plums collapse into a sauce. This took me about 15 minutes. Pour it all into a blender and puree. Strain out the plum skins and blackberry seeds.
  3. Pour the plum-blackberry puree into the sage cream and stir in the honey. Add the plum brandy or Crème de Cassis at the end.
  4. Chill for at least 4 hours. Process in your ice cream maker.
  5. Go sit in the shade under a tree and enjoy the flavors of summer.
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35 Reviews

drbabs
drbabs June 3, 2013
this sounds wonderful-- you have so many interesting ice cream recipes!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian June 3, 2013
Until I started going through them, I'd forgotten how many I had on here :-)
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames August 25, 2010
ChezSuzanne, where do you get the blackberry honey? (I'm also looking for an exceptional local buckwheat honey, too, if you know of any good sources . . .) Really want to make this while berries and plum are both in the markets. ;o)
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 26, 2010
Hi AJ! I got the blackberry honey at Whole Foods. I'll look tomorrow to see if they have buckwheat - I don't remember seeing it but one never knows. They have a LOT of honeys. If you can't find the blackberry honey, I'm sure any other honey will be fine!
 
lapadia
lapadia August 25, 2010
FYI - made your recipe, had ripe plums, didn’t use blackberries, used Crème de Cassis…Superb flavors and texture. Thanks!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 26, 2010
Thanks for the feedback lapadia! I really appreciate it. I've made your blackberry sorbet twice now!
 
pauljoseph
pauljoseph August 24, 2010
very good recipe
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 26, 2010
Thanks, pauljoseph!
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen August 19, 2010
Congrats! You helped inspire my ice cream attachment order which is en route for my new mixer.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 19, 2010
Thanks so much Sagegreen! Hope you like it! I'll be interesting in hearing what you thought.
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen August 25, 2010
Well the attachment arrived, but so did a cold snap in our weather department. Chili fits the bill for now, but I am not forgetting this one! So glad to hear about lapadia's variations, since I will be new to this process.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 26, 2010
Let me know how it goes! I make ice cream or sorbet almost every week now, which is why I started experimenting. I used creme de casis the last time I made it and really liked it that way too - and it's likely easier to find! Once you start making ice creams and sorbets, you can really get hooked on it - so have fun with your new kitchen tool-toy when it gets warmer there!
 
aliyaleekong
aliyaleekong August 19, 2010
This looks so delicious. i love plums + herbs as well! Will have to try
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 19, 2010
Thanks so much! I love plums / thyme / honey combo too but it was fun working with the sage. If you try it, let me know how it went for you!
 
thirschfeld
thirschfeld August 10, 2010
Somehow I missed this. Looks very nice.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 10, 2010
Thanks thirschfeld! It's all gone now and I want to make some more but want to try other plum posts first - starting with your ricotta plum tarts. I've got all the ingredients to make them :-)
 
lapadia
lapadia August 9, 2010
Mmmm, love all the flavors you have here, waiting for the sun to shine up here in the PacNW before getting my ice cream maker out! Saving this, as we shall have blackberries ripe sooner or later!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 9, 2010
Thanks lapadia! We're getting sunshine in the afternoons, which I guess is better than nothing, but still very cool temps. Sounds like you're having a cooler summer too. Hope you get some warm sunny days soon and hope you have a chance to try my latest ice cream/gelato!
 
fiveandspice
fiveandspice August 6, 2010
I was just musing about how I wanted to make something with plums and sage...looks like I've found it! Yum, yum, yum! (as long as my no dairy trial reveals that I can, in fact, tolerate dairy just fine, thank you - the fingers are crossed)
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 9, 2010
Hey thanks fiveandspice! Hope you have a chance to try it (which means I hope you find that you can tolerate dairy!). Food sensitivities can be soooo difficult to identify, speaking from personal experience.
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames August 4, 2010
The blackberries are a brilliant addition. I've never put the two (blackberries and plums) together but you have made such a compelling case for it, here. What a well conceived recipe. Love it!! ;o)
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 5, 2010
Thanks AJ!! I considered having it for breakfast and tell myself it was almost the same as my usual fruit and yogurt. I have lots of plums left and your sorbet is high on my list to try. It looks sooo good.
 
Sunchowder
Sunchowder August 4, 2010
Looks really lovely, I will try this one! :)
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 5, 2010
Thanks Sunchowder! It's so soft and smooth too. This picture was taken as soon as it was finished and was still a little soft. It hardened up a little in the freezer by dinnertime, and was still so creamy soft.
 
Lizthechef
Lizthechef August 4, 2010
I need a pint of this gelato in IV form now - truly, this is the feeling evoked from your fabulous recipe Hauling out the ice cream maker as an excuse to "practice" for my next summer dinner party...Thumbs up!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 5, 2010
Thanks so much Liz! I'm embarassed to say that ours is now almost all gone. Between tasting it while I was making it and having some for dessert last night, there's barely enough left for dessert tonight! If you try it, I'd love to hear how it went.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 5, 2010
Oh! and I should add that I'm going to try to make your plum butter today! We're heading to SoCal tomorrow for a reunion of sorts, so if I don't get to it, then next week for sure! I can think of a zillion things to put it on - especially like Kelsey's idea on grilled pound cake. Yum!
 
gingerroot
gingerroot August 4, 2010
I'm so glad you posted this. This looks lovely - as soon as I pick up more plums I'm going to try this. I love the brandy/Crème de Cassis addition; I made a strawberry-fig basil ice cream a few weeks ago and added some Crème de Cassis and it was delicious. I almost added some to my black plum gelato but wanted the pepper to be distinct so held off...
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 5, 2010
It's amazing what Creme de Cassis can do to finishing fruity ice creams. I picked up the tip of finishing ice creams with a little alcohol from David Lebowitz. He claims it helps the texture. I also like what it does to the flavor. Your black plum gelato looks wonderful just as it is, and have it high on my list to try!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 5, 2010
Oh, and your strawberry-fig basil ice cream sounds wonderful! I've been trying fig ice creams and haven't gotten one I really love yet.
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen August 4, 2010
Would love some tonight!
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen August 4, 2010
In fact I can imagine a line of all these wonderful iced desserts marched up to sample. The flavors and colors are lovely...and it is high summer!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 5, 2010
I agree! And then we need to have a line of all the plum tarts all lined up to sample. And sauces and butters. I can see I'll be eating plummy things for quite awhile I've saved so many of these to try. So fun!
 
drbabs
drbabs August 4, 2010
yum--very nice!
 
TheWimpyVegetarian
TheWimpyVegetarian August 5, 2010
Thanks so much drbabs!