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The evening that changed my life 

(well, perhaps my dessert!)

When eating out I have always been inclined to opt for creamy desserts, such a tiramisu (my all-time favourite), crème brûlée or a decadent ice cream.

However, whilst on holiday enjoying a very rare meal out with my other half at the Coalhouse restaurant, Oxwich Bay (above), I threw caution to the wind (the sea air must have affected me) and chose sorbet for pudding.

In all honesty I was going to opt for the trifle but a helpful and very honest waitress kindly confessed that the trifle was ‘a bit of a disappointment to be honest’ and ‘I could have made a better one myself’ in her comforting South Welsh brogue.

Sorbet it was: a trio of rhubarb, mango
and pineapple globes arrived before
me and what a revelation!

What I had always imagined to be a freezing cold, icy, insipid experience was instead a culinary turning point. I savoured every mouthful of the soft velvety texture (how did it taste creamy?) and full-on fruit flavour.

I am a sorbet convert and am determined to have a go at making my own. I trawl through all our cookbooks and diaries to see if I can find a recipe (there must be one in the ubiquitous Dairy Book of Home Cookery) and lo and behold I find six recipes!

Cranberry, Lemon, Mango & Lime, Strawberry, Rhubarb and Citrus. Woopwoop.

I am torn between the lemon (which has the additional of elderflower cordial) and the rhubarb but as I loved the Coalhouse rhubarb so much I have decided to opt for the Spring Rhubarb Sorbet from the 2009 Dairy Diary (obviously using seasonal rather than spring rhubarb). I am approaching this with some trepidation as there’s nothing my fiancé hates more than rhubarb but I really fancy it, so I am sticking to my guns and, on the upside, I’ll be the one who can eat it all!

Here’s the recipe:

Rhubarb Sorbet

Did you try it? I loved it (maybe not quite as good as the restaurant version, but I blame that on the lack of ice cream machine).