Pear sorbet recipe

This is incredibly simple to make but looks really impressive! It takes a long time to freeze, though, so we suggest making it at least the day before you want to eat it. You can use any kind of pears as they cook right down, but conference pears are particularly tasty in this healthy dessert. The sorbet is refreshing and delicious – it's perfect on its own, with a fruit salad, or as a healthy alternative to ice-cream. Since it's mostly pears, this dessert is fairly virtuous, and you can use less sugar if you want an even healthier pudding.

Ingredients

• 4 large pears
• 4tbsp water
• 4tbsp calvados or apricot brandy
• 2tbsp caster sugar
• 1 large lemon or 2 limes

Method

1. Peel and core the pears. Slice them into small pieces and put in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Add the water, calvados or brandy, juice of the lemon or limes and a strip of peel from the lemon or limes.
3. Cook over a low heat for about 15mins, until the pears are meltingly soft. Remove the lemon peel and allow to cool.
4. Once cool, blend into a puree using a hand blender or food processor.
5. Pour into a shallow, freezer-safe container and put into the freezer.
6. After 2hrs, remove from the freezer and scrape the edges into the middle with a fork. This stops it going grainy, as it freezes faster at the edges than in the middle. Return to the freezer.
7. Repeat roughly every 2hrs, until the sorbet is set. This will take about 8hrs, depending on how powerful your freezer is.
8. If you like, scrape it back into the blend and blitz for 1min. This will make it super-smooth, but it's not essential. Store in a freezer-safe container with a lid.