Orange blossom sorbet almost made me forget about our near death experience…almost.

The three of us lounged on bright Moroccan cushions three stories above the chaos of Marrakesh at a restaurant around the corner from our riad, Un Dejeuner a Marrakech. The crushing heat was lifted by a breeze crossing the rooftop hideaway as the sun went down. Our hearts were still off-rhythm and our throats tight and closed after our tense driving experience that you can read about here. Then Fayaaz, our waiter, brought us dishes of ice cream that blew our minds and erased all the residual tension. It felt like the frozen scent of blooming orange trees and cleared our minds immediately.

I tested several versions of the ice cream at home and settled on a sorbet version. Our daughter Beija and her friend Pacifica (who will be headed to Oaxaca with us in a couple of weeks) helped me out. Taking a bite of this sorbet is like a mini trip to the rooftop restaurant in Marrakesh – and who doesn’t want that? Check out our full Morocco with kids itinerary and information here. You’ll need an ice cream maker with a fully frozen insert. To get the full effect, wait for a really hot summer day and play some serpentine Moroccan music while eating.

Easy Moroccan Orange Blossom Sorbet

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 ½ cups cool water
• 2 teaspoons orange flower water (+1 teaspoon for a stronger blossom flavor – careful, it is easy to overdo)
• 2 teaspoon lime juice

(If you aren’t going to eat it right out of the ice cream maker add 1T of vodka or 1 slightly beaten egg white to the mix to keep ice crystals from forming)

Instructions

1. Dissolve the sugar in the hot water to make simple syrup (I put the hot water and sugar in a jar and shook it until dissolved)
2. Cool completely in the refrigerator (at least an hour)
3. Mix the simple syrup, cool water, orange flower water, and lime juice together
4. Pour it into your ice cream maker and run until it has the right consistency

 

 

I hope you enjoy this sorbet as much as I did. The aromatic flavor is really different from what we are used to so it felt like a mini-vacation.

Tell me about your travel food experiences!