I recently made some honeysuckle sorbet.
It’s something that is made for a few weeks every year by a well-known restaurant here. A recipe for it from the original chef has been floating around the Internet for a while (the one I have says to leave the honeysuckle to steep overnight at room temp, not the fridge). I wanted to try it since another recipe of his for individual lemon pies is wonderful and one of our favorite summer desserts here.
I raised an eyebrow at the amount of sugar in the sorbet recipe, but since I hadn’t made it before I went with it as written.
It was awful. So icky sweet I couldn’t eat it and I threw it out.
I made a second attempt with half the amount of sugar and while it is of course still sweet, the honeysuckle flavor is front and center. That is the good part.
The problem with it, at least in my mind, is that it’s really one-note. There’s no contrast or any other point of interest. I’ve seen it served with basil garnish, which might be OK, but I’d prefer to either add something to the sorbet mix itself which provides a counterpoint to the honeysuckle flavor, or add something more substantial than a garnish when serving it. Another flavor of sorbet, perhaps, or a cookie or something that you can take a bite of that makes both things better.
Ideas? I have some of the sorbet in the freezer right now, so I can try any add-ons right now. I’ll make a note of any suggestions for changing up the recipe for when the honeysuckle blooms again.