3 Ingredient Chocolate Sorbet Recipe

This '3 ingredient chocolate sorbet recipe' truly can be made with just three simple ingredients – water, cocoa powder and sugar.

I originally found a recipe for three ingredient chocolate sorbet on a random website back in the early days of the internet, when Flash websites still existed and YouTube wasn't even an idea yet. The website had lifted an existing recipe from a book called The Ultimate Ice Cream Book written by author Bruce Weinstein, which was published in 1999.

I made it, and it was absolutely gorgeous. A rich, dark, smooth chocolate sorbet that's almost like chocolate ice cream – it's absolutely crazy that there's no dairy or creamy ingredients in it.

Since then, I've adapted the quantities from cups to metric measurements, simplified the method a little (hot water instead of cold water to dissolve the sugar faster and not bothering to chill the ice cream batter before freezing), and changed the sugar up from the original white to light muscovado for extra caramel-y notes. I've also since seen several iterations of this kind of chocolate sorbet online, few crediting it back to the original book and author. So although my recipe is an adaptation with a few small changes, I  give credit where it's due to the original creator.

You can also watch me make this on my YouTube channel, Tashcakes:

Ready? Let's go.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Sorbet:

100g cocoa powder
250g light muscovado sugar
500ml hot water

Options Mix-In:

100g dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), chopped

Method:

1. Sift the cocoa powder into a saucepan and add the sugar. Gradually stir in the water, adding it bit by bit so there are no cocoa lumps.

2. Switch on the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil over, stirring occasionally.

3. As soon as it comes to a boil, lower the heat and bring the mixture down to a gentle simmer. Simmer for three minutes, still stirring occasionally, then take off the heat to cool completely.

4. Once completely cool, freeze according to your ice cream machine's instructions. You can also use the machine-less method of popping in the freezer for an hour, taking it out to mash with a fork, and repeating this process every hour until thick.

5. When your machine's done or your hand-churned mixture is starting to get thick, stir in your chopped dark chocolate if you're using it. Then scrape into a container and freeze for at least four hours to solidify.

6. Once you're ready to serve, simply let your chocolate sorbet sit at room temperature for a minute or two to soften a little before scooping.

Enjoy, and have fun.