I’ve never been much of a soda drinker. The six Diet Cokes a day? Not me. Once in a while, I’ll make an exception. For example, there’s always whiskey in my Coke and I have a real soft spot for Squirt, that deliciously sweet grapefruit soda that is my go-to when I’m not feeling well. I also occasionally enjoy a spicy ginger ale and a cold cream soda. Man, I do love a cream soda.
My chef in the bakery/coffee bar I once worked made the best cream soda I ever had. It was delicious, my ideal, and especially good in the reverse root beer floats we also sold – cream soda with root beer ice cream. They were really wonderful. It was with that float in mind that not long ago I paused upon a page in Donald Link’s book, ”Down South: Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp & Second Helpings of Everything”. Cream Soda Sherbet. Well, hey there. What was this?
Cream Soda Sherbet is essentially a whole lot of sugar, vanilla and cream. Sounds about right! I had to make it immediately. That my ”immediately” meant six months later is not worth much discussion as it seemed like more of a summer type thing. Now that’s it’s smoking hot all over the country (holla back Phoenix with your 120°F!), it was the perfect time.
As I mentioned, there’s a lot of sugar in this recipe and strangely, because I don’t say this often, it’s absolutely appropriate. Cream soda is sweet, people. Really sweet. The recipe starts with the typical ice cream base – sugar, vanilla, cream plus corn syrup (trust me, it helps with texture) then a bottle of actual cream soda is added just before spinning. I used a local favorite – Goose Island – which is rather high on the vanilla scale, but use your favorite.
What you get is a cold scoop of creamy deliciousness that tastes like real cream soda. It’s wonderful! I particularly liked it with strawberries but it also made a delicious float with some of that leftover cream soda. Sort of just like in the old days.
STRESS THERAPY BAKING FACTOR: CLASSIC LOVE. I had a feeling that I would like this but it exceeded all my expectations. I really like this. My original plans were to serve this at a dinner party and then through a series of events that are so typical in my life, I dropped the container and it splattered all over my kitchen floor. So much for dinner plans. I threw what I could salvage into a new container, threw it in the freezer and came up with a new dessert plan. The next day I tried a scoop, and then another and then what the hell, grabbed a spoon and finished what was left. If you like cream soda, this is your jam.
Eight years ago: Chino Farms Strawberries
Seven years ago: Cobbler & Cabining Annoyances, Peterson Garden Project Sophie’s Choice
Six years ago: Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie; Lard Crust
Five years ago: Fresh Ricotta, Ricotta Cheesecake
Four years ago: Roasted Strawberry Sorbet
Three years ago: Guinness Crème Anglaise
Two years ago: Eton Mess
Last year: Easy Home-Cured Bacon, Oven Method
CREAM SODA SHERBET – this is Donald Link’s recipe from his book; I only cut it in half to make one quart.
Makes 1 quart
¾ cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 cups heavy cream
1 (12-ounce) can cream soda
- If you’re using a canister-style ice cream machine, freeze the canister for at least 24 hours.
- In a heavy medium saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and half of the cream.
- Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and with the back of the paring knife, scrape out the seeds from the cut side of the pod and scrape into the pot. Throw the scraped bean pod in the pot too.
- Bring the mixture to a low boil of medium-high, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- Transfer to a bowl and stir in the remaining cold cream.
- Refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Before spinning, remove the vanilla bean and discard (or let dry and process with sugar for vanilla sugar).
- Stir the cream soda into the mixture then process in your ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until the sherbet has the texture of soft-serve ice cream.
- Serve immediately, or transfer to a storage container and freeze until needed. Personally, I like it after at least 4 hours in the freezer once it’s had a change to harden up a bit.
STRESSCAKE 
Un peu de fraîcheur pour se rafraîchir pendant la canicule !
It sounds terrific, but I’m confused by calling it a “sherbet”. Isn’t the whole idea of sherbet that it doesn’t have any dairy in it?
It is confusing but sherbet always has a little dairy in it. Sorbet, however, does not.