One late summer weekend, I was visiting a friend who lives in the wilds of Northern California, and I noticed lots of wild blackberry bushes with berries that were so plump and ripe that they were practically falling off the branches. I can never resist free food, so I set out for an afternoon of heavy picking. When I came back, my basket loaded down with fresh berries, my friend casually asked, “Did you see the rattlesnakes?” “Um . . . no, I . . . I didn’t,” I replied. Actually, I was really glad to have missed them. That incident didn’t quite scare me away from picking other types of fruits and berries, but I’ll let others risk their lives for blackberries, which I’ve been happy to plunk down money for ever since that day.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

　　8 cups (3 pounds/1.4 kg) blackberries

　　1 cup (250 ml) water

　　1 cup (200 g) sugar

　　2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more to taste

　　2 teaspoons kirsch or vodka, or more to taste

　　

Step 1

Purée the berries and remove the seeds by passing them through a food mill fitted with a fine disk into a medium bowl. Or, process the berries in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, then, using a rubber spatula, press the purée through a mesh strainer set over a medium bowl.

　　

Step 2

In a small saucepan, warm the water and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stir the sugar syrup into the blackberry purée, then mix in the lemon juice and kirsch or vodka. Taste and adjust the flavoring, adding more lemon juice and kirsch or vodka, if desired. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

　　

Step 3

Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

　　

tip

Step 4

You can use frozen blackberries, thawed, in this recipe.

　　Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz. Copyright © 2010 by David Lebovitz. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved.David Lebovitz lived in San Francisco for twenty years before moving to Paris. He baked at several notable restaurants before starting his career as a cookbook author and food writer. He's the author of four highly regarded books on desserts, and has written for many major food magazines, sharing his well-tested recipes written with a soupçon of humor. His popular, award-winning blog, www.davidlebovitz.com, entertains readers from around the world with sweet and savory recipes as he tries to unravel the complexities of living in Paris.