Why does coconut sorbet taste so rich, even without cream or eggs? Well, because there’s plenty of fat in the coconut milk itself. It’s one of the easiest sorbets in the world to make, thanks to the prevalence of decent canned coconut milk, but I like to give it a spark of heat, too. Eat this on its own, or with a cookie or other dessert of your choice. It goes especially well with chocolate. Remember that to make good ice cream with a machine that requires a prefrozen canister, you need to plan ahead and put the canister in the freezer at least 2 days before you’re going to make the ice cream. (I store mine there.)

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 (13- to 14-ounce) cans coconut milk, shaken well before opening

　　1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

　　2 Thai chiles, slit open

　　1 tablespoon tequila

　　

Step 1

Pour the coconut milk into a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir in the brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, decrease the heat to low so that it is barely simmering, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the brown sugar is fully melted and the coconut milk is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chiles, cover, and remove from the heat. Let steep for an hour.

　　

Step 2

Pour the coconut milk into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the tequila. Cover with plastic wrap, transfer to the refrigerator, and let it thoroughly chill for several hours, preferably overnight.

　　

Step 3

Once the mixture is very cold, fish out the chiles, then taste. If the sorbet base isn’t spicy enough for you, open up one of the chiles, scrape in a few of the seeds, and stir to combine. Transfer the cold sorbet base to an ice-cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The sorbet can be stored frozen, covered in an airtight container, for a few weeks.

　　Reprinted with permission from Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One by Joe Yonan. Text copyright © 2011 by Joe Yonan; photographs copyright © 2011 by Ed Anderson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Joe Yonan is the food and travel editor at the Washington Post, where he writes the award-winning "Cooking for One" column. Joe's work also earned the Post the 2009 and 2010 James Beard Foundation's award for best food section. He is the former travel editor at the Boston Globe. Visit www.joeyonan.com.