Big-Bowl Sherbet Punch with a Fruit Ice Ring

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The potluck classic, rebuilt so it actually tastes like fruit instead of syrup: a chilled pineapple-orange base sharpened with fresh lime and grated ginger, topped with scoops of raspberry sherbet that melt into a thick pink foam. A frozen fruit ice ring keeps the bowl cold for hours without watering it down, and there's a spiked version for the grown-up table.

Ingredients

• 3 cups pineapple juice (or water, for a less sweet ring)
• 1 navel orange, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 lime, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
• 4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice, chilled
• 2 cups fresh orange juice, chilled
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes)
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 1.5 quarts raspberry sherbet (or rainbow sherbet), very cold
• 1 liter ginger ale, well chilled
• 750 ml sparkling water or club soda, well chilled
• 1 lime, sliced, for the bowl
• 1 small handful fresh mint sprigs, for the bowl

• 1 1/2 cups white rum or vodka, chilled
• 1 bottle dry prosecco, chilled (use in place of the sparkling water)

Instructions

1. Make the ice ring the day before: arrange the orange rounds, lime rounds, frozen raspberries, and mint leaves in a 10- to 12-cup bundt or tube pan. Pour in the 3 cups pineapple juice — the fruit will float, which is what you want, since the ring gets inverted. Freeze at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, until solid all the way through.
2. Steep the ginger: warm 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice in a small saucepan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, just until steaming (do not boil). Off the heat, stir in the grated ginger and let it steep 10 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the pulp to get all the liquid. Discard the solids.
3. In a large pitcher or 2-quart container, combine the ginger infusion with the remaining pineapple juice, the orange juice, lime juice, and a pinch of salt. Stir well, cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours (up to 2 days) until ice cold — a room-temperature base is what makes punch go flat and watery.
4. About 30 minutes before serving, scoop the sherbet into 16 rounded balls on a parchment-lined sheet pan and return them to the freezer. Pre-scooping means you're not wrestling with a tub in front of guests, and firm frozen scoops float longer.
5. Unmold the ice ring: dip the bottom of the pan in warm water for 20 to 30 seconds, then invert it into your punch bowl, fruit side up. If it sticks, dip again for 10 seconds.
6. Pour the chilled juice base over the ice ring. If you're spiking the punch, stir in the rum or vodka now.
7. Add the ginger ale and sparkling water (or prosecco) by pouring them slowly down the inside of the bowl to protect the bubbles. Stir just once or twice with a ladle — no more.
8. Float 8 to 10 of the sherbet scoops on top. Within a minute or two they will start dissolving into a thick pink foam cap. Tuck in the lime slices and mint sprigs and serve immediately, ladling both liquid and foam into each glass.
9. As the punch is drunk down, top up with more chilled ginger ale and the reserved sherbet scoops to rebuild the foam. The ice ring should last 3 to 4 hours in a cool room.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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