-
1
Halve the apricots and remove the stones. Place the apricots in a pan over a medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then to make sure they don't catch.
-
2
When softened, remove from the heat and stir in half the sugar until fully dissolved.
-
3
Push the apricot mush through a sieve with the back of a spoon into a deep glass bowl to remove the fibres from the flesh. Leave to cool completely.
-
4
When cooled to room temperature, place in the freezer.
-
5
Every half hour, remove the sorbet from the freezer and stir vigorously, scraping any frozen bits from the sides of the bowl. After a few hours of this, the sorbet will seize up and become harder to stir. When this happens, leave the bowl in the freezer to solidify (overnight will do it).
-
6
To make the lavender syrup, heat the water in a pan with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and 5 of the lavender stems.
-
7
Bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes and then take off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Make sure not to stir or agitate the syrup during this process, otherwise it will crystalise and not be very syrupy.
-
8
When the syrup has completely cooled, strain through a fine sieve or a tea strainer.
-
9
When you want to serve the sorbet, take it out of the freezer to soften for 5 minutes or so and it will be smooth and creamy.
-
10
Serve the sorbet with a few spoonfuls of lavender syrup and sprinkle the remaining lavender flowers over the top.
