Gin and Tonic Dessert

Build-it-yourself gin sorbet with lemon bavarois and cucumber pearls, topped with tonic foam.

By Sofia Söderberg

“It’s easy to make! You only need gin and tonic and then you can mix it with whatever you want. I also make it with a rhubarb gin with strawberries and rose pepper. You can really make it your own.”

— Sofia Söderberg

Gin and cucumber sorbet ​(4 portions)

What you need

1 Cucumber (sliced) 2 Grams of gelatine leaves 300 g Sugar syrup (200g sugar 200g water) 2,5 cl Gin (Your choice) 1 Lime

How to make it

1. Put the cucumber slices in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth

2. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for approx.10 minutes, until soft

3. Boil the sugar and water and then add the soaked gelatine (make sure it melts)

4. Squeeze the lime in the syrup and then pour it over the blended cucumber. Stir until everything is mixed together

5. If you have an ice cream machine you can use it to make the sorbet and then place in a mold. Otherwise put the mold in the freezer and stir every hour for about 4 hours. Then the sorbet is ready to serve!

Lemon bavarois​ (4 portions)

What you need

188 g Lemon juice (approx 3-4 lemons) ½ Vanilla bean 100g Sugar 44g Egg yolks 5g Gelatine 125g Whipping cream

How to make it

1. Boil lemon juice, vanilla and sugar

2. Soak the gelatine in cold water for 10 minutes (just like in the image above)

3. When the juice is boiling, pour some of it over your egg yolks to temper the eggs. Then add it all back into the pan and bring it to 83 degrees

4. Sieve the lemon cream and then add the gelatine. Let the mixture cool.

5. Whip the cream to semi-hard consistency and then fold it into the lemon cream

6. Pipe the bavarois into silicone molds and freeze

Black pepper tuiles

What you need

63g Egg white 100g Sugar 50g Melted butter 40g Wheat flour Black pepper

How to make it

1. Mix the egg white, sugar, butter and flour together

2. Spread the batter out on a baking sheet and add the black pepper

3. Bake in the oven at 150 degrees for about 10 minutes.

4. When the batter has set and is baked to a golden brown, take it out of the oven and use a cutter to make it into the desired shape.

Sofia uses a rectangular shape which she then cuts into triangular halves

4. Layer the tuiles over a rolling pin and leave to cool down. Wrap the pin in cling film to prevent the tuiles to stick. Store in a box at room temperature

Cucumber pearls

What you need

75g Cucumber juice 10g Sugar Juice from ½ lemon 2g Gelatine

How to make it

1. Place the cucumber in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth

2. Set a strainer over a larger bowl and pour the blended cucumber into the strainer. Use a spatula to move the juice through the strainer

3. Soak the gelatine in cold water (just like in the image above)

4. Boil the cucumber juice with the sugar and lemon juice

5. Soak the gelatine in the warm cucumber mixture

6. Add the liquid to a pearl-shaped silicone mold

7. Let set in the freezer

Tonic foam

What you need

Tonic water (your choice; Sofia recommends Fever Tree or Swedish brand Ekobryggeriet) Soy lecithin

How to make it

Use a hand blender to mix the tonic water with the soy lecithin powder until it turns into a foam. Do this just before serving because the foam doesn’t stay ‘foam-like’ for too long!

Bubbly sugar decoration

What you need

170 g Sugar 120 g Water 7,5 g Glucose 10 g Gin Baking sheet

How to make it

1. Boil the sugar, water and glucose until it reaches 150 degrees

2. Take the baking sheet and wrinkle it with your hands, then smooth it out and place it on a rimmed baking sheet. The wrinkles are necessary for the final product!

3. Shortly before the sugar has finished cooking, pour the alcohol on the parchment, and rub it between your hands to spread the alcohol over the entire surface of the sheet

4. Now tilt the baking sheet at a slight angle and carefully begin pouring the sugar syrup on the top of the sheet so that it runs down the paper. The alcohol will make the sugar bubble up

5. Allow it to cool at room temperature until fully set. Then you can peel off the paper and you have your bubbly sugar decorations!

6. Plate it as you please and await applause!

Words by Sophie Miskiw. Photography by Johan Ståhlberg.