Things to Do With Sherbet

There's more than one way to serve sherbet on a hot summer day. Fruity, creamy and light, sherbet is similar to traditional ice cream, but contains much less dairy, making it lighter and the flavors more pronounced. Most sherbets come in fruity flavors, though there are some non-fruit options as well, including vanilla and chocolate. For your next get-together, consider enjoying the versatile treat on its own, mixed into drinks or made into a dessert.

Instead of serving sherbet in a regular bowl, get creative with your presentation. One idea is to serve it out of citrus fruit rinds like oranges. Slice oranges in half and scoop out the flesh, but save it to eat later. The orange rind halves should look like small bowls. Scoop orange sherbet ice cream into the orange halves and store in the freezer on a baking sheet until you're ready to serve. You can do the same thing with lemon and lime rinds. One creative idea is to fill lime halves with pink sherbet of any flavor, then top with a few mini chocolate chips so they look like watermelons. For a sophisticated presentation, serve perfectly round scoops of sherbet ice cream in martini glasses or other fine stemware.

Turn sherbet ice cream into a fun party beverage. There's no shortage of sherbet punches you could make with various combinations of flavored sherbet, soda and juices. Basic sherbet punches typically include soda such as lemon-lime or ginger ale, sherbet ice cream of any flavor and a fruit juice or concentrate. To make a basic lime sherbet punch, for example, combine lime sherbet with ginger ale and thawed limeade concentrate. For every quart of sherbet, use one liter of ginger ale and one small can, about 12 ounces, of limeade. You can use this ratio to make any type of sherbet punch, adjusting the amounts to your taste. Add fresh fruit into the sherbet punch to make it more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. For an adult party, serve pitchers of different flavored sherbet punches with a few ounces of vodka, rum or whiskey.

Make a sherbet roll, an impressive looking cake roll with sherbet in the middle. Using a boxed angel food cake mix, pour half the batter onto a jelly roll pan lined with wax paper and bake according to instructions. Let it cool slightly, then loosen the edges and turn the cake over onto a large kitchen towel dusted with powdered sugar. Peel off the wax paper, then carefully roll the warm cake up with the towel, from one end to the other and cool completely on a wire rack. Unroll the cake and spread sherbet ice cream all over it. Roll it back up carefully and freeze it wrapped in foil until solid. You can also make sherbet ice cream sandwiches by pressing slightly softened sherbet in between thin ginger snaps, or vanilla sugar cookies. Freeze the sandwiches wrapped in foil before serving.

Make a sherbet bombe, a layered ice cream dessert with different flavors of ice cream, frozen together to look like a rounded cake. Line a metal mixing bowl with plastic wrap and spread a thick layer of softened sherbet ice cream all over the inside of the bowl, up to the edges. Stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour, then add another layer of sherbet flavor and freeze again. Repeat with one or two more layers and freeze until fully hardened. Serve by inverting the bowl onto a chilled serving plate -- the plastic wrap should make it easy to unmold. You could also make a sherbet cake that includes ready-made cake. Using a bundt pan or bread pan mold, alternate layers of sherbet ice cream and slices of cake in the mold, finishing with a cake layer. Freeze in the same way as the sherbet bombe. Unmold, cover with frosting and freeze again until frosting is solid.