Blackberry + Basil Homemade Shaved Ice with Basil Sugar: slightly sweetened shaved ice topped with a blackberry and basil syrup and sprinkled with a bit of basil sugar to pack an extra punch of sweet, herby goodness.
Basically, what every good summer gathering needs.
Speaking of gatherings… this shaved ice is going to be featured as a palette cleansing course at our pop up restaurant, The Gathering Table, on July 7th in Southern MN. This one-night event is being held outside of Tandem Bagels in downtown Mankato, MN and will be hosted by Chef + Farmer Collective, a group of local chefs, farmers, and, yes, food bloggers that have a mutual love for tasty, homegrown food. The 10 course tasting menu is going to feature a variety of seasonal, locally sourced plates ranging from fresh summer salads to freshly rolled pasta to a killer dessert, of course! Our restaurant is capped at 50 people for the night so don’t wait to reserve your tickets.
Homemade shaved ice might seem complicated, but its really anything but! This recipe uses only 4 ingredients. Four. The hardest part is waiting for the ice to freeze. And considering the majority of this summer treat is made up of water, it’s naturally dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan — beat that!
This recipe also includes a quick basil sugar which is exactly what it sounds like, basil and sugar! Just some finely, finely chopped basil and a little white sugar is all you need. Be sure to wait until you’re ready to serve to put the basil sugar together or else it will turn into a wet, not so pretty, melted sugar mess!
So. So. So pretty!
- SHAVED ICE
- 4 cups water
- 2 TB sugar
- BLACKBERRY + BASIL SYRUP
- 6 oz blackberries
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 TB lime juice
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 5-6 basil leaves / roughly torn
- BASIL SUGAR
- 1 TB fresh basil / very finely chopped
- 1 TB sugar
- In a medium sized sauce pan, heat water and sugar over medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool. Once the sugar water solution has cooled, transfer to a loaf pan or 8 x 8 pan. Freeze for 2 hours.
- After two hours, remove pan from freezer and scrape with a fork to form ice crystals. Return to freezer and continue to freeze and scrape every 2 hours until frozen through.
- In a small sauce pan, combine blackberries, sugar, lime juice, and lime zest. Heat berry sauce over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook until sauce comes to a simmer, let simmer for one minute. Remove from heat, stir in torn basil leaves, and let steep for 10 minutes.
- Pour blackberry sauce through a fine mesh strainer and transfer into a small bowl or jar. Refrigerate until chilled.
- When ready to serve, make basil sugar by combining 1 TB finely chopped basil with 1 TB sugar. Remove shaved ice from freezer and scrape again using a fork. Scoop ice into individual bowls and pour blackberry sauce over shaved ice using a spoon or jar with a pour spout (add water to syrup, one tsp at a time, to reach desired pouring consistency, if needed). Top with basil sugar and garnish with basil leaves and blackberries.
lovely, as always, kayla! i love the combination of blackberries & basil – this treat sounds so refreshing & easy! xx
Thank you, Jess! You’re so kind!
Gorgeous! The photos and the subject are both lovely. What a perfect recipe for the summer!
Thank you!
Oh my but does that look delicious! The photos are incredible too by the way 🙂
Thank you so much!
This looks absolutely amazing! We live in Mankato and are trying our darndest to rearrange our schedule so that at least 1 of us can attend this event. It looks too good to pass up!
Thank you! That would be great, we’d love to have you there!