Making ice cream and sorbet in-house gives a patisserie room to play with seasonal fruit and warm spices. The archived frozen dessert page of Belle Cakery listed a short selection of flavors, available by the scoop or by the pint. This page describes them and leaves out prices.

Ice cream

• Tahitian vanilla bean and Meyers’s rum. A classic vanilla base with a hint of rum.
• Caramelized cinnamon. Sugar cooked to a deep caramel and paired with warm cinnamon.

Sorbet

Sorbets are made without dairy, so they are lighter and fruit-forward. The menu listed:

• Concord grape
• Hibiscus and Bartlett pear
• Cantaloupe

Serving ideas

• Pair vanilla and rum ice cream with the apple cake.
• Serve a scoop of sorbet beside a rich chocolate dessert to cut through the sweetness.
• Use pints for gatherings, since small tubs freeze well and can be scooped at the table.

Small-batch notes

Rotating flavors keep a frozen case interesting, and they reflect what fruit is ripe. Homemade ice cream usually tastes best within a few days of churning, so shops make it in small quantities.

The difference between ice cream and sorbet

Ice cream contains milk or cream and egg yolks, which make it rich and smooth. Sorbet is churned from fruit, sugar and water, so it tastes clean and refreshing. Both benefit from good ingredients, since there is little to hide behind. A short list of flavors lets a small shop focus on quality.

For more, visit the individual desserts or the home page.