Blackberry granita is an all-star of a summer dessert! You will love its signature sweet-tart blackberry flavor, perfect sweetness, and complementary burst of citrus. With no baking required, minimal hands-on time, and a uniquely fluffy, frosty texture, it's an impressive yet easy frozen treat to make-ahead for warm weather entertaining.
I read my mom's cookbooks for fun as a kid, and I distinctly remember seeing granita for the first time in the 1991 Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts (a favorite to this day).
It looked like alternating layers of espresso and lemon flavored ice flakes, which to my younger palate just seemed so boring after ogling pages of chocolate cakes, mousses, and creamy ice cream desserts.
Twenty-five years later I'm here to make amends with granita. It's so much more than tiny ice chips! At its core this frozen dessert blends fresh fruit (or espresso or lemon juice) with sugar and water, which is strained, then left to freeze in a shallow pan with periodic scraping - just a fork will do.
After several hours you'll end up with a simple-but-special, melts-in-your-mouth with a refreshing burst of fruit flavor, perfect summer dessert that appears and tastes way fancier than people might think.
I've been flexing my scraping muscles quite a lot this summer (more recipes on the way), but here I couldn't help marrying this Sicilian delicacy with a big-time Southern summertime superstar - blackberries - in blackberry granita.
Simple Ingredients
Blackberries: Lots of different berries can be used for summer granita, but I'm partial to blackberries because of their bold sweet-tart flavor (raspberries also fit the bill in that regard). Plus you won't have to worry about their pesky seeds as they're strained away.
Lemon Juice & Zest: Lemon juice adds necessary liquid, while zest provides a bigger citrus pop. Aim to grab just the yellow part of the rind when zesting, not the white pith layer underneath as the pith is bitter.
Sugar: Granulated sugar plays a big role in this blackberry granita. It helps keep the consistency easily scrape-able, ensures sufficient sweetness comes through at serving (coldness can dim flavors), and plays off of the lemony elements beautifully. I don't recommend reducing or substituting it.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Add all ingredients to a blender.
- Step 2: Blend well on medium to medium-high speed until as smooth as possible.
- Step 3: Strain the mixture into a baking dish.
- Step 4: Freeze for 3 -4 hours, periodically scraping the frozen edges with a fork, until frozen completely.
Serving Suggestions
Blackberry granita is seriously delicious on its own - it's fruity and sweet with a balanced tartness. While you'll most often find whipped cream adorning more gourmand granita flavors (think espresso and pistachio), I really love it on this blackberry granita, too.
Otherwise a few whole blackberries and/or small mint leaves make simple, perfect garnishes.
Tips and Tricks
- Serving vessel - While you can (of course) serve granita in bowls, clear glassware is a popular choice so you can show off its fluffy texture. I like to use stemless martini glasses. Chilling the glasses beforehand helps maintain the frostiness longer.
- Don't stress the scraping - You'll generally want to scrape the granita after the first hour-ish, then half-hour-ish afterwards until fully flaky and frozen. Notice all the "ish"es - you don't need to stress about being precise. The goal is just to agitate the mixture and help it freeze evenly, not in large blocks.
- Mixed berry granita - Don't have enough blackberries? Feel free to mix in raspberries, hulled strawberries, or blueberries to make up the one pound of fruit total.
More Easy Fruit Recipes
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Blackberry Granita
Ingredients
- 1 pound (16 ounces) ripe blackberries (roughly 3 ½ cups)
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon lemon zest well-packed (up to ½ teaspoon if you like)
- Tiny pinch of fine salt
Instructions
- Make space in your freezer for an 8-by 10-inch or 9-by-13-inch freezer-safe baking dish to be able to sit flat.
- Add blackberries, water, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt to a blender. Blend on medium to medium-high speed until as smooth as can be, about a minute.
- Pour the blended blackberry mixture into the pan through a fine mesh sieve, stirring and pressing on the mixture with a spatula to help as much of it through as possible, leaving the blackberry seeds and bits of zest behind. Scrape the underside of the strainer into the dish to include the mixture that accumulates there.
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and freeze for 60-75 minutes, or until the edges of the pan have frozen but the middle is still on the soft side. Use the tines of a fork to scrape up the frozen, flaky mixture from the edges inward.
- Return the dish to the freezer and scrape again after 30-45 minutes as the mixture gradually freezes. Repeat every 30-45 minutes until the granita is evenly fluffed into crystals, roughly 3 ½-4 hours in total.
- Serve blackberry granita with whipped cream, fresh blackberries, and/or mint leaves for garnish. Chilling glasses or bowls beforehand helps keep everything optimally frosty.
- Store granita in its baking dish in the freezer, covered in plastic wrap, for 1-2 weeks. You will need to rescrape it until fluffy again before serving.
Notes
- Dish size - A dish with a larger surface area (like a 9-by-13) will freeze a bit quicker as the mixture is thinner.
- Freezing time - This can vary depending on dish size, the conditions in your freezer, etc. The time estimate in this recipe is on the long side to err on the side of being cautious.
- Frozen blackberries - These work as well - thaw in the refrigerator before using.
- Lemon zest - I've made blackberry granita with ½ teaspoon of zest and really enjoyed it, so increase the amount from ¼ teaspoon if you're a big lemon fan.
- Whipped cream - I like a sweetened whipped cream for serving - two tablespoons of powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract per cup of heavy cream. This yields about 2 cups of whipped cream but can be halved.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Food Safety and Nutrition Disclaimer
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