Vegan Raspberry Cream Sorbet Float

I decided to escape the city for week, so I headed to Cleveland and met up with my mother, and together we headed down to Hocking Hills, where my aunt and uncle live, and there I hiked, and explored caves, and admired my uncle's handmade wooden bowls, and ate their superb cooking. 

Then we got back in the car and continued south to Spencer, West Virginia, and my other aunt and uncle's homestead at the bottom of a hollow, where I road atvs to abandoned barns, and cooked, and found a old rusty horseshoe, and basically it was great, and there shall be posts about the foods soon.

However, I shot this post before I left for the midwest, and and so I present it to you today, midway through my trip. I really love ice cream floats, despite being lactose intolerant, so I set out to make a vegan float, using my favorite sorbet, Blue Moon. 

To create the creaminess of melting ice cream, I added a bit of coconut milk to the raspberry soda, and aside from cream it adds a lovely nuttiness, but you could definitely try out soymilk if you don't like coconut milk. 

The liquid elements are reminiscent of what was always called a French Soda at the coffee shops in Cleveland when I was growing up, fruit syrup added to seltzer to make a fruit soda, then a splash of heavy cream or half'n'half on top. 

The addition of the ice cream takes this drink from a delightful creamy soda to  decadent, delicious dessert. The coconut milk froths up in a lovely fashion reminiscent of the stiff foam on top of root beer floats, and the bright pink sorbet makes a lovely contrast against the white.

I devoured the float you see in these photos, essentially in place of lunch, as I often do with the foods I make for this blog, and then I made it again for S and myself after dinner, and then the next morning I made a nonvegan version, which I then ate for breakfast. Basically, I loved this and just kept making and eating them until I ran out of supplies. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Vegan Raspberry Cream Sorbet Float

Raspberry Syrup (enough for 5-6 floats):

1 1/4 C Raspberries

1/2 C Dark Brown Sugar (or desired sweetener)

2/3 C Water

Per Float: 

1 C seltzer chilled (I love my Sodastream)

3 Tbsp Raspberry Syrup

2 Big scoops Raspberry Sorbet

2 tbsp Coconut Milk chilled

Raspberry Syrup:

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to a simmer, and cooking, stirring often, until all the raspberries are broken up and the syrup has cooked down a bit, about 7 minutes. 

If you don't like raspberry pulp and seeds in your float, then pour the syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup before using, and discard pulp. 

Chill syrup in the fridge, until cool, about 30 minutes. 

Float: 

In a pint glass or jar, add 3 tbsp raspberry syrup.

 Slowly add the seltzer (tilt the glass to avoid too much fizzing), followed by the 2 tbsp coconut milk (or desired amount). 

Add two large scoops of sorbet on top of the coconut milk, give it all a little swirl to help the flavors disperse, toss a few raspberries on top of that lovely white frozen foam on top, and serve immediately, as the sorbet will melt a touch faster than ice cream in a traditional float. 

Notes: This morning I made this float again, for breakfast (don't judge me), but instead of coconut milk I used half'n'half, and it was good, the lack of coconut made the flavor a touch less complex, but the dairy from the half'n'half was of course a bit creamier. It was a good, nonvegan alternative.
Also, I am sure this would be good with strawberries instead of raspberries.

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