Christmas sherbet punch is three things in a bowl: raspberry sherbet, cranberry juice and ginger ale. No cooking, no measuring jug, nothing that has to be made in advance. It pours about sixty five cups, so it is built for a full house at Christmas.
Pour the juice and the ginger ale in first and float the sherbet on top at the end. The recipe does it the other way round, and a gallon of cold juice poured over sherbet melts it into pink foam on contact.
The card says twenty servings, but the quantities add up to just under three gallons. That is nearly twenty ounces a head, and a punch cup holds five or six. Sixty five is the honest number.
Christmas Sherbet Punch
Course: DrinksCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes300
kcalRaspberry sherbet floated over chilled cranberry juice and ginger ale, scooped straight into the bowl. Three ingredients, five minutes, and enough for a party of sixty.
Ingredients
1 gallon raspberry sherbet, kept frozen hard
16 cups (1 gallon) cranberry juice, or cranberry mixed with pomegranate, well chilled
Two 2-liter bottles ginger ale, well chilled
Directions
- Chill everything: Make sure the cranberry juice and the ginger ale are very cold and the sherbet is frozen hard.
- Pour the liquids: Pour the cranberry juice and the ginger ale into a large punch bowl or a drink dispenser and stir gently once.
- Float the sherbet: Scoop the sherbet over the top so it sits in scoops on the surface rather than melting straight down into the juice.
- Serve: Serve while the sherbet still holds its shape, and keep the rest of it in the freezer for a second round.
FAQs
What size bowl do I need?
Nothing you own, most likely, since three gallons is twice what a large punch bowl holds. Use a drink dispenser with a tap, or split it across two bowls and keep one in the fridge. Halving the recipe gives you a bowl sized batch.
Can I use a different sherbet?
Raspberry is there for the color against the cranberry, but lime works if you want a paler punch. Orange turns the whole thing muddy, so skip that one. Whatever you pick, keep it rock hard until the moment it goes in.
How do I stop it going watery?
The sherbet is the problem, because it is melting the whole time it sits out. Serve in two rounds and keep the second half of the sherbet in the freezer until you need it. Frozen cranberries in the bowl chill without thinning it.
Can I make it ahead?
The juice and ginger ale can be chilled days in advance, which is most of the work. The sherbet goes in at the last minute and that is that. If you want a smaller batch, this non alcoholic christmas punch serves thirty.
What do I serve with it?
Something salty, because a bowl of sherbet punch is sweet from the first cup. Cheese on the table balances it and people graze while they drink. A snowman cheese ball and a stack of crackers covers it.
