Raspberry and Pink Champagne Granita is a simple and elegant dessert perfect for a holiday meal or to take the heat out of a steamy summer day. This Sicilian specialty dessert is easy to make and pretty in pink!
The icy-slushy texture of granita is a light and tasty end to any meal. It's perfect for an elegant dinner or during summer's heat.
Instead of using just fruit puree we combined raspberries and pink champagne! The raspberries add a perfumed touch to the pink champagne making this recipe extra special!
It's a good dessert choice for a low calorie diet thanks to the amount of water and sparkling wine (compared to other typical dessert ingredients). Perfect for New Year's Eve!
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What is granita?
Granita is an icy dessert from Italy. Usually made with fruit puree, sugar and water. It's a semi frozen dessert that's raked with a fork to create ice crystals. It's related to sorbet and Italian ice but unlike smooth sorbet it's formed of flavored flaky ice crystals. It's easy to make and refreshing.
Our version is made with raspberries and pink champagne for a festive touch! Including the alcohol also makes the granita recipe easy to rake because it won't fully freeze.
So unlike traditional granita that needs to be raked hourly to ensure the ice flakes the alcohol slows the freezing process so it does well to stay in the freezer all day or overnight. Once frozen (it will not hard freeze), a simple rake of a fork creates ice crystals that melt in the mouth with loads of flavor.
What makes this skinny?
The total calories for this dessert is 82 calories for a 1 cup serving.
- Using a brut or dry champagne has fewer calories than sweeter sparkling wine.
- The sugar amount is relatively low (½ cup sugar) when spread across 10 servings. Only a little over 2 teaspoons of sugar in each serving.
- Using raspberries adds some nutritional value and dietary fiber to the dessert too!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
Granulated sugar. You'll only need ½ cup for the entire dessert (10 servings).
Water. This cooks with the raspberries and sugar to create the raspberry puree. You'll use 1 ½ cup water.
Raspberries. Choose fully ripe blemish-free raspberries. Frozen and thawed raspberries can be substituted for fresh raspberries too.
Rose Brut Champagne. You'll need one 750-ml bottle of rose brut champagne or rose sparkling wine. Brut champagne is a dry wine which means it has less sugar which means it has less calories too! It's still sweet and perfect when combined the raspberry puree.
Fresh lime juice. Use freshly squeezed lime juice. You'll use 2 tablespoons
How to make Granita
STEP 1. Cook
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and raspberries and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (photos 1-2). Stir during cooking until the sugar dissolves and mash the raspberries (photo 3). When the mixture has come to a boil, turn off the heat.
STEP 2. Cool
Use an immersion blender to pulverize all the raspberries and allow to cool fully (about 1 hour)(photo 4 in bowl). Alternatively allow the mixture to cool slightly, pour into a blender and puree, return to the saucepan to cool fully.
Once cooled, pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve (strainer) using a spatula to push the mixture through leaving the raspberry seeds in the sieve (photos 4-7). Add the strained mixture into a freezer-proof 13-inch by 9-inch inch pan. Scrap the outside of the sieve into the pan as well.
STEP 3. Add champagne & lime juice
Pour the champagne and the lime juice into the pan and stir to fully mix.
STEP 4. Freeze
Cover and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Check the granite and if the mixture is beginning to freeze break up the ice with a fork. Cover and leave in the freezer for 8-10 hours until the mixture is fully frozen.
STEP 5. Rake with fork
Remove the granita from the freezer and drag a fork through it to break up the mixture into ice crystals (photo 8). Unlike a traditional granita, the alcohol content will prohibit it from hard freezing so breaking up the mixture should be easy.
After grating into small crystals, spoon into serving dishes and serve immediately. Garnish servings with mint leaves if desired.
How to store
Cover the frozen granita snugly with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 days. it can also be transferred into another container to be stored if desired.
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Recipe
Raspberry Champagne Granita
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated Sugar
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 cup ripe raspberries fresh or frozen and thawed
- 1 750-ml bottle Rose Brut Champagne or Rose Sparkling Wine
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water and raspberries and bring to a boil over medium-high heat; stir to dissolve the sugar and mash the raspberries.½ cup granulated Sugar, 1 ½ cups water, 1 cup ripe raspberries
- When the mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Use an immersion blender to pulverize all the raspberries and allow to cool fully (about 1 hour). Alternatively allow the mixture to cool slightly, pour into a blender and puree, return to the saucepan to cool fully.
- Once cooled, pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve (strainer) using a spatula to push the mixture through leaving the raspberry seeds in the sieve into a freezer-proof 13-inch by 9-inch inch pan. Scrape the outside of the sieve into the pan as well.
- Pour the champagne and the lime juice into the pan and stir to fully mix.1 750-ml bottle Rose Brut Champagne or Rose Sparkling Wine, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- Cover and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Check the granita and if the mixture is beginning to freeze break up the ice with a fork. Cover and leave in the freezer for 8-10 hours until the mixture is fully frozen.
- Remove the granita from the freezer and drag a fork through it to break up the mixture into ice crystals. Unlike a traditional granita, the alcohol content will prohibit it from hard freezing so breaking up the mixture should be easy. After grating into small crystals, spoon into serving dishes and serve immediately. Store leftover granita in the freezer.
wilhelmina says
This is delicious! It's a fun and festive way to celebrate and will be a feature of our New Year's celebration!
Tayler says
This is a great dessert. I made it for a holiday brunch and it was a hit!
Savita says
Such a delicious dessert recipe. It was also very easy to follow the recipe.
Ryan Allen says
This was fantastic and it had great flavor. I can't wait to make it again for my Christmas party.
Stephanie says
This granita is delicious. I’ve only had it in restaurants and didn’t realize how easy it is to make. Loved the flavor combination and it feels so fancy!
Trish C says
I saw this recipe and made it immediately for my husband's birthday. I used sparkling wine and it was amazing!
Karen says
I totally loved this. So refreshing and delicious.