Heat the water and sugar to boiling. Boil for five minutes. Remove from heat. Add the fresh ginger, lime juice and zest. You can wait for it to cool down, or if you're in a hurry let it sit for at least 15 minutes to let the ginger steep, then put it in a bowl floating in an ice water bath.

When cool, strain out the ginger pieces. Peel the avocados, and place them in a blender. Pour the ginger-lime syrup over the avocados. Blend until smooth.

Pour into ice cream maker. After about 15 minutes (when the sorbet is starting to get thick) add the candied ginger. Leave it in the ice cream maker until it's the right consistency.

Lemon Angel Food Cake

1 pkg. angel food cake mix
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbs. grated lemon peel.

Make sure you get the kind of angel food cake mix that has only one package and takes only 1 to 1.5 minutes to mix (not the kind that has an egg white package and a flour package and you have to fold them together). Make batter as directed (less 1/4 cup water - to be replaced by lemon juice) and add the lemon peel and juice as it's mixing.

Bake as directed, then add the lemon glaze icing.

LEMON GLAZE ICING

Ingredients: 1-3/4 cup Confectioner's sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Method:
1. Sift sugar into a small bowl. Add lemon juice and beat until smooth. Drip, drizzle or pour icing on top of cake after it has cooled.

Caramel Sorbet

Ingredients:
1 cup Sugar
2 cup Water
0.25 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla

Method:
In a dry heavy saucepan cook sugar, undisturbed, over moderate heat until it begins to melt and continue to cook, stirring with a fork, until it is melted completely and a deep caramel. Remove pan from heat and carefully add water down side of pan. Return pan to heat and cook caramel, stirring, until it is dissolved completely. Stir in salt and vanilla and chill until cold. Freeze sorbet in an ice-cream maker. Sorbet may be made 1 week ahead.

Makes about 3 cups.

Gourmet May 1994