Making ice cream in an ice cream maker is incredibly easy. All you need is a creamy, sweetened liquid in the flavor of your choice, and you’re one step away from having ice cream. I’m enjoying the combination of mangoes and limes, both newly in season, with coconut cream as a base.
Ice cream making is a great activity for children, and appealing to parents as well – it’s not fussy, the steps are easy to understand and watching the spinning ice cream bowl provides an easy 20 minutes of entertainment.
For about a half-liter of sorbet:
1 can coconut cream (500 milliliters), chilled in the refrigerator
2 limes, with zest
1 medium-sized mango
1/2 cup sugar
Slice the flesh off the mango. The easiest way to do this is to make two slices parallel to the flat sides of the mango, to slice most of the flesh off the flat pit. Then score a checkerboard pattern into each slice, without slicing through the skin. Turn each mango half inside out, so the flesh pops up into cubes. (See a picture of a sliced mango here.) It is important to slice the mango into small pieces, because otherwise long fibrous strings will remain in the ice cream.
Mix the coconut cream, the limes, the lime zest, the mango flesh and the sugar in a large glass measuring cup, and blend with a stick blender.
Prepare the ice cream maker, and turn on. Pour the liquid into the ice cream maker bowl, and freeze until the consistence of milkshake, about 20 minutes, or according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the semi-frozen ice cream to a container in the freezer to harden for a few hours.
Homemade ice cream/sorbet is best if consumed within a few days, before it can become icy ad hard.
