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| I wish these pictures were in better focus |
There are several experiences that got me to the final product. First we had a bunch of mangoes at home and they were very ripe and I hate to see a good mango go bad. So I knew I had to use those. Next, Holli has been loving coconut stuff lately and coconut goes so well with mangoes. So from there I wanted to kick things up a notch as far as flavor and complexity. As far as ice cream bases I decided to use the Tres Leches base because it uses coconut, but it's not too strong. The reason why is because I wanted to add toasted coconut in as well and I didn't want coconut over kill. When I went to Hawaii I got some macadamia nut ice cream at the air port and fell in love! I know I wanted to add that in. Then at the last minute I added the cardamom into the mango puree because our friend Elisha made us this delicious cardamom custard pie she learned how to make in Afghanistan. I had never even thought in my wildest dreams to add cardamom to something sweet. Now I'm hooked. So if you ever wanted to know how my mind works or how I would ever come up with something like this, there you have it. You would think things like cardamom would turn kids off to ice cream, well lets see what the worlds pickiest eater has to say about it...
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| 'nuff said! |
So to the best of my ability here is a rough estimate of the recipe. I was kind of winging things as far as the amount of toasted coconut, nuts, mangoes, and cardamom.
Toasted Coconut Ice Cream with Cardamom Mango Puree and Macadamia Nuts
adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Ingredients
Base
½ cup unsweetened
coconut
2 Tablespoons corn starch
¾ Cup milk
1 Cup heavy cream
1 Cup evaporated milk
½ Cup coconut milk
2/3 Cup sugar
2 Tablespoon light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup roughly chopped unsalted macadamia nuts
Cardamom Mango Puree
½ - 2 ripe mangoes
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Instruction
Cook
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread unsweetened coconut flakes on
a baking sheet in a thin layer and bake in preheated oven. The flakes will
toast very quickly and won't take more than 5-10 minutes. Stir every couple of
minutes to help ensure even color. Be careful because coconut
will burn easily.
Cut mango from the seed and into small cubes. Combine the
mango and sugar in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Continue boiling, stirring occasionally for about 5 to 8
minutes. Add salt and cardamom. Mix well. Let cool slightly, and pulse mixture
in a food processor. Force mixture through a sieve to remove fibers from the
mango. Refrigerate until cold before using.
Take 3 Tablespoons of milk and mix it in a separate dish
with cornstarch making a smooth slurry and set aside. Combine the remaining
milk with the cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan; bring to a
rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the
heat, and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring back to a boil over
medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heat-proof spatula, until slightly
thickened, about 1 minute. Add salt and mix well. Remove from the heat.
Chill
Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag, and
submerge the sealed bag into the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as
necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes. If you are not in a rush you can put
it in a container and leave it in the fridge over night.
Freeze
Pour the ice cream base into your ice cream maker. Add in
toasted coconut and spin until thick and creamy. Follow ice cream maker’s
instructions. After ice cream maker is turned off mix in macadamia nuts into
the ice cream while still in the ice cream maker.
Pack the ice cream into a storage container, alternating it
with layers of the cardamom mango puree; do not mix. Press a sheet of parchment
directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid (this helps prevent
freezer burn.
Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at
least 4 hours. I like to leave it overnight.
