Mango - Saffron Ice Cream for a Taste of Yellow

Yesterday, I had a bowl of yolks glowering at me from inside the fridge willing me to make something out of them. Today I had icecream for dessert! :)

How? Well, it happened this way! I was scouring my favorite blogs for inspiration and ran into Barbara's Livestrong with a Taste of Yellow event at her blog winoandfoodies. And, that struck a chord. This event is in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation to raise awareness of cancer and the idea is to make a dish that contains a yellow food. It was perfect in so many ways!

I lost a very cherished family member to the disease and reading that post flooded back the memories and gave me the much needed spark. My grandad loved food and his favorite dessert was ice cream. He would sneak into the kitchen in the night (when my mom was asleep) and help himself to some chilled goodness :)). Through his travails with cancer, he would ask for milk to cool down and it did make him feel better....

Anyway, so I thought ice cream would be a perfect ode to him, the Foundation and my yolks! :)

This is my first attempt at homemade ice cream and honestly, it blew me away. And, I don't even have an ice cream maker. I am almost convinced not to get the store bought variety again! Well, there is the convenience factor but aside from that homemade beats the store many hands down.

I used alphonso mango puree from the tin to make the ice cream. Alphonsos are the sweetest and richest of mangoes, available in India during season and no other mango matches that taste. If you can find the fresh mangoes, they are the best but second to that I would definitely recommend these tinned purees for any dessert preparation. You can find them at most Indian grocery stores.

So, after a day of preparation, hand churning and many stolen sips and tastes and licks of the mixing blades (even a drop is too good to waste!!), my mango and saffron frozen custard was set and ready to be devored.

It may not be summer any more but it is always ice cream time and the homier the better! :)


Mango - Saffron Ice Cream

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Making ice cream is really easy. But, if you don't have an ice cream maker then it needs some maintainence and constant churning for the first few hours. So, please budget time accordingly

Ice cream made this way, needs to be consumed within a couple of days as there aren't any preservatives in it. But, I don't see that as a problem, anyway! :)
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3 egg yolks
1-1/4 cups half and half or light cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

generous pinch of saffron
1 cup alphonso mango puree

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the yolks and sugar until smooth (about 2 minutes). Meanwhile, heat the half and half in a heavy bottomed pan to just below boiling point.

Slowly, and while continuously whisking the mixture, incorporate the hot milk into the yolk mixture. It is very important that you continue whisking, else the yolks will scramble.

To prepare the custard, pour the mixture back in to the pan and over medium heat, gently heat the mixture, stirring often. The mixture will start to thicken. Continue heating until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon and if you run your finger along the back of the spoon, the streak remains without the cream running down through the streak.

Remove from heat immediately. Do not over heat as the eggs will curdle (done that before!). Whisk the mixture for a minute to stop the custard from cooking further. Strain through a fine sieve to remove any lumps or scrambles. Stir in the saffron and let sit for 5 minutes for the strands to release color (they will continue to color even after). Stir in the vanilla and mango puree till fully incorporated. Cool the mixture to room temperature.

Cover the custard with plastic wrap and refrirgerate for atleast two hours until completely cold. At this point, you can process the mixture in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions.

No Ice Cream Maker Instructions:
Don't fret. It really is simple to make ice cream without all the gadgets. I used to be under the false impression that it was tedious and painful but seriously, it just needs a teeny bit of commitment.

Once the custard mixture is cold, move it to the freezer. After about 45 minutes, check on the mixture. If it has started freezing on the edges, remove and whip up the mixture with a hand-held mixer to break the ice crystals and incorporate some air to create the fluffiness. Return to the freezer and repeat the whisking every hour, three more times. Freeze the mixture for atleast 6 hours or overnight, depending on the texture you like.

Scoop and enjoy! :)

This post is linked on Foodista .....