Now, I know summer is officially over, and that we’re well into monsoon. I love the rainy season – as long as I’m not outside getting drenched or stuck in incessant traffic jams. I can deal with anything the world throws at me, as long as my socks don’t get wet.
Therefore, the current lockdown is really agreeing with me at the moment. I don’t have to go out and combat the elements; I can just sit indoors and enjoy the sound and smell of rain while sipping a hot beverage.
But, there’s one thing I didn’t really get to enjoy this summer – Ice cream. We didn’t get to buy ice cream by the kilo when the sales were on because of lockdown being imposed. So I had to make some myself.
This decision was prompted by the fact that my grandmother brought out an old ice cream machine after having kept it away for years. This machine is at least 40 years old, but it works amazingly well. And because avocados are in season, I had to try making some avocado ice cream!
Unfortunately, you need a machine to use this recipe. The machine has paddles that keep rotating through the ice cream mixture while it freezes. This agitation prevents the formation of huge ice crystals and results in a thick, creamy dessert. The principle behind it is very similar to the one in my Pomelo Granita.
This avocado ice cream is creamy, rich and mild. The avocado flavour is subtle, and overall it isn’t too sweet. All this made it a wonderful dessert for my family.
Taking photos of this dessert was not easy. Even though I froze the bowl and the ice cream even after I scooped it out, it was a race against time. No wonder a lot of commercial photographs of ice cream actually use mashed potatoes instead of the real thing. Some photographers even use coloured vegetable shortening or frosting. Clearly this is actual ice cream!
If you have an ice cream machine, or an attachment to a mixer that allows you to make ice cream, please try this recipe out!
AVOCADO ICE CREAM
Makes: 1/2 litre
Ingredients:
Avocados – 2-3 avocados (3/4 cup of avocado pulp)
Lemon juice* – 1/2 tbsp
Whole Milk – 3/4 cup
Sugar – 1/4 cup
Heavy Cream* – 1/2 cup
Method:
Peel and pit the avocados. Mash with a fork to measure the required volume.
Add the avocados, lemon juice, milk and sugar to a blender and purée. Transfer to a larger bowl. Add the heavy cream and whisk to combine.
Pour into ice cream machine. Follow your machine manufacturer’s instructions. Turn on and place in the freezer. The ice cream should take five hours to freeze.
If you like a soft serve consistency, serve as is. Otherwise, freeze for a few more hours, scoop out and enjoy.
*Notes:
The lemon juice helps prevent browning of the avocado and avoids the development of an aftertaste in the ice cream
The heavy cream can be substituted with regular fresh cream. We even made one batch where we used the cream that collects on top of boiled milk. Collect it over a few days and refrigerate.
I didn’t use any food colouring in this recipe, because I quite like the natural pale green hue that the avocado brings. You can choose to add some green food colouring to the mixture.
I’m super excited about all the different flavour combinations I can explore. Maybe we can have an ice cream flavour of the month? July is avocado. Any flavour suggestions for August? Seasonal fruits preferred! Comment down below!
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