When we were in Jakarta two weeks ago, some lovely friends of ours gave us a boxful of mangga gedong (which happened to be in season) to take home with us. While mangga harum manis is famously sweet, the relatively smaller mangga gedong packs a heady punch. It is not only sweet and juicy, but irresistibly perfumed. The ripe fruit has vibrant, orange skin and flesh, and smells simply heavenly. We shared the bulk of our stash with friends and ate as many as we could just chilled and sliced. But at the end of a week, we were still left with over half a dozen delightfully ripe fruit. Inspired by Keiko’s gorgeous post (and the blistering heat), I decided to use our mangoes in a sorbet.
David Lebovitz’s recipe in The Perfect Scoop (a tome I have raved about previously) is fabulously simple. I will give an adapted and abbreviated description of it below, but I highly recommend buying the book — especially since the toasted coconut ice cream he suggests that we pair the sorbet with is absolutely divine. I can’t think of a better way of capturing the gastronomic glory of ripe mangga gedong. The sorbet tastes like smooth spoonfuls of frozen fruit and dazzles with its brazen tropical hue. I’m tempted to serve it in a glass of icy cold Prosecco or with a shot of kaffir lime-infused vodka.
As for the coconut ice cream, its subtle coconut flavour comes from infusing milk and cream with toasted, unsweetened dried shredded coconut (I used some from Bob’s Red Mill). A vanilla pod and splashes of homemade vanilla extract (a treasured gift from our dear friend Melissa) give it an added depth and dimension. Best of all, the French style (or custard-based) ice cream doesn’t taste overly rich or heavy. It is now my favourite coconut ice cream recipe! Now, if I can locate a website that will deliver a wooden cone-rolling form to Singapore, I’ll try out David’s ice cream cone recipe.
Mango Sorbet
Adapted from A Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Makes 1 litre
1kilogram peeled and deseeded ripe mangoes, roughly diced
130grams sugar
160millilitres water (I used Fiji Water because it tastes so clean)
8 teaspoons freshly squeezed kalamansi juice (This is a lime indigenous to the Philippines. It has a distinct sweet tartness to it.)
2 tablespoons dark rum
Pinch of salt
Combine the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth (add more lime juice and/or rum to taste). Chill the mixture then freeze it in your ice cream machine.
About Su-Lyn Tan
Su-Lyn is Aun's better half and for many years, the secret Editor behind this blog known to readers simply as S. Su-Lyn is an obsessive cook and critical eater whose two favourite pastimes are spending time with her three kids and spending time in the kitchen. She looks forward to combining the two in the years to come.
