Magical Mango Cinnamon ice cream
A gooey, sumptuous mango ice cream with an exotic touch of cinnamon – could this be a contender for “most delicious ice cream of the year”? The short answer is – “Yes”! And luckily, this frozen gem is also super-easy to make: if you can open a tin can, and mix cold milk with fruit purée, you’re practically there. Rejoice and read on!
Magical Mango Cinnamon ice cream – a perfect blend of delicious flavours and a great, gooey base
A rare but delightful flavour
While reminiscing about great ice creams a while ago, Dhana, a friend and fellow ice cream-lover, told me about a delicious mango cinnamon ice cream she once had had. Myself, I had never come across that particular flavour combination, but it sure sounded nice. I decided to give it a go. And, to make a long story short, it was well worth it! The cinnamon turned out to be a perfect, tantalising match for the sweet mango. But part of the success to come should probably be attributed to the ice cream base I chose.
Sweetened condensed milk – a versatile, easy and practical base
While pondering what kind of base to use, I remembered a nice e-mail I got a few months ago from Jonas, another ice cream friend, who had praised the virtues of ice cream based on sweetened condensed milk (and kindly shared his personal favourite – Thank you, Jonas!).
Sweetened condensed milk has a thick, syrupy consistency .. and it is sweet. About half of it consists of sugar
There are quite a few ice cream recipes out there based on sweetened condensed milk, and it is easy to understand why.
As the name gives away, this is milk where about half of the “original” milk has been evaporated and paired with an equal amount of sugar: perfect for ice cream, where too much water will bring about unpleasant iciness and sugar not only boosts sweetness but also consistency.
While milk had been evaporated and sweetened way before (notably in India), the industrial production of sweetened condensed milk really kicked off with the First World War – the condensation-cooking and the high sugar content made for perfect preservation. Post-war, however, this particular milk-product became a very popular ingredients in various desserts (you may know that boiling the can for some time will turn the condensed milk into delicious dulce de leche: check out this recipe for yummy banana toffee ice cream using this technique!).
The ice cream base is super-simple: Since the condensed milk is so sweet, there won’t be any need for additional sugar,, so all we have to do is mix it with some extra dairy and a pinch of salt (to enhance the overall flavour by adding a little contrast: it won’t make the ice cream taste salty, so do not worry!). Oh – and add the mango+cinnamon purée, of course.
Quick steps to an extraordinary ice cream
Everything can be done so quickly, so it does not really matter where you start. Here, I’ll start with the purée:
Peel the mango and cut it in pieces. Purée the fruit meat together with the cinnamon.
Sometimes, less is more and one mango fruit should be enough for this recipe. If you add more, the flavour balance will be off: you will still have a great mango ice cream, but it won’t really be the same magic
Mix all other ingredients, then mix them with the spiced mango purée.
Yes – It really is that simple!
Churn in your ice cream machine, or still-freeze using your ordinary kitchen freezer. While the ice cream is fantastic when fresh and newly-churned, it stores very well in the freezer and remains great for a long, long time (not that it is likely to last so long, though …)
Magical Mango Cinnamon ice cream
Yummiest ice cream of the Year!
Mango Cinnamon ice cream – a joy for all ages!
Yes, this gooey ice cream is really that good!
The mango/cinnamon combination is outstanding: a perfect match, where none of the two flavours overpowers the other, instead blending into a most delicious combo guaranteed to bring joy to even the most discerning taste buds. The condensed milk-base is a perfect fit for this delectable duo. Very tasty in its own right, it also provides excellent storage qualities: even after days in the freezer, the ice cream maintains its great shape, smooth texture and scoopability.
Yes, I could go on and on about how fantastic this ice cream is. I’m under its spell and the whole family has become smitten. Batch after batch is made, but we just make more … and more .. and more. This is hands down one of the most popular ice creams we’ve come across!
So – do yourself and your loved ones a great favour! Grab a mango and a can of sweetened condensed milk, then try this outstanding recipe and reap all the joyous consequences! Be warned though – You may not be able to stop eating once you’ve had your first taste!
- about 250 gram mango purée (about 1 ripe mango's worth)
- 1 can sweet condensed milk (about 300 ml)
- About ¾ teaspoon powdered cinnamon
- 200 ml (0,8 cup) cream
- 200 ml (0.8 cup) milk
- pinch of salt
- Peel and puré the mango, adding the cinnamon to the mix.
- Mix the sweet condensed milk with the cream and the milk.
- Add the mango-cinnamon puré and a pinch of salt.
- Whisk well and freeze in your ice cream machine (or still-freeze in your freezer).
- The ice cream is delicious both fresh and after storage in the freezer.
Thanks for the recipe.
Mangos are not that sweet are they?
So does condensed milk make it sweet enough? Or should I add a little more sugar?
Hi Alison,
With the sweetened condensed milk and the amount of mango used here, you really won’t need any extra sugar – I promise :-).
Anders, thanks for the tip! I’ll give it a go next week! 🙂
Hi Anders,
We Indians make KULFI …it’s basically a no churn gelato mostly made only with milk that has been reduced considerably over a very Low heat and possibly some thickener. It’s generally flavoured with cardamom powder and saffron…and chopped dry fruit for texture. For mango kulfi it’s flavoured with mango purée and cardamom powder….almost all Indian mango desserts have cardamom. Some crushed nuts like pistachios and almonds and cashews are added for flavour, texture and richness.
I made this mango icecream with cardamom instead of cinnamon. Tweaked it a bit with one cup extra of milk and mango purée. If I wanted to whip the cream should it be added to the milk and mango mix after it has chilled or before chilling? Or do you not recommend whipping the cream? I intend to still freeze it. Thanks in advance.
Hi Sonia,
Thanks for posting – I love kulfi! And you are right – the classic way of preparing it is indeed to reduce the milk, although I admit that I tend to take the easy way out and go for a shortcut with sweet condensed milk.
As for the mango recipe here, it might be a good idea to whip the cream since you intend to still-freeze it: that way, your ice cream will contain more air than otherwise, which would benefit the overall structure and consistency.
If you want to go this way and whip the cream, I would add it to the rest of the base just before the churning (= just before you put it in the freezer, since you’re still-freezing). Best of luck!
I made this for my friends for a dinner party and everyone really enjoyed it! One of my favourites!