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Helado de lúcuma
Helado de lúcuma: Peru's favourite ice cream, made from the caramel- and maple-scented lúcuma fruit
Ask anyone in Lima, Cusco or Trujillo for the national ice-cream flavour and they will say lúcuma, the green-skinned Andean fruit with dry, golden-orange flesh that tastes of butterscotch, maple and sweet potato. Every ice-cream parlour, supermarket freezer and street cart sells it, and it's also folded into cakes and milkshakes. This no-churn version needs no machine: frozen lúcuma pulp (or lúcuma powder, both in Latin shops and health-food stores) is whisked into condensed milk, then folded into whipped cream and frozen. It comes out smooth, rich and naturally caramel-coloured. The mistake is over-whipping the cream to stiff peaks, which makes the ice cream grainy and buttery; stop at soft peaks. It needs at least 6 hours in the freezer, so make it the day before. Serve with a slice of chocolate cake or on its own. Chef's tip: a pinch of salt and a few drops of lime sharpen lúcuma's mellow flavour so it doesn't taste flat when frozen.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Whisk 14 oz lúcuma pulp, 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 pinch salt and 1 tsp lime juice in a large bowl until smooth and evenly golden. Taste; it should be sweet and strongly fruity.
Step 2: In another bowl, whip 1 ¾ cups double cream until it holds soft peaks that flop over at the tip, 2–3 minutes with an electric whisk.
3 minStep 3: Fold a third of the cream into the lúcuma mixture to loosen it, then fold in the rest gently with a spatula until no white streaks remain.
Step 4: Scrape into a 1.5 litre freezer container, cover the surface with baking paper and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours.
Step 5: Let it soften in the fridge for 10 minutes before scooping.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 45 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does helado de lúcuma take?
- About 20 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of vanilla extract?
- Vanilla bean paste, same amount.
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