/ By Justin Walker
Filipinos are well aware that avocados are technically a fruit: when my mother was growing up, she used to cut open a ripe avocado, sprinkle it with sugar and drizzle it with a bit of condensed milk, and eat it right out of the skin. (Eating avocados as a savory snack was a foreign concept for me until years later, when I discovered guacamole.) The fat content and butteriness of an avocado make for a wonderful ice cream, which is a special flavor commonly found in the Philippines and just one step removed from my mother’s quick snack. This recipe is adapted from one created by our friend Ian Carandang, a sorbetero (ice cream maker) based in Manila.
Serves 4–6
4 large egg yolks
½ cup (100 g) sugar
1½ cups (360 ml) whole milk
1½ cups (360 ml) heavy cream
¼ cup (60 ml) condensed milk
2 ripe Hass avocados
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until the mixture turns pale yellow, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the whole milk, cream, and condensed milk and heat over low heat until just warm. Watch it carefully, making sure it does not scald or burn.
While whisking continuously, add a little bit of the warm milk mixture to the eggs to temper the eggs, then slowly pour the warmed egg mixture into the pot with the rest of the milk mixture, stirring continuously.
Cook over low or medium-low heat, stirring continuously, just until the mixture thickens. Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the ice cream base to a storage container, cover, and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to overnight.
When you’re ready to churn the ice cream, pit and peel the avocados and place their flesh in a blender. Add the cooled ice cream base. Blend until smooth, then transfer to an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Transfer the ice cream to a storage container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
Excerpted from I Am a Filipino by Nicole Ponseca and Miguel Trinidad (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2018. Photographs by Justin Walker.
This original recipe article first appeared in the Fall 2018 issue of City Style and Living Magazine.
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