Mango Gelato

Does anything beat a real home made ice-cream? I love ice-cream (although I try not to eat it too much), & we recently bought a new ice-cream maker after the last one oozed internal mush all throughout the freezer bowl. They are so affordable now, so please, do yourself a MASSIVE favour & buy yourself one. We bought a Cuisinart 2 litre machine, & other than being very noisy, it is a fab machine.

Yesterday I made, for the first time, a mango gelato, using fresh mangoes. Can I just say TO DIE FOR?? Yes indeed, it is. We had some tonight, with fresh mint leaves. You must make yourself some. Please do, let me know how it turned out.

A Basic Gelato Recipe

3/4 cup 150g caster sugar
1 cup water
1 & 1/3 cup of cream
Fruit puree of your choice (see below for some options)

1. To make the basic gelato mixture, place the sugar & water in a saucepan over a low heat & stir without boiling until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Increase the heat & bring the syrup to the boil for one minute.
   
3. Set aside to cool.
   
4. While the syrup is cooling, prepare one of the fruit variations below.
5. Combine the fruit puree & sugar syrup & then place the mixture into an ice-cream maker: follow the manufacturer's instructions.
   
6. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, place the fruit & syrup mixture in a metal bowl or cake tin, cover & freeze for an hour or until it is just beginning to set at the edge. Beat with an electric hand whisk & return it to the freezer. Repeat three times at hourly intervals or until the gelato is thick and smooth.

Variations:

1. For a Peach Gelato: combine 2 1/2 cups strained peach puree (6 peaches or 900g chopped peach flesh) & 1/3 cup (80ml) lemon juice to the cooled basic gelato mixture. Continue with step 3.
2. For a Raspberry Gelato: combine 1 3/4 cup strained raspberry puree (700g fresh or frozen raspberries) & 1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice to the cooled basic gelato mixture. Continue with step 3.
3. For a Mango Gelato: combine 2 1/2 cups mango puree (4 x 400g mangoes or 950g chopped mango flesh) & 1/2 cup (120ml) lime juice to the cooled basic gelato mixture. Continue with step 3.
4. For a Strawberry Gelato: combine 2 1/2 cups strained strawberry puree (850g fresh strawberries) & 1/2 cup (120ml) lime juice to the cooled basic gelato mixture. Continue with step 3.