Papaya and coconut ice cream with sesame caramel

The easy coconut ice-cream is also great frozen in popsicle moulds.

Credit: Far Flung with Gary Mehigan

• serves

  6

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 800 g castor sugar
• 400 ml water
• 400 ml coconut cream (Gary used Kara brand)
• 300 ml papaya puree (see Note)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 4 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 ripe papaya, de-seeded and peeled
• handful rambutans, lychees or logan fruit, peeled
• 100 g sago, cooked in boiling water according to packet instructions

You will need an ice-cream machine for this recipe

Freezing time: 4-6 hours

Instructions

Place the 600 g castor sugar and water into a medium-sized pot and bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

In a separate bowl combine the coconut cream and half of the syrup.  Add the remaining half of the syrup to the papaya puree. Whisk the coconut mixture to combine and pour into the ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Remove the coconut ice cream and place into a square container. Using the back of an ice cream scoop or spoon push 6 or more deep holes into the ice cream and pop into the freezer to firm up.

Pour the papaya mixture into the ice cream machine and churn until firm and scoopable. Pop balls of the papaya sorbet into the holes in the coconut ice-cream, smooth over roughly and place back in the freezer to firm.

For the sesame caramel place a heavy-based pot or deep frying pan over a moderate heat and sprinkle the cup of sugar evenly into the pot. Allow to sit until the sugar begins to melt around the edge and turn a light golden colour. Stir once or twice to draw the crystalline sugar into the melted sugar. Don’t be tempted to stir too much but rather allow the heat to do all the hard work. Your job is to stir to allow the sugar to melt evenly and control the heat so it doesn’t colour too quickly. When the sugar begins to foam a little and take on a dark almost reddish caramel colour, turn off the heat and carefully add the lemon juice. Allow the steam to evaporate and stir to thoroughly incorporate. Pour in the toasted sesame seeds, stir and set aside.

Cut the papaya into chunks and remove the seeds from the logon fruit (or prepare rambutans or lychees is using). Pop a few pieces into each serving bowl, spoon in a little sago and then a generous spoon of sesame caramel. Lastly add a ball of coconut and papaya ice-cream. Serve.

Note

• To make papaya puree, just blend or process fresh ripe papaya flesh.

• In the Hong Kong episode of Far Flung with Gary Mehigan, Gary makes this dish using liquid nitrogen. This recipe has been adapted for home use.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.