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Sorbetes (ube)
Purple yam ice cream
Sorbetes: Manila's 'dirty ice cream', light and coconut-rich, here in purple ube, made without a machine
Sorbetes is the Filipino street ice cream that vendors push through Manila in brightly painted wooden carts, ringing a bell outside churches after Sunday Mass, in Luneta Park and at school gates. Fondly called 'dirty ice cream' because it is sold on the street, it is lighter than dairy ice cream, made with milk, coconut milk and a little cornflour, and comes in flavours like ube, mango, chocolate and cheese, scooped into small cones or stuffed into a soft pandesal roll. This is the ube version. Chef's tip: whisk the mixture hard every 45 minutes during freezing; it keeps the ice crystals small without an ice-cream machine.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups whole milk
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- 4 oz white sugar
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 1 pinch salt
- 9 oz grated purple yam (ube)frozen, thawed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Steam 9 oz grated purple yam (ube) for 15 minutes until very soft, then mash it smooth.
15 minStep 2: Whisk 2 tbsp cornflour with 4 tablespoons of 1 ¾ cups whole milk in a cup until smooth.
1 minStep 3: Heat the rest of the milk with 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, 4 oz white sugar and 1 pinch salt in a pan over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and it starts to steam.
5 minStep 4: Whisk in the cornflour mixture and simmer, stirring, for 3–4 minutes, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4 minStep 5: Blend in the mashed ube and 1 tsp vanilla extract until smooth and evenly purple, then cool and chill for at least 2 hours, until cold right through.
120 minStep 6: Pour into a shallow freezer box and freeze for 4–5 hours, whisking or beating hard with a fork every 45 minutes, until thick and scoopable. Common mistake: leaving it to freeze solid untouched; you get a block of ice instead of a soft scoop.
270 minStep 7: Soften for 10 minutes before serving, then scoop into small cones, cups or split soft bread rolls, as the carts do.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sorbetes (ube) take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- 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 whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
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