HELADO MANTECADO: Traditional Kapampángan ice cream recipe from Sulipan, Apalit, Pampanga, Philippines.
Helado mantecado (French vanilla ice cream) is a decadent ice cream made smooth and creamy with carabao’s milk, known for its high butterfat content and tangy flavor. This particular recipe comes from chef Gene Gonzalez’s book Cocina Sulipena: Culinary Gems from Old Pampanga.
“The milk is often simmered to reduce its water content. Unfortunately, one cannot be sure about the purity of milk bought from unfamiliar sources. If pure carabao milk is unavailable, substitute it with a mixture of fresh cow’s milk and thick cream. Check that the dayap possesses a citrus fragrance. Do not use the lemon hybrids which try to pass off as dayap in the market.”
Ingredients:
6 litres of fresh carabaos milk or 2 ½ litres of cow milk mixed with 1 litre of cream
grated rind of a small dayap (lime)
12 egg yolks
1 kilo powdered sugar
1 tablespoon rum or brandy
(1) Put the milk in a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until it is reduced to half its quantity. Remove from heat and cool.
(2) Mix dayap rind with egg yolks. Add sugar and beat until the mixture is lemon-in color. Add it to the cooled milk. Add rum or brandy.
(3) In the ice cream maker (garapiñera), beat the mixture until the texture is velvety.
Freeze overnight. Serve with barquillos (tube-like waters).