5 Ingredients: Double Cream Mango Ice Pops (Popsicles)

June 29, 2016April 3, 2018 ~ Sophie ~ 5 Comments

Mango ice loly - AKIU

Let us talk about the weather today. It honestly is frustrating sometimes. A few weeks ago it rained so hard for two days I thought the rainy season was finally here. I went ahead and planted herbs because of the excitement. Right after I put the seeds in the ground, the rain disappeared. And it has been that way ever since the year began, raining and shining sporadically. Sometimes you want to have a cup of tea and other times a refreshing chilled drink. Because the weather is so unpredictable, I thought it would be a good idea to be prepared at all times. Have hot water in a thermos flask and these refreshing mango ice pops in the freezer. Awesome, right?

These creamy mango ice pops are a little bit of creamy + refreshing + chilled + sweet. It is shooting two birds with one arrow by beating the heat and satisfying your sweet tooth. The best part, they are easy to make because you only need five basic ingredients. 5! With my friends over at Paramount Dairies, I bring you these double cream mango Ice Pops that are fun to make and eat as well.

mango ice loly 4 - AKIU

What you will need:

Mango Ice Pops

Ripe Mangoes (6-8)

1 C. Double cream

1 C. Sugar

1 C. Water

Cinnamon Sugar

½ Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon

2 Tbsp. Sugar

Observations:

The mangoes have to be fully ripe to blend well.
Popsicle sticks a quite hard to find here. An alternative is a pack of bamboo skewers (that can be found at Capital Shoppers, Nakasero).
Letting the mixture freeze for an hour before putting in the sticks lets the bottom harden and thus hold the sticks in place.

Method

Mango Ice Pops

Wash and peel the mangoes. Cut the flesh off the seeds. It should equal to 4 cups. Place in the freezer for 1 hour. In a clean pan, combine sugar and water and stir till dissolved. Place the sugar mixture on fire and let it come to a boil. Once it has started boiling, remove fire and let the syrup cool. Once the syrup is at room temperature, put it in the freezer for an hour. After the syrup and mangoes have chilled for an hour, Place them in the blender and add the cream. Blend till fine smooth and creamy. Pour the mixture in the plastic cups/mould and freeze for an hour. After an hour, insert the sticks and continue freezing over night. When it is time to eat the ice pops, run the cups/moulds under water, making sure the water does not get into the ice pops themselves, and gently pull from the cup/mould. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve on a scorching hot day.

For the cinnamon sugar, combine the sugar and cinnamon and stir well.

🙂

Sophie

This post is made possible by Paramount Dairies. You can find Paramount Double Cream and other cream products in major supermarkets in Kampala.

Gonja (Plantain) Donuts

April 15, 2016April 15, 2016 ~ Sophie ~ 18 Comments

There are a few banana plants in our backyard and every time we harvest a bunch (every time it is a different variety like gonja, bogoya, matooke and the kind that make juice — thanks to my parents) I learn something new about bananas in general. We had the privilege of harvesting plantain and I was inspired to write a blog post about it. Read the previous post. Then a crazy idea hit. What if we made plantain donuts? The plantain itself is already sweet and thus naturally sweetens the donuts.

In other totally unrelated news, we picked butiko A.K.A termite mushrooms last week. If you are unfamiliar, I wrote about them way back in 2014 here and made a pizza with them. Abundance (and probably a little too much) of rain came with a lot of benefits. The most exciting of them though, for me, was the growth of mushrooms in our front yard. We weren’t even aware until we saw people gathering over. Mothers, grandchildren, aunties, nieces and nephews were all gathered to collect these delicate mushrooms. The whole community knew. I learnt, from floating conversations, that these kind of mushrooms are quite pricey (two spoons for around 5000 shillings!); these mushrooms are medicinal (for what, I am yet to know); and that these mushrooms can actually be eaten raw. I did eventually try then raw and they are surprisingly packed with sharp flavour that is part nutty, mostly earthy and slightly salty. I am dreaming of making a raw butiko salad when they again grace us with their presence which will probably be next year. Nonetheless, it was an exciting experience.

Back to the donuts: These donuts are so easy to put together (I feel like I say this about almost every recipe but that is only because it is true) and create a mildly sweet soft and chewy taste that is plantain flavoured. They are quite a treat. Try them.

What you will need:
5 Ripe plantains
1 C. Flour
½ Tsp. Vanilla
¼ C. Milk
½ Tsp. Allspice
½ Tsp. Baking powder
Desiccated Coconut

Method
Mash the bananas. Add milk, vanilla and all spice. Mix well. Mix the baking powder with the flour. Gradually add flour till a firm dough forms. Spread out the dough with your hands till you have an inch of even thickness. Using a cookie cutter or any object that can cut shapes, cut out the dough and using a smaller object (think bottle cover) cut out the donut holes. Fry till golden brown. Sprinkle with coconut flakes. For the syrup, add 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a clean pan. Put on fire and let it boil. Remove from fire and let the syrup cool. Dip the donuts in the syrup and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.

Next time you have more than enough plantain, try these donuts and let me know how they turn out.

🙂

Sophie

Top 12 Desserts to Serve this Easter

March 23, 2016March 23, 2016 ~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

desserts galore

We are all getting into the Easter mood which is just a few days from now. Of all the food to be served, I thought it would be great to highlight desserts we’ve made throughout the years. I hope you get to make some for your loved ones.