Cold comfort: Frozen treats for summer

Through washing bucket churns to high-tech gadgets, we have been flooded with irresistible ice cream flavours since its advent. Never was a staycation spent without eagerly waiting for the ringing of the ice cream man's bell during the hot summers. Many a time, making ice cream at home became a fun pastime for all, using moulds of all shapes and sizes (from plastic cups to recycled ice cream containers to mangoes — yes mangoes!) to give that "creative twist" to chilled treats.

We at tabloid! on Saturday found a wonder kitchen gadget — the Zoku Ice Lolly Maker (Lakeland, Mall of the Emirates, Dh299) and decided to put it to the test with some chefs from leading restaurants in Dubai. I had to try it myself. On my brand new machine I tried two recipes and, initially, both worked well. However, on my second try, one fell through, refusing to freeze. Only the mango lolly worked. But I have the whole summer to fix the that and to try out new ones. Want to try these with me?

Mango lolly

- 60g mango pulp

- 40ml fresh cream

- 50ml fresh milk

- Diced mango (optional)

- 1 tbs sugar (optional)

Blend mango pulp, fresh cream and milk. If you have a sweeter tooth, add a tablespoon of sugar. Pour the mixture in the Zoku Ice Lolly Maker and let stand for ten minutes. Use the wonder tool to pull out the lolly. Alternatively, make the lolly chunkier by adding diced mango. Pour a little mixture into the slot and let stand for a minute. Add some diced mango and top with more mixture. Let stand for ten minutes to freeze.

Makes 3

— Manjari Saxena

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Strawberries and cream — with a hint of basil

- 500ml whipping cream

- 60g castor sugar

- 1 vanilla pod, split

- 6 strawberries, finely diced

- 6 basil leaves, finely diced

- 200ml strawberry purée (reduced to jam consistency) or unsweetened strawberry jam

Freeze Zoku ice-lolly machine (for 24 hours).

Bring cream, sugar and vanilla to the boil. Remove and cool, enabling the vanilla to infuse.

Strain the cream and discard the vanilla pod but keep the seeds mixed throughout.

Mix strawberries, purée/jam and basil (adding only enough purée to bind the fruit).

Pour cream into two thirds of the mould, then spoon in a generous amount of the strawberry mix into different areas of the mould to give an even distribution.

If needed, top up the mould with more of the cream and freeze for ten minutes.

Makes 6

— Chef Scott Price, Verre by Gordon Ramsay, Hilton Dubai Creek

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Chocolate-chilli sorbet

- 500ml water

- 180g sugar

- 4 red chillies, whole

- 150g dark chocolate

- 50g cocoa powder

- 1 egg white

Boil water in a saucepan. Add the whole red chillies and sugar. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. Strain the syrup and add in the cocoa powder. Stir until cocoa powder dissolves in the syrup. Add the chocolate and stir, and remove the pan from the heat. Whisk the chocolate until it melts. Allow this to cool and then whisk the egg white into the mixture.

Place the chocolate-chilli sorbet mixture in a container and freeze overnight.

Makes 4

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Yoghurt, cardamom and black pepper sorbet

- 500ml water

- 200g sugar

- 10 green cardamoms, whole

- 8 black peppercorns

- 200g Greek yoghurt

- 1 tsp sorbet stabiliser

- 1 egg white

Pour water in a saucepan and add sugar, cardamom and black pepper.

Bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved. Strain the cardamom without removing the black pepper. Add the sorbet stabiliser to the syrup and allow to cool. Add the yoghurt and egg white. Whisk well. Place the yoghurt, cardamom and black pepper sorbet mixture in a container and freeze overnight.

Makes 4

— Chef Vineet Bhatia, Indego by Vineet - Grosvenor House Dubai

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Agua de horchata (Rice water)

- 3/4 cup long-grain white rice

- 2 tsp cinnamon, ground, or one cinnamon stick

- 14-ounce can of condensed milk, sweetened

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- Water as necessary

Place rice in a medium-sized bowl. Add enough water to cover the rice.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to soak overnight.

Put the rice (with the liquid) in a blender along with the cinnamon and vanilla. Blend until thoroughly mixed.

Pour the blended rice, cinnamon and vanilla through a fine mesh and sieve it into a large serving pitcher, reserving the rice bits.

Return the ground rice back to the blender and add the condensed milk, sugar and water, and blend again. Drain the contents into a pitcher and discard remaining rice.

Mix the cinnamon and vanilla water rice together with the water mixture from the condensed milk and add sugar. Taste for sweetness and add a little more water if required. Chill the agua de horchata for about two-three hours before serving.

Makes 4

— Chef Richard Sandoval, Maya by Richard Sandoval - Le Royal Méridien