You can make this with lemon instead, but lime, with its spicy note, is sensational. It’s very intense in flavour, so will overpower a milder ice cream and fight with some others, such as coffee. I like it plain, just with some shortbread and each serving decorated with a mint leaf. As with the mango, it’s a recipe - slightly adjusted - from Stephanie Alexander’s book. You will need an electric mixer of some sort.
Serves 6
500g whipping cream
80ml fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
160g caster sugar
4 large or or 5 medium egg yolks
Zest of 2 limes, finely grated
Whip the cream. Put the juice in the smallest non-reactive pan you have and reduce it by half. Stir in the sugar and bring the resulting syrup to the boil.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the zest. Then, with the mixer switched on, pour the near-boiling, but not spluttering, syrup over the egg yolks (if you are using a hand-held mixer, as I do for this,a third hand is helpful). Beat the mixture until it is very thick. Fold in the cream, cool and and freeze, as before.