Ice Cream Orange – Helado en naranja

Click here to go to printable recipe: Ice Cream Orange – Helado en naranja

As I mentioned in another post, when I was a girl, whenever there was a family daytrip to see the Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes in Central Mexico, it was our custom to stop by the then town of Chalco (now a city); like many other tourists, we would buy dairy products from Cremería Chalco.  This establishment was founded as a family business in 1951, starting with their cheese brand Los Volcanes™, and also selling sandwiches and desserts, such as milk jelly and hollowed fruit filled with ice cream made with the pulp.  In my last post, I shared a chicken recipe inspired by these dairy products, and in this post, I am featuring one of my very favourite of their desserts, served in a hollowed orange.

This orange ice cream does not need a lot of churning because it has a high cream content, but it still requires some stirring during the freezing process.  While developing my recipe, I was adding cream and sugar around the amount of juice I got from my oranges; the final recipe yields about five cups of mix.  I realized that the capacity of my manual Donvier™ ice cream maker is four cups; first I thought I was busted, but I tried pre-chilling a metal mould in the freezer for two hours, and poured the extra cup in, which ended up being a blessing in disguise, since I was able to test that method, as well.  

Ice Cream Orange – Helado en Naranja

Printable recipe: Ice Cream Orange – Helado en naranja

Ingredients (for about 5 cups of mix)

7 navel oranges; washed thoroughly, kept refrigerated for a few hours
2 ½ cups whipping cream; kept refrigerated until needed
½ cup granulated sugar, plus more, as needed

Prepare equipment:  Ice cream maker (for manual Donvier™, place metal tub upright in the freezer for at least 24 hrs.),  or metal mould(s) pre-chilled in the freezer. 

Grate the zest from one of the oranges, being careful not to reach the bitter white membrane:

Measure two tablespoons of grated zest, and reserve.  Slice the orange and squeeze the juice into a blender jar; reserve.

Take another orange, and cut a “lid” about half an inch (1.25 cm) from the top (photo below, left).  Using a paring knife, cut around the inner edge, between the rind and the pulp (photo below, right):

Remove the pulp, then scoop the rest with a spoon, scraping the inner wall of the orange (photo below, left).  Transfer pulp and any juices to the blender jar, then do the same with the lid section (photo below, right):

Placing all pulp and juice in the blender jar, continue with the rest of the oranges, to prepare six hollowed oranges:

Pair the orange vessels with their lids, and place in a plastic bag or covered container in the fridge or freezer.

Process the pulp and juice in the blender for a few seconds, then strain through a mesh to obtain about two cups of orange juice:

Place juice in the fridge for a couple of hours, or the freezer for a few minutes. 

Take the orange juice and whipping cream out of the fridge; along with the sugar, and the reserved orange zest, all ingredients are ready:

Place two and a half cups of whipping cream in the blender jar, then add the orange juice, orange zest and half a cup of sugar (photo below, left); process for a few seconds, until uniform (photo below, right):

Taste a little of the mix; I had a batch of very sweet oranges, so I did not need to add any more than the half cup of sugar, but if needed, add two tablespoons at a time, processing for a few more seconds in between, to adjust sweetness, to taste.  

Set up ice cream maker (click here for instructions for manual Donvier™), or one or more pre-chilled metal moulds.

Transfer mix to ice cream maker (photo below, left), leaving about half an inch (1.25 cm) from the top empty, to allow for expansion during freezing, and follow manufacturers directions.  My manual Donvier™ ice cream maker holds about four cups of mix, and only needs 3-4 clockwise turns every 2-3 minutes (photo below, centre, after 8 minutes). This batch was ready after 16 minutes (photo below, right):

If using chilled metal mould(s), pour the mix in (photo below, left).  Place in the freezer for one hour, then scrape the frozen mix off the edges with a spatula (photo below, centre).  Repeat once or twice, until ice cream is set (photo below, right):

Take hollowed oranges out of the fridge or freezer, and fill them to the top with ice cream:

Top with lid and return to the container or plastic bag; repeat with the other five oranges:

Depending on the size of the oranges, there might be some extra ice cream; store in a container with lid, and use as regular hard-set ice cream.  These oranges were on the small side, so I used about three cups of ice cream to fill them, and had two extra cups. 

Place oranges and any extra ice cream in the freezer for at least two hours.  To serve, simply place an orange on a plate or in a dessert bowl:

Opening the lid reveals the deliciously fresh and flavourful orange ice cream inside:

It is a very satisfying exercise to scoop some of the smooth orange treat from its original shell: 

The flavour was just like I remembered from those frozen oranges in Chalco (mmmh, yummy, happy memories!)  The natural flavour of the oranges is so refreshing, and somewhat unique because it is more common to find orange sorbet or sherbet, so the extra creamy texture and flavour were a pleasant pairing with the citrus fruit.

Since this recipe starts with freshly processed oranges, the amount and sweetness of the juice obtained might be different every time.  An eagle eye observing my measuring cup right after processing the pulp will notice that there was foam at the top, and that the level went below the exact two cups after chilling.  I still left it at that on the ingredient list for easy reference when reproducing the recipe; it will not make much of a difference, especially since the amount of sugar has to be adjusted to taste anyway.

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I am bringing my recipe to Full Plate Thursday #647 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

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I am sharing my post at Thursday Favourite Things #615, with Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn, Pam @ An Artful Mom, Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner, Amber @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home, Theresa @ Shoestring Elegance and Linda @ Crafts a la Mode.

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I am joining Fiesta Friday #491  with Angie @ Fiesta Friday, this week co-hosting with Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook .

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I am also sharing my recipe at What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-Up #426 with Helen @ The Lazy Gastronome.