Avocado Ice Cream: Redux

So, it's summer again, with a vengeance.  With what seems like the entire continental U.S. under a sweltering blanket of humidity, anything that will take my mind off of inconsistent air-conditioning is a good thing.  

A couple of years ago I featured a Filipino favorite (at least in my circles), avocado ice cream.  It's smooth, buttery (shockingly, being composed mostly of avocados), and surprisingly tangy.  But most importantly: It's really nice and cold.  In case you weren't aware, sweltering heat and humidity that would make a botanical garden exhibit jealous are two things that Southeast Asia is famous for.  So much in fact that when I first moved permanently to the U.S. a bright hot June day, I started shivering in my shorts and t-shirts while standing under a shady Hoosier Maple.  Now I feel like I may just squelch into an organic puddle if I'm in a second-story farmhouse without air-conditioning.  

Also, it must be avocado season somewhere but they're all on sale up north.  (I miss the days when I could pop down to the market and pick up a huge bag for a couple bucks.  Upsides of living in Texas.)  Hence the take two on the ice cream.  

Sloth that I am, I threw everything together in the morning while multi-tasking.  (Note* if you're making ice cream while boiling milk for oatmeal, and looking in the freezer for frozen meats, you may come back to a volcano of foam all over your stove.)  I used my stick blender instead of a regular blender.  I hate washing blenders.  And this time, I actually HAD my ice cream churn (it's noisy, but huzzah for electric churning.  My carpal-tunnel-y hands should maybe not be subject to hand-cranked ice cream buckets at this venture.   

I think it's possibly better than last time.  I will say that it's VERY buttery.  So if that's not your thing, you can either reduce the number of avocados or add more milk.  

The (Revised) Recipe:  
3- 4 Avocados (Pulp) 

1 lime- juice, plus some zest for extra zing
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar or sugar substitute of your choice here.  
(Although real sugar is hygroscopic - as Alton reminds us - and therefore will aid in the production of smaller ice crystals resulting in creamier ice cream.)  
1/2 + Cup whole milk or almond milk. (Add more if the mixture seems too thick to blend.) 

Pinch of salt.

Blend all ingredients until very smooth with a stick blender or blender.  Divide into portions that will fit into your particular ice cream churn and churn until fluffy like buttercream icing.  Put in a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm (most likely 2 + hours depending on your freezer).  

No churn? Pour your ice cream into a freezer-safe container that is at least 1/3 bigger than the amount of yogh ur mixture. Expansion!  If you want to mix it halfway through with a hand mixer to fluff in more air, you can, but you can also just freeze it.  It will have more of a sorbet texture.  

On Ice Cream Makers/Churns: 
I'd recommend checking your ice cream periodically.  My churn is rather noisy and so not easily ignored, but the upside of this is that you will hear a distinct difference in the sound as the ice cream thickens.  You may want to get in there with a spatula and gently work the ice cream away from the dasher so the machine doesn't "gunk up."  



Eventually, I shall get to my other Pinoy favorites (Mango and Ube), and then of course Strawberry! I am curious if any other cultures enjoy Avocado Ice Cream or if it's just one of our Pinoy peculiarities of which I'm so fond!