Helado de canela

Ingredients

The base

• 1.5 litreswater
• 8cinnamon sticks
• or 10 for a stronger ice
• 350 gsugar
• a pinch of salt

Sometimes added

• the peel of 1 lemon
• 6cloves
• 1 teaspoonground cinnamon
• a few drops of red colouring

To churn

• a metal bowl or pan
• a large tub of ice
• coarse salt, for the ice
• a wooden spoon or paddle

To serve

• wafer cones
• or small glasses
• ground cinnamon, to dust

Directions

1. Salt is packed into the ice around the pan. Salt lowers the melting point of ice. Ceylon cinnamon is pale, thin and layered.
2. Put the water into a large pan. Break the cinnamon sticks in half. Add them to the water with the lemon peel. Add the cloves if you are using them. Bring the whole pan up to a boil.
3. Let it simmer for about fifteen minutes. Take the pan off the heat entirely. Cover it over and let it stand. Give it at least one full hour. Strain the infusion through a fine sieve. Discard the sticks, peel and cloves.
4. Stir the sugar into the warm liquid. Stir until it dissolves completely. Add the pinch of salt as well. That keeps the ice softer and scoopable.
5. Let the mixture cool completely. Then refrigerate it until properly cold. Warm mixture gives large coarse crystals. Pack a large tub with crushed ice. Stir plenty of coarse salt through the ice. Set a metal bowl or pan down into it.
6. Pour the cold mixture into the metal pan. Turning it takes constant work. Turn the pan slowly with one hand. Stir that scraped ice back into the middle. Keep doing that without stopping. It takes about thirty minutes of work. Pour the cold mixture into the machine. It takes about twenty-five minutes.
7. Pour the mixture into a shallow tray. Freeze it for about one full hour. Repeat that every half hour for three hours. Serving it is done straight away. Scoop it out into wafer cones. Dust ground cinnamon over the top. It melts very fast in warm air. Let it soften for five minutes before scooping.

Technique

• This is a water ice rather than a dairy ice cream, with no milk or cream at all, making it lighter and more sharply flavoured, closer to a sorbet.
• Salt packed into the ice around the pan lowers the melting point so the brine gets well below freezing, which is what freezes the mixture; it is a genuinely old and clever technique.
• Sugar lowers the freezing point of the mixture and keeps the ice scoopable, so too little gives a rock hard block while too much stops it freezing properly at all.

Substitutions

• An ice cream machine gives a very similar result to hand churning in ice and salt.
• Ceylon cinnamon is milder and more floral while cassia gives a stronger hotter infusion.

Variations

• Some vendors steep the cinnamon overnight for a much stronger ice.
• Lemon peel and cloves are added by some and left out by others.
• A freezer and a fork give a coarser but perfectly good version.

History

A Sucre street speciality sold in the main square from wooden barrels packed with ice.

Frequently asked questions

What is Helado de canela?

Helado de canela is a dessert from Bolivia: cinnamon water ice churned in metal pans, sold in wafer cones. A Sucre street speciality sold in the main square from wooden barrels packed with ice.

How long does Helado de canela take to make?

Helado de canela takes 20 minutes plus infusing of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 1.5 litres. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Helado de canela?

Yes, within limits. An ice cream machine gives a very similar result to hand churning in ice and salt. Ceylon cinnamon is milder and more floral while cassia gives a stronger hotter infusion.

What is the most important thing to get right in Helado de canela?

Put the water into a large pan. Break the cinnamon sticks in half. Add them to the water with the lemon peel. Add the cloves if you are using them. Bring the whole pan up to a boil.