POP GOES THE MANGO

CAYENNE SALT ADDS A GROWN- UP KICK AND UNEXPECTED FLAVOUR, WHICH IS EXTREMELY MORE-ISH

When mangoes are in season I can’t get enough of them. I often buy them by the trayful, so apart from eating them without ceremony standing over the kitchen sink to catch the juices, I’ll often turn them into popsicles like these.

MANGO POPS

Makes: 8 pops

INGREDIENTS

160g ( 2⁄ cup) caster (superfine) sugar 3

3 ripe mangoes

80ml ( 1⁄ cup) freshly squeezed lime juice, plus 3 lime wedges to serve

CAYENNE SALT

2 tsp sea salt flakes

2 tsp caster (superfine) sugar

1⁄ tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste 2

METHOD

Combine the sugar and 170ml ( 2⁄ cup) water in 3 a saucepan over a medium–high heat, stir to dissolve, then bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Cut the cheeks off the mangoes and use a large metal spoon to scoop the flesh out of the cheeks. Coarsely chop the flesh and process the mango and lime juice in a food processor until smooth, then add sugar syrup to taste (you may not need it all, depending on the sweetness of the mango) and process to combine. Pour into popsicle moulds, freeze for about an hour until half-frozen, then insert sticks and freeze for about 2 hours until frozen through. The pops will keep at this stage for up to a month. To un-mould, dip the moulds in hot water, wiggle the pops to loosen, then remove from the moulds and place on a tray lined with baking paper, returning to the freezer until frozen firm again.

For the cayenne salt, combine the ingredients in a bowl. Dip the pops in cayenne salt to serve and squeeze over extra lime.