Taiwanese Mango Shaved Ice with Farmers-Market Peaches and Condensed Milk

Whisk the whole milk, 1/2 cup condensed milk, heavy cream, sugar and salt together until the sugar dissolves completely.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, plus more for drizzling
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 3 ripe farmers-market peaches, pitted and sliced into wedges
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 pint mango sorbet, for topping
• 2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes

Instructions

1. Whisk the whole milk, 1/2 cup condensed milk, heavy cream, sugar and salt together until the sugar dissolves completely.
2. Pour the mixture into two shallow freezer-safe containers or ice cube trays and freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight, until solid. Freezing the dairy rather than plain water is what gives Taiwanese xue hua bing its snowy, ribbon-like texture instead of gritty crystals.
3. About 30 minutes before serving, toss the mango cubes and peach wedges with the lime juice and honey. Let them macerate at room temperature so the fruit releases a little syrup of its own.
4. Take the frozen milk blocks out and let them sit on the counter for 5 minutes — shaving rock-hard ice tears rather than curls.
5. Run the blocks through a shaved-ice machine into wide chilled bowls, building each mound tall and loose. Without a machine, break the frozen blocks into chunks and pulse them in a food processor in short bursts until fluffy, working quickly so they do not melt into slush.
6. Crown each mound with the macerated mango and peaches, spooning some of the accumulated fruit syrup over the top.
7. Add a scoop of mango sorbet, drizzle generously with more condensed milk, and finish with toasted coconut flakes.
8. Serve immediately with long spoons — shaved ice waits for nobody, and the pleasure is in eating it while the layers are still distinct.
9. Taiwan's shaved-ice culture splits into two camps: the old-school cu bing of coarse ice crystals piled with beans and jellies, and the newer xue hua bing, or snowflake ice, made from frozen sweetened milk shaved into gossamer ribbons. Mango versions became the island's summer signature in the 1990s, built around the intensely perfumed Irwin mangoes grown in Tainan. Adding peaches is a northern-hemisphere market cook's liberty, but the two fruits ripen at the same moment and their acidity lines up almost perfectly.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 480 kcal
• Protein: 9g
• Fat: 18g
• Carbohydrates: 74g
• Fiber: 5g
• Sugar: 66g
• Sodium: 180mg