Tree tomato is better known as tamarillo, or terong belanda in Indonesian. The egg-shaped fruit is native to South American countries and has thin skin and varieties of color from golden yellow, dark orange, to dark red and almost purple.

The darker the skin, the more flavorful and less sour the flesh.

Tamarillos have distinctive flavor, which is a combination of tomato and hints of plum, cherry or even raspberry.

But be careful to avoid eating the skin, which can be very bitter.

The flesh is versatile in ice creams, sorbets, salsa, chutney and for serving with poultry or fish.

Tamarillos can be used in the same way as tomatoes to make sauces or chutney. To enjoy it raw, cut the fruit in half to reveal the dramatic blood-red juice and two lines of black seeds, which can be eaten although not recommended.

Simply scoop out the flesh of the fruit, which has fresh tangy taste. It is best eaten with a touch of sugar.

Skinless tamarillos are also easy to prepare and perfect for making tamarillo sauce.

Saute a finely chopped onion or shallots and garlic in a little olive oil or coconut oil. Add roughly chopped peeled tamarillo, season and cook until reduced to a thick sauce.

Add chilies and ginger to the basic tamarillo sauce to create a different layer of flavor of tamarillo. The sauce reminds me of rica-rica, originating from Manado, North Sulawesi.

The tamarillo is a great source of vitamins, particularly vitamin C.

For this week’s recipe I have tamarillo ice cream and sorbet.

Sorbet is basically ice cream without cream, milk or egg yolk. It is a mixture of fruit juice and ice that is softer and more granular than ice cream.

The basic ingredients of sorbet are simply fruit juice or fruit puree, sugar and the juice of limes or lemons.

My tamarillo ice cream is very simple as I don’t use egg at all.

There is no cooking process compared to the classic ice cream method.

I simply add the tamarillo sorbet, which is tamarillos juice and sugar, to cream.

The result is delicious and I am sure you will find the tamarillosorbet and tamarillo ice cream refreshing treats.

Tamarillo sorbet and ice cream I prefer to use skinless tamarillo for this recipe. The ice cream has a nice creamy consistency and the sorbet has a very refreshing taste. An ice-cream machine is not required for this recipe, making it much easier to make.

The recipe makes half a liter of sorbet and a half liter of ice cream.

You will also need two half-liter containers to store the ice cream and sorbet, so ensure they are suitable for freezing.

Ingredients: •    1.2kg of dark red skin tamarillo •    200ml castor sugar, add more to taste •    100ml cream, to be added to the ice cream mixture •    2 liters of water for boiling

Directions: •    To remove the tamarillo skins, bring 2 liters of water to the boil. •    Using a sharp knife, lightly score the base of the tamarillos with a cross. •    Place the tamarillos in a pan or a large bowl and cover with freshly boiled water. Leave for 5-7 minutes, or until the skins begin to wrinkle and split. •    Plunge the tamarillos into a bowl of iced water to cool them off. Carefully peel away the skins with your fingers and discard hard stones or seeds. •    Put all the tamarillo flesh into a strong blender and add sugar. Mix finely. In this stage, the sorbet mixture is ready. •    Transfer half of the mixture into one of the containers and place in the freezer. •    Add 100ml cream into the remaining mixture and combine well. Now, the ice cream mixture is ready. Simply transfer the mixture into the remaining container and place in the freezer. •    To create a soft mixture of sorbet and ice cream without and ice-cream machine, you must stir the mixture once ever two hours before putting it back in the freezer. •    Remove the container of the ice cream or sorbet to soften 30 to 45 minutes before serving.