Inspired by HEYTEA’s Cloud Mango, this recipe transforms the combination of ripe mango, green tea, and salty cheese foam into a frozen dessert.

Instead of blending everything into one homogeneous ice cream, this recipe is built from two separate components: a rich, slightly salty Cheese Foam Gelato and a bright Mango Green Tea Sorbet.

The contrast is the whole point. The mango sorbet is fruity, refreshing, and intensely mango-forward, while the cheese layer adds creaminess, saltiness, and a subtle tang. By only partially swirling them together, every spoonful has a slightly different mango-to-cheese ratio, similar to the way the cheese foam and mango gradually mix as you drink the original beverage.

Like my other frozen dessert recipes, both components use my lower-sugar formula, creating a smooth, creamy texture without relying on excessive amounts of sugar, heavy cream, or commercial stabilizers.

Part 1: Cheese Foam Gelato

Makes approximately 350 g.

Ingredients

• 12 g skim milk powder
• 4 g tapioca starch
• 8 g granulated sugar
• 1.5 g sea salt
• 186 g whole milk
• 22 g heavy cream
• 40 g condensed milk
• 1.5 g gelatin sheets, softened in cold water
• 75 g full-fat cream cheese, softened

Instructions

1. Soften the gelatin sheets in cold water.

2. In a nonstick saucepan, whisk together the skim milk powder, tapioca starch, granulated sugar, and sea salt. Add the whole milk, heavy cream, and condensed milk, then whisk thoroughly until completely smooth with no dry lumps remaining.

3. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan. Once the mixture slightly thickens and lightly coats the back of a spatula, immediately remove it from the heat. The goal is to gelatinize the starch and give the base a little body. Do not cook it until it becomes thick like custard or pudding.

4. Continue stirring off the heat for approximately 1 minute. Squeeze the excess water from the softened gelatin sheets, then add them to the warm dairy base and stir until completely dissolved.

5. Add the softened full-fat cream cheese. Blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth, glossy, and homogeneous. Using softened cream cheese makes it much easier to incorporate and helps prevent small lumps from remaining in the base.

6. Ideally, cool the finished base to approximately 4 C (40 F) as quickly as possible. Transfer it to a container and place the container in an ice-water bath. Stir occasionally until thoroughly chilled.

7. If you are short on time or do not want to set up an ice bath, transfer the base to a shallow container, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate immediately.

8. Once chilled, cover the surface directly with plastic wrap if you have not already. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

9. If you are planning to make both components with the same freezer bowl, do not churn the cheese gelato yet. Keep the aged base refrigerated at approximately 4 C (40 F) while you prepare and churn the mango sorbet.

Part 2: Mango Green Tea Sorbet

Ingredients

• 450 g very sweet, low-fiber mango flesh
• 17 g yuzu juice or fresh lemon juice
• 6 g tapioca starch
• 30 g granulated sugar
• 115 g brewed green tea. I recommend this green tea or this one.
• 8 g light corn syrup
• 2 g gelatin sheets, softened in cold water

Instructions

1. Use mangoes that are fully ripe, naturally sweet, fragrant, and as low in fiber as possible. Taste your mango before making the sorbet. If the fruit itself is not delicious, the finished sorbet will not be either. Weigh out 450 g mango flesh and set aside.

2. Soften the gelatin sheets in cold water.

3. In a nonstick saucepan, whisk together the tapioca starch and granulated sugar. Add the brewed green tea and light corn syrup, then whisk until completely smooth with no dry lumps remaining.

4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan. As the mixture heats, the tapioca starch will begin to gelatinize. Once the mixture slightly thickens and lightly coats the back of a spatula, immediately remove it from the heat. Because this is a relatively small amount of liquid, thickening can happen quickly. Do not cook until it becomes thick or pudding-like.

5. Continue stirring off the heat for approximately 1 minute. Squeeze the excess water from the softened gelatin sheets, then add them to the warm green tea base and stir until completely dissolved.

6. Combine the green tea base with the mango flesh and yuzu juice or fresh lemon juice. Blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth and homogeneous.

7. Taste the base. Because cold temperatures suppress our perception of sweetness, the unfrozen base should taste slightly sweeter than you ultimately want the finished sorbet to taste.

8. Unlike the dairy-based Cheese Foam Gelato, this fruit sorbet does not require a long overnight aging period. Once the mango base is homogeneous, cool it to approximately 4 C (40 F) before churning. For faster cooling, place the container in an ice-water bath and stir occasionally, or cover the surface directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.

9. Pour the cold mango base into your ice cream maker. Churn until the sorbet becomes thick, smooth, and creamy. Do not stop while it is still very loose. It should have enough body to hold its shape when transferred from the machine.

10. Transfer the finished sorbet immediately to a cold container and place it in the freezer. If you are using the same freezer bowl for both components, work quickly and move directly to the Cheese Foam Gelato.

Part 3: Churn the Cheese Foam Gelato

Remove the thoroughly aged Cheese Foam Gelato base from the refrigerator.

If your freezer bowl is still sufficiently frozen after churning the mango sorbet, pour the cheese base into the machine immediately.

Churn until thick, smooth, and creamy. The finished gelato should have enough structure to cling firmly to the dasher when removed from the machine.

Assembly

1. The mango sorbet should be cold and firm enough to hold its shape, but it does not need to be frozen rock-solid. If it has become very firm, let it soften slightly until pliable.

2. Add alternating portions of Mango Green Tea Sorbet and freshly churned Cheese Foam Gelato to a freezer-safe container.

3. Use a spatula or spoon to gently fold or swirl the two together only a few times. You should still be able to see distinct ribbons and pockets of yellow mango sorbet and white cheese gelato.

4. This swirl is not just for appearance. Keeping the two components partially separated means that every spoonful has a slightly different mango-to-cheese ratio. One bite might be bright, fruity, and refreshing; another might contain much more salty, creamy cheese foam. If you completely blend the two components together, you will essentially end up with mango cheesecake gelato. Still delicious, but that is not what this recipe is trying to recreate.

5. Cover the surface directly with plastic wrap. Freeze for approximately 2 hours, or until it reaches your preferred scooping consistency.

Recipe Tips & Notes

Which Base Should I Make First?

Start with the Cheese Foam Gelato base.

The dairy base benefits significantly from aging for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. This gives the milk proteins and other ingredients time to fully hydrate and helps create a smoother, more stable texture after churning.

Fruit sorbet is different. It does not rely on dairy proteins and fat for the same structural properties, so the mango base does not need the same extended aging period. Once blended and thoroughly chilled, it can generally be churned.

For the easiest workflow: make Cheese Foam Base, cool to 4 C, age for 6 hours or overnight, make Mango Sorbet Base, cool to 4 C, churn mango, immediately churn cheese foam, swirl, and freeze.

The Mango Matters More Than Almost Anything Else

Fruit sorbet is inherently more unpredictable than dairy gelato.

Milk and cream are relatively standardized ingredients. Fresh fruit is not. The sugar content, water content, acidity, fiber, and aroma of mangoes can vary significantly, even within the same variety.

That is one reason I do not make as many fruit sorbet recipes as dairy gelato recipes: a formula that works perfectly with one batch of fruit may behave slightly differently with another.

Fortunately, mango is one of the most forgiving fruits for homemade sorbet because its naturally dense pulp can produce an exceptionally creamy texture.

But there is one condition: you need really good mangoes.

I highly recommend Champagne (Ataulfo) mangoes, Alphonso mangoes, or other high-quality Indian mango varieties. These tend to be intensely aromatic, naturally sweet, and relatively low in fiber, all qualities that work especially well for sorbet.

Whatever variety you use, choose mangoes that are fully ripe, very sweet, fragrant, and as low in fiber as possible. Avoid watery, underripe, or stringy mangoes.

Most importantly, taste the fruit first. If your mango does not taste amazing on its own, turning it into sorbet will not magically make it better.

Why Green Tea?

The original HEYTEA Cloud Mango uses green tea as its tea base, so I use brewed green tea here to stay true to the drink that inspired this recipe.

The tea also adds a subtle layer of freshness and complexity underneath the mango, balancing its sweetness without competing with the fruit.

The goal is not to make the sorbet taste strongly of tea. Mango should still be the star, with a gentle green tea finish in the background.

Why Yuzu or Lemon Juice?

Cold temperatures reduce our perception of sweetness and aroma, and ripe mango can sometimes taste flatter once frozen.

A small amount of acidity makes the mango taste brighter and more vivid.

Yuzu adds a particularly aromatic citrus note, while fresh lemon juice works perfectly well if yuzu is not available.

Why Is the Cheese Foam Gelato Salty?

This component is not supposed to taste like ordinary cheesecake ice cream.

It is designed to recreate Chinese-style salty cheese foam, where noticeable saltiness is an important part of the flavor.

The salt balances the sweet mango and rich dairy while making the fruit taste brighter.

I recommend trying the full 1.5 g of sea salt on your first batch before reducing it.

Why Not Fully Mix the Two Flavors?

Because contrast is what makes this recipe special.

Keeping visible swirls gives you distinct moments of refreshing mango, salty cheese, creamy dairy, and bright acidity instead of turning everything into one uniform flavor.

It is not just prettier. It genuinely changes the eating experience.

Equipment Recommendations

Standard Home Ice Cream Maker

A basic freezer-bowl ice cream maker works very well for this recipe.

I use a Cuisinart 1.5-Quart Ice Cream Maker for many of my recipes.

Despite this being a two-component recipe, you may not need two freezer bowls.

If the bowl is frozen completely solid and your room temperature is not too warm, you can churn the Mango Green Tea Sorbet first, immediately empty and scrape out the bowl, and then use the same bowl to churn the Cheese Foam Gelato right afterward.

I have successfully made both components back-to-back this way with my Cuisinart.

The key is to work quickly. Have the cheese foam base fully aged, thoroughly chilled, and ready to pour before you begin churning the mango.

Do not wash the freezer bowl with warm water between batches. Simply scrape it clean and immediately begin the second batch.

If the bowl has softened significantly after the mango sorbet, however, do not force the second churn. Refreeze the bowl completely before continuing.

Higher-End Ice Cream Maker

If you make gelato frequently, a compressor-style machine is a worthwhile upgrade.

It can churn multiple batches without requiring a pre-frozen bowl and generally freezes the mixture faster and more consistently, helping produce smaller ice crystals and a smoother texture.

Ninja CREAMi

This recipe can also be adapted for a Ninja CREAMi.

Prepare the two bases separately and freeze them in separate CREAMi containers according to your machine’s instructions.

Process each component individually, then combine the mango and cheese components by hand so you can preserve the distinct swirl.

Storage & Serving

Because this recipe uses significantly less sugar than many traditional gelato and sorbet recipes, it may become fairly firm after being stored in a home freezer for an extended period.

That is completely normal.

Before serving, leave the container at room temperature for approximately 5-10 minutes, depending on your room temperature and freezer temperature.

Once slightly tempered, it should become easy to scoop and beautifully smooth and creamy again.

Flavor Profile

Juicy mango, fragrant green tea, bright citrus, and salty cream cheese, all in one bite.

The Mango Green Tea Sorbet is intensely fruity and refreshing, while the Cheese Foam Gelato is creamy, tangy, milky, and slightly salty.

But the best part is that they never completely become one flavor.

Depending on where you scoop, you might get almost pure mango sorbet, a rich pocket of cheese gelato, or the perfect balance of both.

It is essentially the experience of HEYTEA’s Cloud Mango transformed into gelato: bright and refreshing at first, then increasingly creamy, salty, and rich as the two flavors melt together.