Learn Spanish (Latin America): ¿Te gusta el helado porque hace calor?

In Spanish, the verb gustar actually means "to be pleasing to". The subject of the sentence isn't "you", it is the ice cream (el helado). Since the ice cream is a single thing, we use the singular verb form gusta. The pronoun te shows who the ice cream is pleasing to!

Why is there an el before helado? The English translation doesn't say "the ice cream".

When you talk about liking or disliking things in general, Spanish requires you to use the definite article (el, la, los, las) before the noun. So you always say "Te gusta el helado" rather than just "Te gusta helado".

Why does it say hace calor for "it is hot"? Doesn't hace come from the verb to make or do?

Exactly! When talking about the weather in Spanish, you often use the verb hacer (to do / to make) followed by a noun. So instead of saying "it is hot", Spanish speakers literally say "it makes heat" (hace calor).

I see porque is one word here. Is it different from when we ask "why"?