I fell in love with passion fruit the Summer I went to the Dominican Republic. They are so in abundance over there and they tasted amazing. Buying them in New York is so expensive and I can rarely find them. So, I was so grateful and ecstatic that Kirby of Leisure Fan Club sent me passion fruits from her tree in California. Yay! So, Creamy Passion Fruit Ice Cream it was!
Where do passion fruit grow?
The passionfruit is native of southern Brazil. It grows in several Caribbean countries as well as in the United States in California, Florida, and Hawaii.
How is passion fruit used in this recipe?
For this recipe, I used fresh passion fruit. To separate the pulp from the seeds, scoop the pulp into a mesh strainer. Use a silicon spatula to push the juice through the bottom of the strainer and into the bowl. Continue with other passion fruits until you have 3/4 cup.
If you don’t have enough fresh passion fruits for 3/4, you can add thawed frozen passion fruit pulp until you have enough.
Or if you do not have any fresh passion fruits, you can use all thawed frozen passion fruit pulp. Frozen Passion fruit pulp can be found in the frozen Latino section of the supermarket.
How much ice cream mixture will fit in your ice cream maker?
Before making the ice cream, check your ice cream maker to see how much liquid it holds. Mine holds 1.5 liters and the recipe makes just that much. If your ice cream maker holds less, like 1 liter, then you can always churn half of the mixture at a time. Then add each half to the container before freezing the mixture until solid.
How is the Creamy Passion Fruit Ice Cream made?
To make the ice cream, start with making the custard base. This isn’t the no churn version, which is also good. It’s made with 6 egg yolks. This will make the custard very rich and delicious. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale in color. Heat the milk and part of the heavy cream in a saucepan. Slowly add the warm milk and cream to the eggs a little at a time to temper the yolks. This is done so the eggs will not start to scramble when hot liquid is added to it.
After the mixture is tempered, add it all back to the saucepan and heat until the mixture is very hot, but not boiling. Cool and refrigerate until cold.
Add the cold mixture to the rest of the ingredients, then add to your ice cream maker. Let the custard churn until thick and creamy and mostly frozen. Scoop all of the custard into a loaf pan or container and freeze until solid.
Commonly Asked Questions:
What if you can’t find fresh passion fruit?
If you don’t have fresh passion fruit, use thawed frozen passion fruit pulp.
Where can you buy fresh passion fruits?
Passion fruits are easy to buy in warm weather areas of the US, the Caribbean and Latin American countries where they grow. If your not in these regions, it is much more difficult to find them. Some supermarkets that sell specialty fruits in the Summertime sometimes have them. There are also several online stores that sell them as well to ship to you.
Can you eat passion fruit seeds?
Passion fruit seeds are edible, but are tart. They actually contain a lot of fiber.
When is passion fruit season?
Depending on the location, passion fruit is available almost all year round. California grown varieties are available from January through November.
Here are other great ice cream recipes:
Passion Fruit Ice Cream
Creamy custard based ice cream with passion fruit puree
Ingredients
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup passion fruit purée
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- Fresh passion fruit pulp to garnish
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add egg yolks and sugar. Use a hand mixer to beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is a light yellow color. In a sauce pan, heat 1/2 cup heavy cream and the milk over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer. Do not let it come to a boil. Gradually add the heated milk and heavy cream to egg and sugar mixture, a little at a time, stirring constantly each time you pour in the heated milk. Return the saucepan to the heat until the custard starts to thicken and become hot, about 165º degrees. Do not allow the custard to come to a boil. Remove the custard from the heat. Strain through a mesh strainer to get out any small pieces of egg that could have formed. Pour the custard base into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until cold, preferably overnight.Once the custard base is ready, stir in the heavy cream, passion fruit purée and vanilla extract and pour it into your ice cream maker and process according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Spoon the frozen ice cream into a loaf size pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid. To serve, scoop ice cream into dishes and garnish with fresh passion fruit pulp.
