For the first 29 years of my life I had only heard about the passionfruit. It was not until a few years ago that I had a taste of my first passionfruit. I was instantly hooked. It reminded me a lot of the Indian guava in its taste and texture with the crunchy and edible seeds bringing out the sweetness of the fleshy pulp. My first taste of passionfruit was in the form of a dessert sauce. Then last year when my co-op produce basket coughed up a passionfruit, did I realize what a perfectly luxurious fruit it was.
Like a seasoned passionfruit consumer, I started buying them by the dozen, scooping up their sweet pulp in small containers and storing them in the refrigerator till I needed a topping or just a quick taste. Finally, after a few weeks of doing that, as the passionfruit season waned and they started becoming scarce, I decided to cook and create with them. It was still warm here in Sydney and I had been experimenting with all kinds of ice-creams. So I pulled up a recipe for passionfruit ice-cream and made it my own. The ice-cream was a delicious mix of sorbet and sweet churned cream flecked with the crunchy seeds I had so become addicted to. It was sweet and sour and citrusy and tangy and creamy all at once and it was one of the best desserts I had ever had.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups pouring cream
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- pulp of 8 passionfruit
- extra passionfruit pulp to serve
Instructions
- Put the milk, cream and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved completely and the mixture is just about to boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until smooth. Whisk in the remaining mixture then return to a clean saucepan and stir constantly over low to medium heat for approximately 8 minutes. The mixture will thicken and coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat at this point, cool slightly, cover and refrigerate until cold.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of the passionfruit pulp. Put the remainder in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Strain and set aside to cool. Fold the passionfruit juice and reserved passionfruit pulp through the custard mixture.
- Transfer to an ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Alternatively, transfer to a shallow metal tray and freeze, whisking every couple of hours until creamy and frozen. Freeze overnight or a minimum of 6-8 hours. Soften in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.
- Serve drizzled with extra passionfruit pulp.
Notes
I find it hard to believe a Sydneysider did not have a passionfruit until she was 29!
Growing up in Sydney in the 1950s and '60s everybody had a choko vine, a rhubarb patch and a passionfruit vine!
Rob Thanks for your comment. If you are a regular reader of my blog or have read any of the prior posts or my About page, you will realise that I arrived in Sydney when I was 28 (now 10 years ago). One of the first new fruits I tried (and loved!) after we moved to Sydney was the passion fruit. I grew up in India and had my share of exotic fruits that Sydney siders wouldn't have ever tasted but we didn't have Passionfruit there. I spent some time in Singapore after that and never really came across a Passionfruit. We planted our first vine last year in Sydney and have flowers .. So exciting!
I love this i made it for school i am only 11 but i absolutely love it thanks soooo much;)
I adore passionfruit. When I was a kid we had a vine that grew over the railing on the stairs leading up to our front door, which used to fruit incredibly prolifically. My brother & I used to sit on the stairs and eat them, still warm from the sun, just breaking them open and scooping out the flesh with our tongues. Now I live in a place where you have to buy them and they're usually about $16/kilo upwards 🙁 I love making my own ice cream though, so I think I need to invest in a few to make this.
Beautiful blog and photos.
Sue
ohhh the pictures look delish! I have to get an ice cream machine.....
Looks fantastic!!
Would love to make some for my mum this weekend, but the only passion fruit I can find in Texas is in a tin. About how much pulp is in 8 passion fruit?
Great blog, thanks!
8 passionfruit yielded about 1 cup of pulp for me. 🙂
I have some passion fruit in the freezer. Ice cream, sorbet? You inspire!
.-= Cynthia´s last blog ..A mental adjustment to cooking & eating =-.
Thanks for your nice comments guys! 🙂
Hello sneh!
Your passion fruit ice cream looks so luscious & perfect for spring!
Lovely dessert!
.-= Sophie´s last blog ..Wraps with tuna, oyster mushrooms, apple & tomatoes =-.
that ice cream looks so good and flavoursome. i wish i had an ice cream machine to do it. i love how passionfruit can last for so long and even though when they get really old and wrinkly looking they remain so yummy and sweet.
.-= Simon Food Favourites´s last blog ..Tharen's: Sydney's First and Only Fancy Dress Restaurant, Potts Point (9 April 2010) =-.