Over the phone, I listened rather enviously as my Mum proceeded to tell me recently that she had passionfruit coming out of her ears… thankfully not literally, just figuratively! Unfortunately, my parents live about 1300km north from where we live, so helping her out with this glut of fruit was not going to be an option. It did, however, jolt my memory of a delicious passionfruit ice cream that I’d made about a year ago.
Doing a little research at the time, I discovered that adding a certain proportion of skim powdered milk and glucose syrup would create a creamier and softer texture to the ice cream. Having made it again this past week and absolutely loving the results, this will be my go-to recipe for future ice cream making. Simply tweaking the final flavour/ingredient with the likes of puréed berries or fruit, a dash of liqueur, chocolate, hokey pokey, or infused with the classic vanilla bean, will transform this ice cream into something new and luxurious each and every time.
… And if you’re wondering what to do with all those leftover egg whites, link through to these two previous posts for a few ideas – Chocolate-Chip Pavlova and Crème Brulée (and what to do with all those leftover egg whites!).
Passionfruit Ice Cream | Gather and Graze
Ingredients
- 400g (1⅔ Cup) Pure/Heavy Cream
- 250g (1 Cup) Whole/Full-Cream Milk
- 40g (4½ Tbsp) Skim Powdered Milk
- 50g (Approx 3½ Tbsp) Glucose Syrup
- 130g (Approx 8) Large Free-Range Egg Yolks
- 150g (¾ Cup) Caster Sugar
- Pinch of Salt
- 90g (⅓ Cup or Approx 8) Strained Passionfruit (or leave the seeds in if you prefer)
Instructions
Place the cream, milk, powdered milk and liquid glucose into a medium-sized saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir gently until all ingredients are combined and the mixture just reaches boiling point. Remove from the heat.
In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar and pinch of salt and whisk vigorously for a minute or two. Using a soup ladle or large spoon, ladle in a little of the hot milk mixture and whisk quickly (to avoid making scrambled eggs) mixing it in with the egg yolks. Continue adding more, little by little, until you’ve whisked in about half of the mixture.
Tip the contents of the mixing bowl back into the saucepan and place back on medium heat. Stir until slightly thickened and the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon, being sure not to allow the mixture to come to a boil.
Strain the mixture back into the mixing bowl and carefully lay a sheet of Cling Film right on top of the mixture, so as to avoid a skin forming. Allow to cool to room temperature, before stirring in the seedless passionfruit pulp. Be sure to place the sheet of Cling Film back on, then place in the refrigerator to cool completely (if possible, overnight).
Once fully chilled, churn the mixture in an ice cream machine until it reaches a soft-serve consistency.
Spoon into a suitable container and freeze for several hours until firm.
Serve in cones or scoop into dessert bowls and top with a little fresh passionfruit pulp.
Notes:
- If you are pressed for time, you may wish to use an ice-bath to cool down the mixture more rapidly after it has been strained back into the mixing bowl and before placing it into the fridge.
- I find it much easier and more consistent to measure the majority of ingredients by weight (on digital scales), rather than going by volume. This recipe is no different and as much as I’ve tried to supply alternative options for those who may not have a good set scales in the kitchen, the results may differ slightly if cups and tablespoons are used instead.
Gather & Graze 
Ooh, sounds wonderful – passionfruit is such a great ice cream flavour – and I’d be tempted to see if your mum can post you a box of passionfruit – mine posts me lychees from her tropical garden 🙂
Hmmm, I’ll have to look into that… at least they’re a lot lighter than mangos! How lovely to receive a box of lychees in the mail. Such a beautiful fruit!
Oh wow..,bet that was amazing!
The texture and flavour of this ice cream is fabulous Tanya… definitely worth making if you have an ice cream machine stashed away at home!
You are right about the skim milk powder. Had to giggle at you specifying that the passion fruit were not literally coming out of your mother’s ears 🙂
🙂 Thanks Stefan! From what I understand, the skim milk powder absorbs some of the excess water (from within the milk and cream), which means less ice crystals will form during the churning/freezing stage.
I really like this blog about the science of ice cream. It is where I picked up the skim milk powder idea. http://icecreamscience.com/calculate-ice-cream-mix/
Thanks Stefan… this looks like a great resource to use. I look fwd to exploring the blog further when I get a chance. Cheers, Margot
Yum, I love passionfruits and they florish in Qld. I’ll make this next time I’m gifted a bagful. I picked up a great tip from Ottolenghi. Blitz the pulp before staining. The seeds are so slippery they don’t break up, but it makes the pulp easily strains off the seeds. It makes very light work of an arduous chore.
Oh that’s a fabulous tip Sandra! Must admit that it took longer than I thought it would to press the pulp through the sieve… I’ll definitely blitz it first next time. M.xx
Oooh! That looks delicious!
Thanks very much Ahnita! 🙂