Passion Fruit Ice Cream

Sweet, tart and creamy, Passion Fruit Ice Cream is a most delightful and delicious treat. Without eggs, this is an easy ice cream recipe that can be made with fresh or frozen passion fruit juice.

Passion fruit season is usually mid-summer through the winter.

With its tropical and exotic flavor, it almost feels counterintuitive to make passion fruit recipes when the weather is cooler. However, you must go for it when you can because you don't want to miss out on this treasured fruit.

This luscious passion fruit ice cream recipe is similar to a sherbet recipe, in that it does not contain eggs. It has enough dairy however, to make it technically ice cream, and to give it its delicious creaminess.

Serve the dessert without or with the seeds, in a bowl or the passion fruit shell for a cute presentation.

Ingredient Notes

• passion fruit - Choose passion fruit that are wrinkled or be sure to have enough time to let them become wrinkled! A smooth-skinned passion fruit is prettier, but not ripe. They should feel heavy for their size, as they'll yield more pulp/juice. If you can't get fresh passion fruit -- or want to save time (and money) -- this frozen passion fruit pulp/juice is an excellent choice and works well in this recipe. You should be able to find it -- or a similar product -- in the frozen fruit sections of most major grocery stores.
• milk - I use low fat milk. Both low fat and whole milk will produce a creamier product than skim milk.
• heavy cream - This will further ensure a creamy and rich texture.
• sugar - Passion fruit juice is very tart and sugar reduces its intensity. You can use less sugar if you'd like, if you want to amp up the tart flavor.
• vanilla - Vanilla pairs really well with passion fruit, and it enhances the flavor of the fruit.

How to Make it

- If you're not using frozen passion fruit pulp, cut and juice the passion fruits. Follow my easy step-by-step guide for how to do it.

Recipe Tip: Be sure to save the seeds if you want to use them to garnish the ice cream (or mix them into it).

- To make the ice cream base, add ¼ cup of the sugar and the vanilla to the passion fruit juice in a saucepan. Warm it over low-medium heat, just long enough for the sugar to dissolve. Set it aside to cool.

- Add the remaining ¼ cup of sugar to a mixing bowl with the heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to whip until soft peaks form.

- Once the juice mixture has cooled to room temperature, fold it into the the cream along with the milk.

- Freeze according to your ice cream machine's directions. For "soft serve" you can serve it immediately. For a firmer, more traditional ice cream, pour it into an airtight plastic container and freeze it for at least 4 hours and ideally overnight.

* ICE CREAM MAKER TIPS * 1) Always read the manual for your ice cream machine before you begin. Most ice cream machine bowls take at least 12 hours to completely freeze. Put your bowl in the freezer the night before you want to make the ice cream. 2) If you want to double the recipe, you'll likely have to do this in two batches, unless you have a particularly large ice cream machine. An average-sized machine usually holds 1½ quarts. (This recipe makes about 1¼ quarts.)

Variations and Serving Suggestions

• If you've used passion fruit, save their edible seeds, and spoon them over the top of each serving of ice cream. You can also add them before churning it, to have the bits of crunch throughout the ice cream.
• Passion fruit ice cream is luscious with a drizzle of chocolate sauce on top. (I prefer it with chocolate when I'm not using the seeds.)
• For a super cute presentation, save the passion fruit shells/skins that have been cut into halves, and serve the ice cream in them.

Storing Homemade Ice Cream

• These airtight containers are generally the best option for storing ice cream.
• You can also reuse plastic pint gelato containers with screw-on lids.
• Cake and loaf pans are also a great option. If you go this route, press a piece of plastic wrap, wax paper, or parchment paper directly onto the surface of the ice cream, then wrap the whole thing with plastic wrap.
• The ice cream will be at its best within the first month of freezing, though it'll keep for a few months.

Other Must-Try Passion Fruit Recipes

I hope you find this as dreamy as I do!