This easy homemade churned Passion Fruit Ice Cream is so fresh and creamy with a delicious tangy and sweet flavour. It is the perfect frozen dessert to enjoy on a hot day!
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Why we love this recipe
This passion fruit ice cream recipe offers the perfect balance in both flavour and texture. It is sweet yet lightly tart and tangy, super creamy but crunchy thanks to the passion fruit seeds. It is simply a delicious frozen dessert!
This recipe combines a classic custard based vanilla ice cream and tangy, fresh passion fruit pulp. Serve it with a homemade Passion Fruit Coulis or Passion Fruit Curd for an incredible tropical dessert!
More Ice Cream Recipes:
Ingredients
For this recipe, you will need the basic ingredients required to make a churned ice cream (custard based) with the simply addition of passion fruit.
- Milk + Cream: use Full Cream / Whole Milk and Thickened / Heavy Cream (30% fat minimum) for the best flavours and texture.
- Vanilla: optional, but it will really bring out all the flavours in the ice cream! Use a fresh Vanilla Bean if you can, or Vanilla Paste. Vanilla Extract or Essence will work too, but won't bring as much flavours.
- Egg Yolks: from medium size eggs and at room temperature. Use the leftover egg whites to make Financiers for example.
- Sugar: simple Caster Sugar / Fine white granulated Sugar. I have not tried this recipe with a natural sweetener substitute.
- Passion Fruit Pulp: both the flesh, juices and the seeds scrapped from inside a fresh Passion Fruit. Frozen Passionfruit Pulp will work well too.
Frozen passion fruit pulp is sometimes also called passion fruit puree. Make sure it is 100% passion fruit juice / pulp, without any added sugar or syrup.
Substitution
Wanna play with more tropical flavours? Substitute the Milk and Cream with Coconut Milk and Coconut Cream (full fat, not light)!
How to make Passion Fruit Ice Cream
Making the Passion Fruit Custard Base
The first steps of this recipe is to make the egg yolk custard base (or a pouring custard / "crème anglaise").
Unless using a compressor ice cream maker, it is recommended to put the bowl of your machine in the freezer at least 12 hours (preferably 24 hours) before churning the ice cream. Always follow the manufacturing instructions of your specific machine.
- Photo 1: Place the Milk, Cream, Passion Fruit Pulp and Vanilla in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine, then put it on the stove on low heat until it starts to simmer.
If using fresh Vanilla, slice it in half, scrape the seeds and put them in the saucepan with the rest of the pod. Bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid and leave the liquid to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pod.
- Photo 2: While the liquid is heating up, place the Egg Yolks and Sugar in a large bowl (heat-proof). Whisk well to combine.
- Photo 3: Carefully pour the hot liquid over eggs mixture while you continuously stir it. Whisk well until smooth.
This step allows to temper the egg yolks. It is a simple way to insure the eggs don't cook too quickly later.
- Photo 4: Transfer all the custard mix back in the pot and cook it on low to medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it starts to slightly thicken.
Cooking the Ice Cream Mixture
It is important to cook the passion fruit custard slowly and while continuously whisking to avoid over-cooking the eggs. This would give you a mixture with bits of scrambled eggs.
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There are two ways to check if the custard is cooked and ready to chill:
- Photo 5: with a kitchen thermometer. The mixture is cooked when it reaches 82 degree celsius (180'F). As a general rule, you don't want to cook the custard so much that it starts to boil or simmer.
- Photo 6: dip the back of a spoon in the mixture. Carefully draw a line through the custard (it will be hot) then tip the spoon down. If the custard is liquid and it runs over the line, it is not ready. If the line stays clear and the consistency of the custard appears to be lightly thick, it's ready.
If you have overcooked the custard, you will usually get a mixture that is quite lumpy. You can try to pour it through a thin mesh sieve to remove any bits of cooked eggs.
You can also pour it through a sieve if you want to remove the passion fruit seeds from the ice cream.
Chilling & Churning
Once the custard base is ready, it is time to chill it before churning it.
- Photo 7: Pour the mixture into a clean bowl or container.
I like to use a brownie pan or large loaf pan. The mixture will cool down more quickly and more evenly if it is less packed.
- Photo 8: Cover the custard with plastic wrap touching its surface. This is to avoid the formation of a skin on top of the mixture.
- Place it in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight. You want it to be very cold before you churn it. You can also place it in the freezer for 30 minutes just before churning the ice cream.
- Photo 9: Take the bowl of your ice cream machine out of the freezer and fit it in the ice cream maker. Pour the cool ice cream custard mixture into the bowl and turn it on.
- Photo 10: Churn the ice cream for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it resembles the consistency of whipped cream.
The ice cream will go through phases and you might notice some parts that are thicker that others. This is the ice crystals that are starting to form and it is completely normal!
- Once it reaches the right consistency (it should still be rather soft), transfer the passion fruit ice cream into a clean freezer-friendly container and freeze for at least 3 hours before serving.
Recipe FAQs
You can absolutely use frozen passion fruit pulp (simply thaw before using), as well as canned passion fruit if it only contains the pulp or puree. Passion fruit cans tend to be preserved in syrup, which we don't want to use here.
Absolutely, simply use your preferred plant-based milk and cream to make this recipe dairy-free. Note that a flavoured milk & cream will change the flavour of the ice cream. Always use a full fat (not a reduced fat or light) milk and cream.
No, this recipe is designed to be churned in an ice cream machine. I recommend searching for another "no churn passion fruit ice cream" (usually made with whipped cream) if you don't have an ice cream maker.
This ice cream recipe is delicious on its own or with fresh passion fruit. You can also serve it with a fruity topping such as a Mango Coulis or Passion Fruit Coulis. It will also be delicious with a Raspberry Compote or Passion Fruit Curd!
You can also serve this ice cream along my Passion Fruit Tart.
Tips for Success
- Because some passion fruits are sweeter or tangier than others, I recommend tasting the custard mixture once cooked and adjust the level of sweetness if required.
- To know that the custard is properly cooked, either use a kitchen thermometer (it should reach 82'c or 180'f) or check its consistency with a spoon. It should coat the back of a spoon without dripping.
- To get a smooth, non-crunchy passionfruit ice cream, pour the custard through a thin mesh sieve to remove the passion fruit seeds before chilling it.
- Make sure the custard mixture is very cold before churning it. I like to refrigerate it overnight then put it in the freezer for 30 minutes just before pouring it into the ice cream machine.
Storing
This ice cream is best eaten fresh within a few days (up to a week). It will of course stay fresh and safe to eat for a long time in the freezer, but its consistency will change overtime. The longer it stays in the freezer, the more rough and icy it will get.
More Passion Fruit Recipes
- Passion Fruit Cheesecake
- 3 Ingredients Passion Fruit Coulis
- Passion Fruit Curd
- Raspberry Passion Fruit Cheesecake
Made this recipe?
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Recipe
Passion Fruit Ice Cream
Equipment
- 1 Ice Cream Maker (place the bowl in the freezer 12 to 24 hours before churning the ice cream if required)
Ingredients
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) Full Cream / Whole Milk
- 180 ml (3/4 cup) Heavy / Thickened Cream
- 120 gr (1/2 cup) Passion Fruit Pulp - fresh or frozen
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Paste
- 6 Egg Yolks - medium size, at room temperature
- 80 gr (1/3 cup) Caster Sugar - (fine white sugar)
Disclaimer
I highly recommend using the measurements in grams & ml (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
- Place the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer 12 to 24 hours before churning the ice cream - or as recommended by the machine manufacturer. This is not required if you have an ice cream maker with integrated compressor (that does not required to be frozen prior to churning the ice cream).
- Place the Milk, Cream, Passion Fruit Pulp and Vanilla in a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine, then heat up on low on the stove until it starts to simmer. Remove from the heat.
- In the meantime, place the Egg Yolks and Sugar in a large heat-proof bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- Carefully pour the hot liquid over eggs mixture while you continuously stir it. When smooth, pour all the mixture back into the saucepan.
- Cook in on low to medium low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until it starts to slightly thicken (see note 1). Optionally, pour it through a thin mesh sieve to remove the passion fruit seeds.
- Transfer into a clean bowl, container or large shallow pan. Cover with plastic wrap touching the surface of the custard and place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours - preferably overnight. Optionally, place it in the freezer for 30 minutes before churning it.
- Take the bowl of your ice cream machine out of the freezer and fit it in the ice cream maker. Pour the cool ice cream custard mixture into the bowl and turn it on. Churn it for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it has the consistency of thick whipped cream (see note 2).
- Transfer the passion fruit ice cream into a clean freezer-friendly container and freeze for at least 3 hours before serving.
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Notes
- There are two ways to check if the custard is cooked:
(1) use a kitchen thermometer to check the custards temperature. The mixture is cooked when it reaches 82 degree celsius (180'F).
(2) dip the back of a spoon in the mixture. Carefully draw a line through the custard (it will be hot) then tip the spoon down. If the consistency of the custard is liquid and it runs over the line, the custard is not ready. If the line stays clear and the custard is lightly thick, it's ready. - The exact time will vary based on the exact temperature of the custard and ice cream bowl, as well as the specific ice cream maker you are using. The ice cream will go through phases and you might notice some parts that are thicker that others. This is the ice crystals that are starting to form and it is completely normal!
Nutrition
Passion Fruit Ice Cream Story
