Homemade Passion Fruit Ice Cream
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This egg-free, no cook homemade passion fruit ice cream is smooth, creamy, and bursting with fresh passion fruit flavor and made in an ice cream maker.
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Bushel and Berry®.
MY FAVORITE ICE CREAM BASE WITH A TROPICAL TWIST
When it comes to homemade ice cream recipes, my readers flock to my peach ice cream in the summer and pumpkin ice cream in the fall. I have settled on a favorite eggless ice cream base, made with heavy cream and whole milk, that results in a smooth and creamy finish and leaves plenty of space for fresh and seasonal flavors.
When I first tasted passion fruit prior to my diving into passion fruit dressing for fruit salad, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the bright, sweet, and tart flavor but knew immediately that adding fresh passion fruit to my ice cream base would be a solid addition to my homemade ice cream collection.
Passion fruits don’t lend a whole lot of juice (only about 1 Tablespoon per fruit), so to avoid harvesting or purchasing a ton of passion fruits, this recipe makes a half batch of my typical ice cream recipes, which means it’s perfect for a small family or leftovers for a household of two. But if you’ve got the resources to make a double batch? Go for it. You won’t regret having extra, believe me.
WHERE TO FIND FRESH PASSION FRUITS
If you’ve never had fresh passion fruit, it’s in season during the summer months in North America, but thanks to Bushel & Berry, you don’t have to rely on your grocery store to stock it. Their Poppin’ Passion™ plant lets you grow your own right at home! With tropical blooms, support for native pollinators, and fruit that’s refreshingly sweet with a little zing, it’s as practical as it is pretty.
Can’t get your hands on fresh passion fruit just yet? No problem! Frozen passion fruit pulp works just fine in this recipe. Just make sure it’s unsweetened so you can control the balance of flavors yourself.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
This is a very simple recipe, since we’re using an egg-free base for our ice cream.
Aside from the passion fruits, you’ll also need: water, granulated sugar, heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla extract, and salt.
HOW DO I PICK A RIPE PASSION FRUIT?
Passion fruit typically has a thick, leathery rind that ranges in color from deep purple to brown. Even when it’s perfectly ripe, the skin can be a bit tough to slice through, so don’t be discouraged if it puts up some resistance, especially if it’s begun to wrinkle. In my experience, full-on wrinkling isn’t required for ripeness, but generally, the more wrinkled the skin, the sweeter the juice inside.
HOW TO MAKE PASSION FRUIT ICE CREAM
BEFORE YOU BEGIN: before beginning preparing anything, make sure your ice cream maker is frozen and prepped! I personally freeze my attachment no less than 24 hours in advance, and since there is a warming element in the instructions for this ice cream, you’ll want to make sure it’s as cold as it can possibly be.
START BY PREPARING THE FRUIT REDUCTION
STEP #1: slice the passion fruits and scoop out the flesh, seeds, and juice. Place everything in a small saucepan, then add the granulated sugar and water and stir everything together to combine.
STEP #2: next, heat the saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and stir continuously for 8-10 minutes until the consistency thickens. You’re looking for a consistency similar to warmed honey when it’s ready.
STEP #3: allow the mixture to stop bubbling, then work quickly but carefully to strain the mixture through a mesh sieve and into a medium size bowl or glass measuring cup with a spout. The mixture will get very sticky as it cools, which is why you’ll need to work quickly. You will wind up with about ⅓ cup of syrup/reduction after straining.
MAKE THE ICE CREAM BASE
STEP #4: In another medium size bowl or measuring cup with a spout (this is my favorite brand/size for this step), combine the heavy cream, milk, vanilla extract, and salt, and whisk to combine. Add the strained passion fruit reduction to the cream/milk mixture, warming it if necessary to help ease it out of the bowl/measuring cup, then whisk or stir vigorously to combine completely.
CRUCIAL COOLING STEP
Allow the mixture to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day. If your mixture is too warm, your ice cream will not set. This means that if your reduction was very warm, it could take longer than 30 minutes to chill. Build in ample time if you’re on a timeline!
CHURN THE ICE CREAM
STEP #5: place the prepared ice cream maker attachment onto your stand mixer fitted with the dasher,, then turn on the mixer so dasher is rotating and slowly pour ice cream mixture into the canister to process. Your ice cream is now ready for a freezer-safe container and will need at least 2 hours to set up before enjoying.
I have to say, as someone who rarely reaches for fruity ice cream unless there are chunks in it, this ice cream blew me away. The tropical flavor of the passion fruit is perfectly sweetened while also allowing some of the tartness to shine through. It is good enough to stand on its own without any toppings or add-ins, but feel free to crack open an extra passion fruit and drizzle that fresh pulp and juice right on top!
Small Batch Passion Fruit Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
PASSION FRUIT REDUCTION
- 4 fresh passion fruits1
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
ICE CREAM
- 1 cup (240mL) heavy cream
- ½ cup (120mL) whole milk
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Before beginning anything, make sure your ice cream maker is frozen and prepped!
PASSION FRUIT REDUCTION
- Slice the passion fruits and scoop out the flesh, seeds, and juice. Place into a small saucepan, then add the granulated sugar and water and stir to combine.4 fresh passion fruits1, ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup water
- Heat the saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and stir continuously for 8-10 minutes until the consistency thickens. You're looking for a consistency similar to warmed honey.
- Allow the mixture to stop bubbling, then work quickly but carefully to strain the mixture through a mesh sieve and into a medium size bowl or glass measuring cup with a spout. The mixture will get very sticky as it cools, which is why you'll need to work quickly. You will wind up with about ⅓ cup of syrup/reduction after straining.
- In another medium size bowl or measuring cup with a spout (this is my favorite brand/size for this step), combine the heavy cream, milk, vanilla extract, and salt, and whisk to combine.1 cup (240mL) heavy cream, ½ cup (120mL) whole milk, ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Add the strained passion fruit reduction to the cream/milk mixture, warming it if necessary to help ease it out of the bowl/measuring cup. Whisk or stir vigorously to combine completely.
- Very important step: allow the mixture to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day. If your mixture is too warm, your ice cream will not set. This means that if your reduction was very warm, it could take longer than 30 minutes to chill.
ICE CREAM
- Place prepared ice cream maker attachment onto stand mixer fitted with the dasher.
- Turn on the mixer so dasher is rotating and slowly pour ice cream mixture into the canister. Process according to manufacturer’s directions (it should take about 20-30 minutes).
- When ice cream is finished churning, remove the ice cream maker from the mixer. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container2 and freeze for at least 2 hours.
Notes
- Fresh passion fruit: if these are out of season for you, you can use frozen passion fruit pulp from the freezer section of your grocery store. Avoid using anything with added sweetener (like you’d find in the cocktail section). One fresh passion fruit yields about 2 Tablespoons of pulp + juice, so aim for ½ cup of prepared pulp.
- Freezer-safe container: I like to put my small batch ice cream into a 6″ round cake pan.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.