Passion Ice Cream
Makes: About 1 quart/1 liter
This fruit is called “passion” for a reason! It lends this creamy ice cream a perfect balance of lilting sweetness and acidity. Something magical happens when Tahitian vanilla bean is added to passion fruit—it enhances and rounds off the slightly metallic quality of the fruit. After I shared this ice cream with my dear friend and colleague Elizabeth Karmel, she bought the passion fruit concentrate and an ice cream maker so she could have it again and again!
Ice Cream Base
| unsalted butter | 64 grams | 4½ tablespoons (½ stick plus ½ tablespoon) |
| passion fruit concentrate (see Scoops) | 125 grams | 7½ tablespoons (111 ml) |
| sugar | 225 grams | 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons, divided |
| ¾ Tahitian vanilla bean, split lengthwise (see Scoops) | . | . |
| heavy cream | 387 grams | 1⅔ cups (394 ml) |
| milk | 136 grams | ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (133 ml) |
| 6 (to 9) large egg yolks | 112 grams | ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons (104 ml) |
| glucose or reduced corn syrup | 28 grams | 4 teaspoons (20 ml) |
| fine sea salt | . | a pinch |
* About 1 hour ahead, cut the butter into four pieces and set it on the counter at room temperature (65° to 75°F/18° to 24°C).
* In a 1 cup/237 ml glass measure with a spout, weigh the passion fruit concentrate. (If measuring it by volume, allow it to defrost first.)
* Have ready a fine-mesh strainer suspended over a medium bowl.
1) In a medium saucepan, place 150 grams/¾ cup of the sugar and the vanilla bean. Use your fingers to rub the seeds from the center of the vanilla bean into the sugar. Remove the pod and set it in a medium bowl. Add the cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate.
2) Add the egg yolks and butter to the sugar mixture and, with a silicone spatula, stir them together. Stir in the glucose, passion fruit concentrate, and salt until well blended.
3) Heat the mixture on medium-low, stirring constantly, until slightly thicker than heavy cream. It should thickly coat the spatula and will pool slightly when a little is dropped back on its surface.
4) Immediately pour the mixture into the strainer, scraping up the thickened mixture that has settled on the bottom of the pan. Press it through the strainer and scrape any mixture clinging to the underside into the bowl.
5) Whisk the remaining sugar (75 grams/¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons) into the hot passion curd. Remove the vanilla bean pod and then whisk in the cream and milk mixture. Return the vanilla bean pod to the ice cream base. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours or until no warmer than 43°F/6°C. (Alternatively, cool in an ice water bath.) Set a covered storage container in the freezer.
6) Remove the vanilla bean pod and rinse and dry it for future use. Churn the passion fruit custard in a prechilled ice cream maker. Transfer the ice cream to the chilled container. Press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the ice cream, cover the container, and allow the ice cream to firm in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.
Store
Covered storage container: frozen, 3 days
Scoops
* I recommend Perfect Purée of Napa Valley passion fruit concentrate. If using fresh passion fruit, you will need about 7 ripe passion fruit (762 grams/1⅔ pounds flesh), strained and puréed to equal 164 grams/¾ cup/177 ml and a total of 200 grams/1 cup of sugar. Choose passion fruit that are very wrinkled to ensure ripeness.
* If using a Tahitian vanilla bean and the seeds are pulpy, you will need to process the seeds with the sugar.
* If Tahitian vanilla bean is unavailable, substitute 1½ Madagascar vanilla beans or 1 teaspoon/5 ml of pure vanilla extract.