Vegan Passionfruit Ice Cream with Pisco

With a hint of Peru and tropical flair, this Vegan Passionfruit Ice Cream with Pisco combines passionfruit pulp, coconut milk and coconut cream, and pisco in a creamy, sweet-tart frozen confection you’re going to love… It’s dairy free, gluten free, vegan, and delicious!

👩🏻‍🍳 Tamara Talks – Recipe Inspiration

Passionfruit has become something of a passion for this border girl. I first experienced them in a real way when we started hanging out with Dr. Robert Bradley and his Peruvian wife Serenella Rios Lozada. She made us a maracuya (aka passionfruit, passion fruit) pie, similar to key lime pie with passionfruit pudding.

Then came Peru. We tried maracuya pisco sours and chilcanos. We had pato (duck) in maracuya sauce. I’ve since worked this tropical fruit into many of my recipes. I think the pisco and passionfruit combination is amazing, and it provided the inspiration for this vegan frozen dessert!

📋 Ingredients Notes

Here is a quick look at the ingredients in the recipe – it’s handy to use at the grocery store or as a summary of what you need. Skip to the recipe for quantities.

• passionfruit pulp – Of course fresh passionfruit pulp is an amazing thing, but fresh passionfruit is hard to find, expensive, and very perishable. Breaking them down is tedious for the small amount of pulp you obtain from each one. Even in subtropical south Texas (near the border), they can be $6.00 apiece. If you’re using fresh, you’ll need to break down 6 to 8 passionfruits. I keep frozen passionfruit pulp in my freezer for recipes like my passionfruit chilcano and my passionfruit vinaigrette.
• pisco – This is an optional ingredient! I have found that booze in my frozen ice creams and sorbets adds an extra layer of (delicious) flavor, and makes it a little more scoopable. See the Real Rules of Making of Boozy Ice Cream for more.
• coconut milk – Not to be confused with non-dairy coconut milk in the “milk” section, coconut milk is usually found in the Asian foods section. I usually use lite coconut milk as I keep it in my pantry. You can certainly use full-fat coconut milk as well.
• cream of coconut – I specify sweetened cream of coconut. If you accidentally buy unsweetened (I have done this!), you will need to add additional sweetener.
• sweetener – I specify agave nectar because this is a vegan ice cream. If that is not an issue for you, feel free to substitute honey.
• vanilla
• fine sea salt

🔪 Instructions

• Make the ice cream mix – Thoroughly combine all ice cream ingredients using a bowl with a whisk or a blender. (A blender is much easier). Taste for sweetness and add as desired. This is an important step. Passionfruit is quite tart, but everyone has different taste buds. We like the tartness.

• Chill the ice cream mix – If you’re in a hurry, you can stick the ice cream mix in the freezer to speed the process. Don’t leave it too long! Otherwise, place in the refrigerator until it’s very cold.

• Freeze the ice cream – Following your manufacturers instructions, freeze the ice cream. My Cuisinart takes 20-25 minutes depending on how cold it starts out.

• Serve the ice cream – Scoop into serving dishes or glasses. Garnish as desired. Enjoy!

💭 Tips and FAQ

How important is the pisco to this recipe? It is totally optional. You will still have a yummy vegan ice cream without it. However, a little bit of pisco makes it more scoopable, and adds just a hint of flavor. See the Real Rules of Making of Boozy Ice Cream for more.

How do I store the ice cream if I have leftover? Use a good storage container. It will get hard. I recommend letting it thaw for a few minutes to make it easier to scoop.

What can I garnish with? Your garnish can be as simple as a sprig of mint or even basil, or as elaborate as dark chocolate covered goldenberries (see photos). A square of dark chocolate is another simple option. Of course it’s a beautiful dessert unadorned as well!

🧂 Useful Stuff

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With holiday weekends (Memorial Day and Fourth of July) fast approaching, it’s a great time to take a new frozen dessert recipe “out for a spin.” I hope you’ll give this vegan, gluten free, dairy free dessert a try! If you love tropical flavors, you might also like this lucuma ice cream…

🍨 More Tropical Frozen Desserts

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