The Brick Kitchen

No-Churn Passionfruit Raspberry Pavlova Ice Cream

Claudia Brick — Thu, 17 Dec 2015 22:55:23 +0000

No-churn passionfruit raspberry pavlova ice cream – creamy vanilla ice cream layered with tangy raspberry coulis, passionfruit swirls & meringue shards. Jump to Recipe

Life changing.

I cannot believe I have never tried no-churn ice cream before. I had been a little ‘above’ it, assuming churned gelato was obviously superior, that pasteurising and aging and specific temperatures were all aspects worth consideration – and consequently never made it. The prohibitive time and effort meant a trip to Gelato Messina was far easier!

I think it was the sweetened condensed milk involved that put me off for a while longer – like, how could something with sweetened condensed milk be a real ice cream?

My new answer is IT CAN. IT SO SO SO CAN.

Because this passionfruit raspberry pavlova ice cream is one of the best I have ever tasted. Creamy, sweet vanilla ice cream base is layered with tangy raspberry coulis, passionfruit swirls and crispy edged-fluffy inner crushed meringue shards. It takes all of 10 minutes to make once the meringue and raspberry coulis are done, and then 6 hours freezing time later, you have a batch of ice cream that rivals anything storebought. The meringue and coulis recipe actually make enough for 2-3 batches of ice cream, so you will have leftovers to use in something else (meringue, berries and cream jars?) or just to make more ice cream with.

The possible flavour combinations that could be used with this ice cream base are endless- I’m thinking espresso chocolate with brownie chunks, roasted pear and rhubarb, apple crumble, lemon curd and blueberry swirls, caramel with sticky date pudding chunks…

AND Christmas is only ONE week away now. If your city/town/area is anything like Auckland right now, everyone (and everything) is going insane. The traffic is awful, the shops are packed, the stress is practically palpable, the radio is crammed with Christmas advertising, work is crazy busy (like, why does everyone suddenly want doughnuts the week before Christmas?) and most of the joy and family focus of Christmas seems swamped with a tide of commercialism.

For my part, I am incredibly unprepared thanks to those 9-12 hour doughnut shifts – Christmas dessert for 25 people is on me (!) and planning and Christmas shopping have yet to happen. If this is you as well, this ice cream is perfect. Make it a couple of days ahead (a couple of batches if you are feeding lots of people), and scoop it in the sun after Christmas dinner. Pavlova is an iconic dessert here in the Australia and NZ, but can be challenging in humid weather when you are trying to use the oven for 1000x other things in the days before Christmas. This way you can incorporate an easier meringue (made ahead, or even store-bought), into an easy but impressive ice cream to relieve dessert pressure on the day.

It could also be a worthwhile addition if your main dessert is something like Christmas pudding or trifle, which can be a little divisive (especially among the under-20s!) – have it on hand for those who aren’t fans of the traditional brandy-soaked puds. Even if you aren’t as disorganised as I am, you could still serve it at a relaxed dinner on Boxing Day, or around New Years celebrations – summer is all about beaches and barbecues, right?

If you are one of those Northern hemisphere people enjoying a white Christmas, feel free to experiment with more wintery flavours – chocolate, caramel, roast apples & pears, sticky date….

This recipe is part of a virtual Christmas lunch party with other Australian (and NZ) food bloggers, all serving up amazing recipes that you could use on the day. A big thank you to Bec at Dancing Through Sunday for organising it! Check out the other dishes here:

Dancing Through Sunday – Vegetarian Stuffing Balls
Champagne and Chips – Ice Cream Terrine
The Alimental Sage – Festive Summer Salad
84th and 3rd – Nectarine Almond Streusel French Toast
Whats for Eats – Sugar Crunch Cookies

No-Churn Passionfruit Raspberry Pavlova Ice Cream

Course Dessert

Prep Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Author Claudia Brick

Ingredients

Ice Cream

2 cups cream
1 can (400ml) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla paste , or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, or seeds of 1 vanilla bean
passionfruit syrup or fresh passionfruit pulp (1/4 - 1/2 cup)
raspberry coulis (recipe below)
meringue sheet , crushed into chunks (see recipe below)

Raspberry Coulis

300 g frozen raspberries , thawed (or fresh)
1/4 cup water
60-90 g sugar (to taste, depending on how sweet you like it)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Meringue

150 g egg whites , room temperature
300 g caster sugar
pinch of salt

Instructions

Ice Cream

In a mixer or with an electric beater, whip the cream to stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Whisking the cream continuously, slowly pour the condensed milk mix into the cream until combined.
Pour 1/3 of the mixture into a loaf pan or other container. Swirl in some raspberry coulis and passionfruit syrup (be careful not to mix together too much) and sprinkle over some chunks of meringue. Pour over another 1/3 of the ice cream base and repeat the swirling, twice more. The recipe makes for meringue and raspberry coulis than needed, so you have extra to make again or serve with something else!
Cover and transfer to the freezer to set for at least 8 hours before serving.

Raspberry Coulis

Process the raspberries in a food processor until smooth. Put the raspberry puree and water in a medium saucepan and heat. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice and simmer for 5-10 minutes until thickened. Pour into a bowl and store in the fridge.

Meringue

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper
Whisk the egg whites with the salt to stiff peaks. While the mixer is beating, gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the meringue is thick and glossy. To test if the sugar has dissolved, pinch some meringue and rub together - if you feel grittiness of sugar granules, continue whisking until smooth.
Pour the meringue onto the lined tray and gently spread it into an even 2-3cm thick layer. Place in oven and cook for 1 hour, then turn hte oven off and leave to cool completely inside the oven (with the oven door closed). Remove and store in an airtight container

The post No-Churn Passionfruit Raspberry Pavlova Ice Cream appeared first on The Brick Kitchen.

Individual Passionfruit Pavlovas

Claudia Brick — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 07:52:09 +0000

Passionfruit pavlovas: slightly crunchy exterior and marshmallowy soft inner, paired with smooth, tangy but sweet passionfruit curd and whipped cream. Jump to Recipe

IT’S OVER!!!

Yesterday’s mid-semester exam is what I am referring to here. Minimal study (and lots of baking) over the Easter break resulted in a final mad 4-day cram – stressful, boring, and not conducive to blog-posting, unfortunately. The feeling of freedom and relief walking out of that exam room was priceless – until we have to do it all again in 6 weeks time, that is.

Of course, I always tell myself afterwards that next time I will be more onto it, better prepared, know more of the detail, etc etc. You get the picture. In reality, I find that life catches up with me: I spend more than enough time just trying to keep on top of lecture summaries, and would far rather spend my Sunday out brunching and writing a blog post than at my desk revising. I can always hope, I suppose!

Back to why you are here in the first place: individual passionfruit pavlovas. It is all about texture. The slightly crunchy outer and soft, marshmallow-like inside of the meringue, paired with lusciously smooth, tangy but sweet passionfruit curd, whipped cream, and extra passionfruit and finally dusted with icing sugar is an absolute dream. All credit goes to The Engine Room (phenomenal restaurant in Auckland, please visit) for the recipe.

Passionfruit has got to be one of my favourite fruits, and this passionfruit curd is to-die-for – any left over will be gone very quickly: think spooned over ice cream, slathered on toast, heck, by the spoonful!

This is one of my go-to autumn desserts to wow family and friends (and what I would love to be eating to celebrate tonight!). It can be completely made ahead so is also perfect for a dinner party, just needing assembly on the night. Don’t be scared by the pavlova component – making individual ones is much easier (plus it looks amazing) and this recipe is pretty foolproof. You will need to make them the night before, turn off the oven and leave them inside to cool down slowly overnight. The curd is also straightforward as long as you keep a close eye on it and stirring continuously once you have it thickening on the heat – you do not want a moments distraction to result in a clumpy curdled mixture.

ALSO big news: I have two weeks (mostly) off uni starting from next week (!!). SO excited – even the couple of assignments I have to get done can’t dampen it. Very much looking forward to doing a bit of shopping, some more Melbourne exploring, and a whole lot of eating. Dad is also coming over to visit in the last weekend. Cannot. Wait. Although I have a bit of a list going, please let me know any particular must-visit places to go – love a bit of inside knowledge!

For the moment, make these pavlovas while passionfruit is still around – enjoy.

Individual Passionfruit Pavlovas

(Barely) adapted from The Engine Room Cookbook The pavlovas need to be made the night before.

Course Dessert

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 6 -8

Author Claudia Brick

Ingredients

4 large egg whites at room temperature
pinch of salt
250 g caster sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Passionfruit Curd

3/4 cup (or 200ml) fresh passionfruit pulp
3/4 cup caster sugar (or a tablespoon more/less depending on how sweet your passionfruit is)
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
100 g butter , cubed

To serve

200 ml cream , whipped to soft peaks
icing sugar to dust
fresh passionfruit pulp (allow half a passionfruit per person)

Instructions

Pavlova!
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
In a cake mixer or with a hand whisk, whisk the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.
With the whisk going, add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, until the meringue is thick and shiny.
Sift over the cornflour and add the vinegar and vanilla, folding in gently.
Spoon big dollops of mixture onto the trays: I usually make 6-8 meringues.
Place in the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 150°.
Bake for 20 minutes then turn the oven off. Don't be tempted to look inside! Leave to cool overnight. The next morning, transfer the pavlovas to an airtight plastic container.

Passionfruit Curd

In a food processor, pulse the passionfruit pulp to break it up the yellow fibrous bits without splitting the seeds.
Strain the pulp through a fine sieve in a medium sized bowl. Use the back of a spoon to really press the pulp into the sieve to get out as much liquid as you can, and you may want to leave it to drain for 10 minutes to let it drip.
Stir in the sugar, then taste and add a bit extra if the pulp is too sour. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks until the sugar has dissolved.
Fill a larger bowl with iced water in preparation for the next step.
Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water) and add the cubed butter. Stir the mixture continuously, scraping round the sides and bottom of the bowl, until it starts to thicken (10-15 minutes).
As soon it has thickened, place the bottom of the bowl into the bowl of iced water, and stir occasionally until cooled.
Transfer to an airtight container or jar and refrigerate (will keep for a couple of weeks).

Assembly

Place each pavlova on a plate. Dollop the pavlovas with whipped cream, passionfruit curd, passionfruit pulp, and a dusting of icing sugar to serve.

The post Individual Passionfruit Pavlovas appeared first on The Brick Kitchen.