[Recipe] Passion Fruit Ice-Cream (Reduced Sugar)

I have just recently bought myself a Kenwood Ice-cream maker as a birthday and Christmas gift and this was the first thing I have made. The recipe is loosely based on a recipe from Epicurious. Instead of frozen pulp, I had a packet of fresh passion fruits in the refrigerator (I had bought a bunch of fruits to celebrate the New Year but just ate one piece each – it is one of those family New Year traditions I still practice). It was of the golden yellow slightly elongated variety (not the purple round ones). I am diabetic so I wanted the sweetness to come from a mix of artificial and natural (low glycemic index) sweeteners. The coconut sap sugar is an interesting addition since it has a unique caramel like flavor and it imparts a brownish color to the whole mix. As soon as I bought the Ice-Cream maker I wanted to try it right away and was a bit disappointed to learn that you actually needed to wait a full 24 hours before you can begin (that is how long the freezing bowl needs to be inside your freezer, luckily the bowl fit inside but I had to do some clever rearranging of the stuff that is already inside). It turned out ok for a first attempt and the sweetness is not so overpowering and you can still taste the bit of sourness when you bite into a thick portion of pulp (you may add a little bit more sweetness if you so desired but this level of sweetness was perfect for my taste). Using the fresh fruit with the seeds in it, I like the crunchy texture whenever I bite the seeds.

Passion Fruit Ice-Cream

Ingredients:
3 eggs 
8 pieces passion fruit 
600 ml all purpose cream
1 tablespoon honey 
2 packets Sucralose sweetener (Splenda)
4 packets Stevia sweetener 
2 packets coconut sap sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract  

**Additional notes on the sweeteners: I am attempting to substitute the sweetness of 3/4 cup of refined white sugar, a lot less that what the original recipe called for. The color of the end product was influenced mainly by the brownish color imparted by the coconut sap sugar. I am assuming that most sweetener packets are packaged to contain the equivalent of 2 teaspoons of sugar in terms of sweetness.

Equipment: 
Ice-cream Maker 
Double Boiler pot (I don’t own one but I used my stainless steel mixing bowl on top of a pot of boiling water)

Directions:
Prepare the Ice-Cream maker as per manufacturer’s instructions (mine required storing the freezing bowl in the freezer for at least 24 hours prior to the operation of the machine). 

Remove the pulp with seeds from the Passion fruit by cutting the fruit open and using a small spoon. Set aside and let it chill (covered) in the refrigerator. Whisk together the sweeteners with the 3 eggs until well mixed in a bowl. 

Heat the cream until it just starts to boil making sure to whisk it every minute or so. Remove from heat as soon as it starts to boil. 

Either place the whisked egg mixture in a double boiler or what I did was to place my stainless steel mixing bowl on top of a boiling pot and whisk the mixture while adding the hot cream into the mixture little by little. Do not allow this custard mix to boil as it will break. Continue whisking the custard as it heats up (the original recipe states until the custard registers 170 degrees F on a candy thermometer but I could not find mine so I just waited until it was steaming slightly and just about to simmer). Remove from heat and let it cool completely before adding on the fresh passion fruit pulp. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator before starting the ice-cream maker. Use the machine as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Target consistency is like soft serve ice-cream. Transfer into tubs for additional time in the freezer to firm it up.