Tropical Fruit Sorbet

Today is a special day.  Scoop Adventures turns 1 year old!  It is hard to believe that it has been one year since I began blogging about ice cream.  To be honest, I decided to start this blog on a whim and I had no idea if it would last.  Despite moving across country, starting a new job, and working on house renovations, I have somehow managed to find continual inspiration for exciting scoops and share them with you throughout the year.  If you are a loyal follower, thank you.  If you are new this site, welcome and I hope you continue following me through my journey.

When thinking about what flavor to make for this week’s post, I originally thought it would be fun to make some sort of cake ice cream.  What is a birthday without birthday cake?  And then I remembered that this is just a blog and a blog doesn’t need birthday cake, and I really don’t like cake/cake batter ice cream anyway.  Instead I opted to make a scoop to showcase one of my favorite flavors – passion fruit.

I fell in love with passion fruit during a trip to Maui.  Eating the fruit picked from the side of the road was amazing, and tasting it in local dishes and desserts was spectacular (passion fruit crème bruleé at Mama’s Fish House was ridiculous).  Using passion fruit in an ice cream recipe has been an long-time idea of mine.  The one thing that has stopped is finding the fruit.  Apparently it grows wild in the South, but I have been unable to find it.  During a recent trip to an Asian market, I spotted passion fruit juice in the frozen section.  Hallelujah!  The discovery made my day and made for a perfect birthday treat.  Hope you enjoy!

Tropical Fruit Sorbet
Adapted from recipe by David Lebovitz in The Perfect Scoop
Makes 1 quart

The recipe below calls for sweetened passion fruit juice, which is available in Asian food stores and some speciality food stores.  If you can find unsweetened passion fruit juice or concentrate, the flavor will likely be even better and more pronounced – add the same amount of juice and then add sugar to taste (roughly 1/4 cup).

2 medium ripe bananas, peeled
1/2 pineapple, peeled and cored (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup orange peach mango juice (or substitute plain orange juice or tangerine juice)
3/4 cup sweetened passion fruit juice or pulp
2 teaspoons lime juice
4 teaspoons dark rum

Strain passion fruit juice to remove seeds and pulp, set aside.  Cut bananas and pineapple into small pieces and place in a blender.  Add orange juice, passion fruit juice, lime juice, and rum.  Puree until very smooth. Cover and place in refrigerator to fully chill. Once chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Place plastic or parchment over sorbet (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.  To serve, scoop into a dish and top with passion fruit seeds for extra flavor.

One year ago: Thai Tea Ice Cream