Back when I was in culinary school I had to do a final project which, in part, consisted of making about 1500 desserts for a large event. I chose several different desserts to make. 300 Tropical Mousse Vacherins. 300 Chocolate Tortes with Raspberry Coulis. 100’s of assorted Truffles.
And a New York Style Cheesecake topped with a passion fruit sauce. That was my favorite. I was thinking about that cheesecake the other day with nostalgic fondness and decided that I needed to bring it back into my life. In ICE CREAM form. Because would you expect anything else?
This ice cream is not for the faint of heart or diet-conscious . Not only is the actual ice cream just like a rich, frozen cheesecake made with fresh vanilla beans and cream cheese, but it’s stuffed with pieces of homemade cookie crust that stay perfectly crunchy even after being added to the ice cream. Top if off with fresh passion fruit sauce swirled throughout and you have yourself one decadent dessert.
I’m going to leave it there because I have a sweet little 3 month old waking up who needs snuggles, but do I really need to say more?
Make this ice cream quick! Your stomach will thank you.
- For the Cheesecake Ice Cream base:
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- ½ Vanilla Bean, vanilla beans scraped out(save the pod for another use)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- For the shortbread cookie crust:
- 3 ounces Vanilla or shortbread Cookies
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 5 ounces Butter, melted
- For the Passion Fruit Sauce:
- 2 Passion Fruit
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- ⅓ cup Water
- FOR THE CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM BASE:
- Beat the egg yolks together in a mixing bowl and set aside. Heat the milk, salt, vanilla beans and sugar to steaming in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When the milk begins to steam, pour ¼ cup of it into the bowl of egg yolks while whisking constantly until smooth. Pour the egg yolks into the saucepan and whisk constantly on medium/high heat until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Add the cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Add the heavy cream and whisk until fully combined. Refrigerate until cold.
- FOR THE SHORTBREAD COOKIE CRUST:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cookies and sugar in a food processor and process until the cookies resemble fine crumbs. With the processor running, slowly pour the melted butter in through the top opening until fully combined with the cookie crumbs. Press mixture firmly into an 8x8 baking pan and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Let cool completely and break up the crust into small pieces.
- FOR THE PASSION FRUIT SAUCE:
- Scrape the passion fruit flesh into a small saucepan. Add the sugar and cornstarch and whisk together until well combined. Whisk in the water. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat while whisking constantly. When the sauce thickens, remove from heat and let cool completely.
- TO FREEZE THE ICE CREAM:
- Pour the ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer instructions. In the last minute of freezing, add in the cookie crust pieces and spoon in the passion fruit sauce little by little as the ice cream mixes. Scoop into a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours. Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping.
This ice cream looks completely dreamy! I’ve never had passion fruit but I’m dying to after seeing this!
Thanks Tori! You’ve got to try passion fruit! It is so good!
Mmm that sounds so rich and delicious! CHeesecake ice cream, now that is something I need to try 🙂
Thanks June! Hope you get to try it out!
Wow it looks so good. The photos are amazing xxx
Thanks so much Aimee!
I think I might sound crazy, but I’ve never eaten a passionfruit. And I think I need this ice cream to change that! <3
This looks amazing! Where do you find passion fruit? I haven’t had any success finding it in a grocery store. Thanks!
Thanks Kami! I find passion fruit at Macey’s in Utah in the exotic fruits and vegetable section….I’ve also seen them at Smith’s and Smith’s Marketplace. Good luck!