Easy Passion Fruit Cheesecake Ice Cream {No Churn}

If there is ONE ingredient that perfectly sums up the flavour of summer it would be passion fruit right? (side note: we call it granadilla here in South Africa and I'd love to be able to tell you a funny, quirky story as to why we do but frankly the internet let me down on this one!) And if there is ONE dish that perfectly sums up the feeling of summer, it's of course, ice cream. Put them together and you're basically eating a summer holiday! My kinda food.

Also, incase you haven't noticed yet, there are TWO desserts in ONE here. Bonus! Cheesecake and ice cream are always a good idea. 

Put them together and you have a damn good idea! 

This ice cream is for those days when someone asks you, would you like cheesecake or ice cream? And your answer? Just say 'YES!'

Now if you're not a passion fruit person (are you even human?!) then imagine this frozen creamy cheesecakey goodness swirled with strawberries, or blueberries, 

or mango - no pineapple! 

I crumbled in my favourite Eet Sum Mores (appropriately named, yet innappropriately spelled) but you could use Oreos or gingersnaps or chocolate chips, throw in some caramel swirl or lemon curd, or crushed up meringue! 

*sigh* I love my job. 

No Churn Passion Fruit Cheesecake Ice Cream

Makes 1L

225g full fat cream cheese

1 tin (400g) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups cream, whipped to stiff peaks

230g passion fruit pulp

5-8 shortbread biscuits, crumbled

Beat cream cheese until smooth then add in the condensed milk and mix until creamy.

Fold in the whipped cream gently and lightly to retain the air.

Pour a third of the mixture into a freezer-proof container (a metal loaf tin works well), swirl 1/3 of the passion fruit into the mix then crumble over some of the shortbread.

Repeat with the rest of the mix, swirling and scattering in between each layer.

Freeze until firm (about 4 hours). To serve, remove from the freezer for 10 minutes then serve scoops with extra passion fruit pulp and crushed shortbread, if desired.

TIP: Swop out the passion fruit pulp for any fruit puree of your choice - think mango, pineapple, strawberries or blueberries!

Peppermint crisp tart milkshake

You may have noticed that I LOVE taking traditional South African recipes and giving them a fresh new twist. There isn't a South African worth their slip slops that will refuse a scoop of peppermint crisp tart at a braai and when I tried to explain this to Italian boyfriend his reaction was 'What is peppermint crisp?' All of my outrage aside, I had not realised until this moment, that the rest of the earth lives in a world without this glorious confection! Can you just imagine? Shame. 

But don't sympathise too long because what this means, is that there's more for us. Yay. 

 I was given this sexy-looking Zoku Slush & Shake maker in September and have been patiently waiting for the perfect scorcher of a day to take it for a spin. This weekend, it finally happened. Thirty degree heat and I was happy, 'cos I could make my decadent milkshake (which is my take on the peppermint crisp tart) and has been in the back of my mind all along. 

The best part of this milkshake, is that it takes forever to melt because it's made in this clever little gadget. You freeze the core of the Zoku (I just keep it in my freezer so when the urge arises, I can whip up a slushie or milkshake) then just pore in your milk mixture or fruit juice and in minutes, it freezes in front of your eyes. You can even add a little bit of booze... I'll just let that sink in while your mind whirls with all the delicious icy possibilities it can create. Magic stuff. And such a great Christmas gift *hint hint*.

Peppermint crisp tart shakes

Serves 2

1 cup vanilla ice cream

180ml milk

1-2 tbsp caramel

1 peppermint crisp bar, crushed plus extra for garnish

Crushed coconut biscuits, to garnish

Blend the ice cream, milk and caramel until smooth then stir in the crushed peppermint crisp. Pour into the Zoku Slush & Shake and stir until thick. Serve garnished with peppermint crisp pieces and coconut biscuits.

*This post has been sponsored by the awesome people at Zoku who make an array of gadgets to whip up icy delights! Visit their website here or like the Facebook page for more yummy recipes. You can find the Slush & Shake makers at Boardmans, @Home and CNA stores or at Yuppiechef.com

Double desserts: Peppermint crisp tart ice cream sandwiches

The sun is rising later in the mornings and setting earlier in the evenings which means that chilly autumn is rearing it's head. Ever the optimist, I am holding on to summer for as long as possible! These ice cream sandwiches are one of my favourite flavours of South African summer. Inspired by a 'local 'n lekker' dessert, peppermint crisp tart, it is made with only 4 ingredients (like the pudding which inspired it) but is a much better suitor for our steamy climate. It's so easy you can rope (read: trick) the kids in to making them (while you read a book or pour a glass of wine) and the little sarmies are great for serving after a lazy weekend  braai.

Fusing two desserts together, in this case the tart and ice cream sandwich, is one of the trendiest things to do at the moment. Banana split cheesecake, apple crumble cupcakes or smores brownies (am I making you hungry yet), you get the idea. Why? Because if you have a sweet tooth and have ever had to choose between two desserts, you'll know that it's a torturous nightmare. Two desserts in one. Problem solved! Because too much of a sweet thing is never enough! 

Photograph by Christelle Botha for Sanlam Reality

Peppermint crisp tart ice cream sandwiches

(serves 6)

1 packet (250g) coconut biscuits

250ml cream

1/2 (400g) tin caramel

1 peppermint crisp bar (80g), crumbled

Beat the cream until stiff then fold in the caramel and peppermint crisp, leaving a few swirls. Freeze the mixture in a baking dish so it’s about 2cm thick, until firm.

Once firm, arrange the tennis biscuits on top and cut the ice cream into squares. Remove each square, sandwiching another tennis biscuit on the bottom of each ice cream slice. Arrange on a baking tray and freeze again until firm. 

Quick no-churn vanilla ice cream

This past week I have been consumed by a book. So consumed that I could barely tear myself away from it long enough to write this post! ‘The Empress of Ice cream’ by Anthony Capella is a gastro-romance about the unexpectedly heated history of ice cream, most of which is based on true events. It has reawakened my passion for this frozen dessert, just in time for warm weather and summery sunshiney days.

Ice cream is one of those magical treats that everyone loves – they’ve even inspired some wise words; Don Kardong insists that ‘Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos’ which, I happen to completely agree with. I’m sure many a world war has been ended over a shared bowl of chocolate ice cream. But almost everyone can identify with Jim Fiebig’s sentiment that ‘age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone’.  Wiser words have not been uttered.

If you’ve ever tried to make your own ice cream, you will know that there are almost as many recipes out there as there are flavours, and that most of them require an ice cream machine. While I may consider taking out a small home loan to invest in one of these, I don’t expect you to do the same. And so, I’m sharing my fuss-free, no-churn, super-quick ice cream recipe that can be whisked into chocolate, strawberry, mocha, pistachio, or whichever other flavour scoops your vote this summer. And remember, you can’t buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream, and that’s kind of the same thing.

600 ml double cream

1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped

1 x tin condensed milk

Heat the double cream gently and add the vanilla pod and seeds. Bring to the boil then set aside to cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled then remove the vanilla pod.

Whisk the cream and condensed milk together until smooth and thickened slightly.

Pour into a container and freeze for about 4 hours or until firm.

TIP To make a coconut ice cream, simply substitute half the double cream for tinned coconut cream.