PAVULOUS White Chocolate Ice Cream with Pavlova & Passion Fruit

Around Christmas I always get really greedy, especially when it comes to buying a Pavlova.

One Christmas, my little family of four bought a massive Pavlova, with a recommended serving size of no less than twenty four! Last Christmas I bought a standard size - still pretty huge for just two people. It took us ages to get through that mammoth Trifle, which I posted awhile back. So my lonely pavlova was sitting in my pantry for a month, yearning to be eaten. Then before you know it, it was Australia Day - the day to celebrate the Pavlova. 

What is a Pavlova, you ask! It's Australia's favourite dessert - a light and airy dessert with a  sweet foamy texture and a delicious crunchy meringue on the outside. The best way to serve your Pavlova is to keep it simple. Traditionally, it's laden with freshly whipped cream and then garnished with fruits of the season. We Aussies typically eat a 'Pav' in Summer, so berries, mango and passionfruit are popular choices for toppings.

I was really happy with the white chocolate, passionfruit and Pavlova combination. The passionfruit gives a sour kick to help balance the super sweet flavour of the Pavlova and white chocolate. I can judge its success by the very short duration it lasted in our freezer!

I would be happy just eating a white chocolate ice cream on its own. The straining of the custard over the finely chopped white chocolate made the ice cream super smooth and it's creaminess would even make the Milky Bar Kid very proud.

WHITE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
Recipe based on David Lebovitz's  White Chocolate Ice Cream

Makes about 1 litre


Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup (130 g) sugar
• 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
• 1 cup plus 1 cup heavy cream (500 ml, total)
• 8 ounces (230 g) white chocolate, finely chopped
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 enormous Pavlova (if you want to make one, I recommend this recipe)
• Passion fruit pulp - use 4-6 passion fruits.

Method:

• Place finely chopped chocolate pieces in a large bowl and place a mesh strainer over the top.
• Warm milk, sugar and salt together in a medium-sized saucepan.
• Separate the egg yolks into a medium-sized bowl and whisk.
• Take the saucepan off the heat and very slowly add the egg yolks, whisking constantly.
• Stir combined mixture constantly over medium heat, scraping the bottom and sides regularly with a heatproof spatula. Heat and stir until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.
• Pour custard through the mesh strainer over the white chocolate and stir until the white chocolate has melted.
• Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the cream.
• Let mixture cool in an ice bath and/or chill the mixture in the fridge.
• Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Smash in the Pavlova and passion fruit pulp and serve.