Sitaphal - Custard Apple Ice Cream Recipe

Prep: 6 hrs

Cook: 0 mins

Total: 6 hrs

Servings: 2 servings

24 ratings

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Ice cream is nice but fruit and ice cream is next-level goodness. Most people do not associate ice cream with Indian cuisine but there are a fair few ice cream flavors that are uniquely Indian. Sitaphal (Hindi for custard apple) is a lovely, creamy fruit that is common in India and when in season, a great ingredient to add to or serve with any ice cream. We love the slightly grainy texture it brings to sitaphal ice cream!

This recipe is so simple to make, my brother and I would often treat ourselves to it as kids. My mom would come into the kitchen and see us hard at work, making our own dessert. Once we got the hang of it and had experimented with other fruit, we became quite the ice cream creators, churning out some unique and tasty flavors. With such few ingredients required and the necessary skill level quite low, this is a good little treat to involve your kids with preparing.

Sitaphals are ripe in the winter months in India. While this recipe is for sitaphal, you can use any creamy fruit or a combination of a few. Enjoy.

1 cup sitaphal pulp, seeds removed
2 large egg whites
1 2/3 cups (400 milliliters) thick heavy cream, or double cream, chilled
1/3 cup superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a deep bowl, mash the custard apple to a coarse pulp using a fork. Now cover with cling wrap and freeze slightly (not until rock solid).
While the sitaphal is chilling, whisk the 2 egg whites in a clean, dry bowl with a hand beater till they get fluffy and soft peaks are formed in them. The key is to separate the egg white from the yolks very, very carefully... even the smallest bit of yolk will prevent the whites from getting fluffy and will impact the light texture of the ice cream greatly.
In a separate bowl, whisk the cream, sugar, and essence together. Be careful not to whisk too much as the cream may turn to butter. This happened to my brother and I a few times, so I say it with the voice of experience.
Now add the custard apple pulp to the cream mixture and use a spoon to mix the 2 together.
Gently fold this mixture into the egg whites... the idea is to retain as much of the air in the egg whites as possible to get silky, fluffy, light ice cream. Once fully blended, pour into a freezer bowl and cover with cling wrap.
Freeze for 3 hours or until firm. Remove from the freezer and whisk again till smooth.
Put back in the freezer and leave it there till firm again. Scoop out into individual bowls and serve.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve my sitaphal ice cream as an ingredient in another regal dessert—Shahi Falooda.
Top yummy maharashtrian puran poli (sweet, pan-fried flatbread) with a dollop of my sitaphal ice cream.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
951	Calories
73g	Fat
68g	Carbs
12g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2
Amount per serving
Calories	951
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 73g	94%
Saturated Fat 47g	233%
Cholesterol 228mg	76%
Sodium 121mg	5%
Total Carbohydrate 68g	25%
Dietary Fiber 6g	20%
Total Sugars 39g
Protein 12g
Vitamin C 47mg	233%
Calcium 166mg	13%
Iron 1mg	6%
Potassium 556mg	12%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.