Decadent Sitaphal Cream

By
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Petrina Verma Sarkar
Food writer Petrina Verma Sarkar is a native of India with extensive knowledge of the country's regional cuisines.
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Updated on 09/22/22
Decadent sitaphal cream

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Chill Time: 60 mins
Total: 65 mins
Servings: 2 to 3 servings

While in Bombay, we would travel almost an hour just to eat a tub of sitaphal cream at the famous Haji Ali Mosque. It is in high demand, and people line up to buy it. Usually, when we love a food item this much, we try to cajole the chef to share the recipe with us. Sometimes we get it and most often we don't. If we can't get the recipe, then we try to deconstruct and recreate it ourselves; which is what we did with this one.

Making sitaphal cream is as easy as it gets. It's a few ingredients and just a few simple steps. Even though it doesn't freeze well, you can still have it at short notice. Deseeding custard apples is time-consuming work but totally worth it. One time-saving tip is to buy them in season and deseed a big batch, then divide into portions and freeze in freezer bags. That way all you do is take out, thaw, and use when you feel the urge for a yummy and easy-to-make dessert.

Sitaphal cream is the kind of dessert that makes you feel you've died and gone straight to dessert heaven. It is so rich and creamy. That said, you can only have a little at a time or then be prepared to exercise it off the next day. We feel like there's no need to say more on the subject. Try it yourself and see.

Ingredients

  • 1 large or 2 medium peeled and seeded custard apples, or cherimoyas

  • 1 1/3 cups cold heavy whipping cream

  • 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for decadent sitaphal cream recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  2. If you want smaller pieces of fruit in the cream, roughly chop up the fruit into pieces of the size you prefer.

    Cut the custard apples into pieces

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  3. In a large, chilled, (preferably metal) bowl, mix the cream, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract in a mixing bowl, and stir to blend.

    Mix the cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  4. Add the deseeded sitaphal (custard apple) and stir gently to mix well. Chill for an hour or so in the fridge before serving.

    Decadent sitaphal cream in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Recipe Variation

This recipe can be adapted similarly to a few different fruits. It works well with chikkoo (sapodilla), strawberries, mangoes, pineapple, and lychees or a combination of these fruits. You can use fruit that is not too tart. It is probably not a recipe to try with most citrus fruits.

Tips

Sitaphal cream tastes really good as a side/accompaniment with other desserts like halwa; try it with badam ka halwa or moong daal halwa. Total decadence!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
163 Calories
4g Fat
32g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2 to 3
Amount per serving
Calories 163
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 2g 12%
Cholesterol 11mg 4%
Sodium 11mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 32g 12%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 30mg 152%
Calcium 27mg 2%
Iron 1mg 3%
Potassium 218mg 5%
*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.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)