FEIJOA & GINGER ICE CREAM + Flourless Feijoa Mini Cakes

April 22nd, 2020

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Everywhere I turn at the moment, I see feijoas. On our daily walks, they are dripping from neighbourhood trees, there are boxes of free fruit on the footpath and our own trees are now dropping their fruit – always a little late as we live in a valley.

We have 4 feijoa trees in the backyard, which equates to a lot of feijoas every autumn. We did have five trees but one had to go this summer to make way for a 5000-litre water tank. And we have since discovered with the new harvest it was the best flavoured one! However, collecting and storing our own water for the garden is something we have dreamed of for years, so sometimes you have to make these sacrifices. 

Excess fruit is scooped and frozen into portions for thawing to make Feijoa Cake and this deliciously creamy ice cream. The basis of the ice cream recipe is to make a sweet feijoa puree to fold through the cream. Feel free to double the quantity if your scooping hand is up to the challenge. And scroll down for a recipe for flourless feijoa cakes (muffins) with a crumble-inspired ingredient list.

Feijoa & Ginger Ice Cream

Optional addition: add 70g chopped dark chocolate to the ice cream when whisking to break up the ice crystals (after being in the freezer for 1 hour).

Servings 600 g

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Freezing Time 4 hours hrs

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups scooped feijoa flesh
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 300 ml cream or coconut cream
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

• Place the scooped feijoa flesh and sugar into a small saucepan and cook gently for 10 minutes until thick and jam-like. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Puree with a stick blender.
• In a large bowl whisk together the cream/coconut cream and honey. Add the feijoa puree, ginger, salt and vinegar and mix well. Tip into a lined loaf tin or deep container and place in the freezer. Set a timer for 1 hour then use a whisk to break up the ice crystals. Repeat this twice more. This step can be skipped, but it will result in a smoother ice cream. *Alternatively use an ice cream maker.
• Thaw the ice cream on the bench for 10-15 minutes to soften before scooping. Or place in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.

Notes

*This recipe was first published in my Homegrown Kitchen 2019 Recipe Calendar.

Feijoa & Oat Mini Cakes

With flour stocks running low, I am doing a fair amount of flour-free baking. In this recipe, I use crumble ingredients as my inspiration and blend rolled oats and coconut into a fine meal (or use ground almonds). The result is little cakes, with lots of flavour and texture.

Servings 6 mini cakes

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Ingredients

• about 20g soft butter
• 2 tbsp rolled oats - smaller porridge oats work best
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 6-8 large feijoas - peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes (little less than 1 cup flesh)
• squeeze of lemon juice
• ¾ cup rolled oats or ground almonds
• ½ cup desiccated coconut
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp honey, maple syrup or sugar
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• First, prepare a regular-sized muffin tray. Generously grease 6 muffin holes with the soft butter. Scatter a teaspoon each of the brown sugar and oats into the base and up the sides.
• Toss the feijoa cubes in the remaining sugar and squeeze of lemon.
• Place the oats and coconut into a food processor and blend into a fine meal. Tip into a bowl, add the eggs, sweetener, ginger and baking powder and mix well to combine. Fold through the feijoa pieces. Evenly spoon the batter into the 6 muffin holes.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until golden and the top springs back when gently pressed. Cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes, then run a small sharp knife around the sides and invert the cakes onto a cooling rack. Serve warm with yoghurt.