Nothing says autumn like a homemade, feijoa-rippled treat. 

Photo: Emma Boyd

Here’s a great time-saving tip. If you’re blessed with too many feijoas, bag them up and pop them in the freezer — no need to chop or peel. Then, when you’re ready to use, take them out of the freezer to defrost for half an hour or so until the skins start to soften and peel them, ready to use in smoothies, crumbles, chutneys or ice cream.

Makes: 6-8 serves
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cook time: 30-35 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Feijoa ripple:
500g feijoas, peeled, roughly chopped
¼ cup sugar

Ice cream base:
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
250ml milk
1 vanilla pod, split in two lengthways
3 egg yolks
115g sugar
200ml cream
200g mascarpone

METHOD

Put the feijoas and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes or until thick and jammy. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Set aside.

Put the grated ginger into a sieve and push down on it with the back of a spoon over a small bowl to collect the liquid. (You should end up with about 2 tablespoons.) Discard the solids. Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat until it just begins to simmer. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla pod. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, sugar and the ginger juice and beat until pale and fluffy. Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and, using a knife, scrape out its seeds and return them to the saucepan.

Pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream, whisking continuously. Return to the saucepan and, over low heat, cook the custard, stirring continuously until it thickens. This will take 10 minutes or so and, once done, it will become noticeably smooth and silky. Be sure to keep the heat low as the custard can split. Remove from the heat and set it aside to cool. (If your custard does split, take it off the heat and whisk vigorously until it comes back together.) Leave to cool.

Beat the cream until soft peaks form, then whisk in the mascarpone before gently folding in the custard. Pour the mixture into a loaf tin. Then pour or spoon the feijoa mixture in three lines lengthways on top of the ice-cream mixture. Drag a skewer through in a zig-zag pattern, then straight through lengthways from top to bottom twice to create a ripple effect. Put the tin into a large bag or cover with plastic wrap and put it into the freezer overnight.

Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving to allow the ice cream to soften a little.