This granadilla (passion fruit) popsicle recipe is quintessentially summer and so easy to make. I’ve tried to develop a texture soft enough to eat without falling apart, because who likes to bite into a rock-solid piece of ice?

Passion fruit popsicle (granadilla) recipe

Made with only 3 ingredients and a splash of optional rum (or vodka), the only effort here is scooping the flesh out of the granadilla.

This recipe uses a lot of fruit, so this is perfect for mid-summer when passion fruit is in peak season. I’ve adapted my favourite passion fruit sorbet recipe to make these popsicles and opted for half a cup of sugar as the fruit I used was very ripe. You could even knock this back to 1/3 of a cup if you preferred them less sweet.

We call passion fruit granadilla in South Africa which is strange because sweet granadilla is a different species native to South America. It’s a fruit that transports me directly to my childhood at my grandparents’ home in Johannesburg. We would swim all day and pick granadilla off the vines which grew prolifically next to their pool. We savagely bit into the skin and sucked the sweet gelatinous seeds straight out of the shells. No cutting or spooning out was required.

Why do you add alcohol to sorbet or popsicles?

Alcohol doesn’t freeze, so adding a splash (up to a maximum of 45ml per litre of sorbet or ice cream) helps create softer textured ice cream. With these passion fruit popsicles, I didn’t want the alcohol to impart any flavour so I used white rum (or vodka). If I wanted to add interesting flavours to my ice cream or sorbet with the booze, I would choose a specific flavour. Like my pink grapefruit and Campari sorbet, crimson grape sorbet with red wine, coffee tequila ice cream with smashed malted chocolates, and my pina colada popsicles.

How do you create a softer texture in ice cream and sorbet?

Sugar, fat, and gelatin also help create a softer texture which is why you shouldn’t reduce the sugar too much or replace it with sugar replacements. I often use whipped egg white to create a softer texture in sorbet too.

To find out how else you can make your ice cream scoop softer, and in more detail, check out David Lebovitz’s tips here.

The real rules of making boozy ice creams

Recipe – this makes exactly 10 large popsicles with a 95ml capacity (the quantity would depend on the size of your ice cream molds)

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Ingredients

1/2 cup of sugar drop to 1/3 of a cup for very ripe and sweet fruit
1 cup of fresh orange juice 250ml
2 cups of fresh granadilla pulp 500ml
2 Tbsp vodka or white rum optional

Instructions

Heat the orange juice and add the sugar, stirring until it has dissolved.
Add the granadilla pulp. Allow to cool then chill in the fridge.
Stir through the vodka and pour the stirred liquid into a 10 hole popsicle mold. Place the sticks in the mold, seal, and freeze until solid and ready to eat.