PASSIONFRUIT DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS PASSIONFRUIT

Is passionfruit sexy or ugly? It gets points for its sensually textured exterior, bright oozing interior, and heady smell, but really, it's not "pretty." It's the Barbara Stanwyck of fruit. Gloriously sexy in an unconventional way. Tough and difficult to handle, but pulsating with passion (or pulp!) underneath. She'll probably pull a gun on you and double cross you two ways 'til Sunday, but regardless, you love her. And in this little love letter to passionfruit, we show her tart but delicate, and sweet and sloppy.

Passionfruit Delicious

This recipe is based off of a dish called "Lemon Delicious," which I love simply because it sounds like a poorly translated nail salon name. No articles, no verbs, just a noun and adjective in reverse order, like Yoda-speak. I found this newspaper clipping tucked away in my mom's massive recipe binder and the weird grammar called to me so I had to make it. The passionfruit is the perfect substitution for the lemon with its tartness, and brings a tropical note to the dish. It cooks like an angel food cake on top and like a gooey custard on the bottom. I served mine with a dollop of lemon scented whipped cream, and after a bite, grunted out a satisified, "Passionfruit....Delicioussssssssss." I guess I now know how it got its name.

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, separated

3/4 cup superfine sugar

2 tablespoons self-raising flour

3/4 cup passionfruit pulp (about 6 passionfruit)

1 1/2 cups of milk (I used 2%)

Powdered sugar, for dusting

For the cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1 lemon, zested

1 tablespoon superfine sugar

Directions:

Beat the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl with a hand mixer on high speed until thick and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Gradually beat in the flour and passionfruit pulp, then beat in the milk. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. In two batches, fold the egg whites into the main mixture, until combined. Pour the mixture into a deep, 6 cup capacity ovenproof dish (I used pyrex). Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes, or until golden on top and firm to the touch. In a separate bowl, whip the cream, lemon zest, and tablespoon of sugar until soft peaks form. Sift the passionfruit delicious with powdered sugar and serve with the cream.

Passionfruit, Yellow Nectarine, and Lime Sorbet

Trying to make pure passionfruit sorbet would take at least 20-30 passionfruit, and not having those resources, I had to fenagle the situation a bit. Enter yellow nectarines and limes, which bring a sweetness and a tartness respectively that embellish the passionfruit's own delicate flavor.

Ingredients:

1 cup passionfruit pulp (about 8 passionfruit)

3 yellow nectarines, peeled and thinly sliced

Zest and Juice of 1 lime

1/2 cup of sugar

Directions:

Boil the nectarines for 3 minutes, cool, and peel. The skin will come right off. Slice the nectarines into a food processor. You should have about 1-2 cups of slices. In a separate saucepan, dissolve the sugar into a few tablespoons of passionfruit juice. Add the sugar, remaining passionfruit pulp, taste and add more lime or sugar if necessary. Strain to remove the seeds and any chunks of nectarine. Chill completely, then freeze in your ice cream maker. Enjoy!