When one of my clever friends gave us a dozen beautiful passion fruit she had grown in her garden I wasn't initially sure how to do justice to such a lovely gift. I didn't want the fruit to end up just like the super sweet 'stuff in the jar'. Luckily, having spent the Easter break at the farm, the pear trees were overflowing with fruit and so a match was made. I've always liked shortcakes; my mother often made them when we were children, and they are a great way to make the most of any seasonal fruit. I'm already contemplating the onset of the feijoa season!
Pear and Passion Fruit Shortcake
125g butter
125g caster sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
the juice and zest of a lemon
the pulp from 5 passion fruit
2 tablespoons icing sugar
5 pears
Preheat the oven to 180deg. C. and line a 25 x 25cm slice tin with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
Fold in the zest and juice of the lemon, followed by the sifted flour and baking powder.
Turn the batter out onto some cooking film; wrap and chill the mixture briefly while you prepare the fruit filling.
Scoop the passion fruit pulp out of the skins.
Mix the pulp with the icing sugar in a large bowl.
Prepare the pears one at a time by peeling and cutting longways into quarters - as shown.
Cut the stem and core from each quarter, then cut each quarter length-ways into three.
Gently stir the pear segments into the passion fruit. This will stop the pears from going brown while you finish preparing them.
Spread three-quarters of the shortcake batter into a lined baking tin.
Arrange the pear segments onto the cake base. Drizzle the remaining passion fruit pulp onto the shortcake.
Dot the remaining quarter of the batter over the pears in small blobs.
Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Leave to rest in the tin for 10 minutes before serving warm.
This cake also stores well in the fridge, and can be easily reheated a slice at a time by about 20 seconds on high in the microwave.
Happy baking! xx
I can't believe its been nearly two weeks since I wrote a blog post. The computers been in and out of the repair shop, the Internet connection went on the blink, all the programmes have been painstakingly reloaded and I'm finally back. I have to admit that after two weeks I felt a pang of regret putting my knitting down in favour of loading all the project photos I have accumulated in the past 10 days. So please forgive me, as its going to take I few days to catchup.
I have made this cake a couple of times. It's gluten free and easily adaptable to whatever fruit you have handy. We took this one over to a friends as part of a casual Friday night tea. In this one I used the course polenta, which gives quite a lot of bite. If you want a smoother finish I suggest using the finely ground variety.
Pineapple and Passionfruit Polenta Cake
180g butter
225g caster sugar
3 eggs
zest of a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 teaspoons baking soda
250g polenta
a small can of pineapple pieces
3 tablespoons passionfruit pulp
Preheat the oven to 170deg. C and line a baking dish with baking paper.
Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition.
Fold in the vanilla and zest, followed by the polenta and baking powder. Lastly fold in the passionfruit and pineapple pieces.
Place the mixture in a lined baking tin. On this occasion I was in a bit of a hurry, so used a wide tin so the cake would cook more quickly.
Smooth over the top and bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes until the cake is golden brown and risen.
This cake is excellent served warm from the oven.
If your feeling virtuous serve it with natural yoghurt, otherwise whipped cream is also excellent.
