Passion Fruit Meringue Pie Food

PASSION-FRUIT MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Crust:Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Pulse crackers in a food processor until finely ground. Pulse in butter and granulated sugar until combined. Firmly press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Filling:Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, gently whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, and passion-fruit puree. Pour filling into crust.
• Bake until center is set but still quivers when pie dish is nudged, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Meringue Topping:Add topping shortly before serving. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and gradually add both sugars and salt, beating until stiff peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Pipe or spread meringue on pie, making sure it touches the crust all around. Lightly brown meringue with a kitchen torch.

PASSION-FRUIT MERINGUE TART

Steps:

• Make curd:
• Whisk together eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl until smooth.
• Heat passion-fruit purée in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until heated through, then add hot purée to egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Return to saucepan. Whisk in butter, 1 cube at a time, over moderate heat and cook, whisking frequently, until mixture is thickened and just comes to a boil, about 6 minutes. Cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes more. Force curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and chill, its surface covered with wax paper, at least 8 hours.
• Make pastry while curd chills:
• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl (or pulse in a food processor). Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse) until mixture resembles coarse meal with some roughly pea-size butter lumps. Beat together yolk and water with a fork and stir into flour mixture (or pulse) until combined well.
• Squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more water, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, to dough, stirring (or pulsing) until just combined. (Do not overwork, or pastry will be tough.)
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all of dough together with scraper and press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. Chill, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Bring dough to cool room temperature before rolling out, about 30 minutes.
• Lightly dust dough with flour and roll out between 2 sheets of wax paper into a 12-inch round. Fit dough into tart pan (discard paper), pressing with floured fingers onto bottom and up side of pan. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch and fold inside, pressing against rim of pan, then chill shell 30 minutes.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights. Bake until edge is pale golden, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake shell until bottom and side are golden, 20 to 25 minutes more. Cool completely in pan on a rack. Remove side of pan.
• Make meringue and assemble tart:
• Combine whites and salt in a bowl.
• Bring sugar and water to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Put thermometer facedown into sugar syrup, resting other end against rim of saucepan, and continue to boil (but do not stir), brushing any sugar crystals down side of pan with pastry brush dipped in water.
• When syrup reaches about 235°F, beat egg whites with salt at medium-high speed until they just hold soft peaks.
• When syrup reaches 238 to 242°F, immediately remove syrup from heat and pour in a slow, thin stream down side of bowl into whites (avoid beaters), beating at high speed until meringue is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes in a stand mixer or 15 with a handheld.
• Transfer shell to a cake plate. Spoon curd into shell and spread evenly. Dollop meringue on top of curd, then spread to edge of crust. Draw meringue up into peaks with a rubber spatula.
• Move blowtorch flame evenly back and forth over meringue peaks, holding flame 1 to 2 inches from meringue to avoid burning, until lightly browned in spots.
• *Available at Latino markets and some supermarkets.

PASSION MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Dust the work surface with a little flour, then roll the pastry out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use to line a deep, 23cm loose-bottom flan tin and chill until firm. Line with greaseproof paper and a layer of baking beans, then bake for 20 mins. Remove the paper and beans, then return to the oven for 5 mins until pale golden in colour. Leave to cool.
• For the filling, cut the passion fruit in half, then scoop the pulp of 10 into a sieve over a large jug. Rub the pulp and juice through the sieve; discard the seeds. Scoop the pulp and seeds of the remaining fruit into the juice. You should now have 150ml in total - so make up with orange juice if you don't have enough. In a pan, mix the cornflour with the sugar, then gradually stir in 200ml cold water followed by the passion fruit. Cook over a medium heat, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens. Take the pan off the heat and whisk the yolks into the hot mixture.
• Reduce oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. For the meringue, whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the sugar until thick and glossy. Reheat the filling briefly, then spread over the pastry base. Spoon the meringue over the filling, starting from the pastry edge and working your way into the middle, then gently swirl the spoonfuls together. Bake for 20 mins until the meringue is lightly golden. Serve warm or cold.

PASSION FRUIT MERINGUE TARTLETS

Steps:

• For the curd: Fill a medium saucepan 1/3 full of water. Bring to a low boil. In a stainless steel bowl whisk together the egg yolks, eggs, and sugar. Stir in the passion fruit juice. Set the bowl into the pot of water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Cook the mixture, stirring frequently until thick, about 10 minutes. Strain the curd. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until cold. Fill the tartlet shells with the curd. Set aside.
• For the meringue: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Fill a medium pot 1/3 full of water. Bring the water to a slow boil. In a bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl in the hot water and cook, whisking continually until hot. Remove from the water and place the bowl on the electric mixer. Whip on medium until stiff. Place the meringue in a pastry bag. Pipe it on top of the tartlets, completely covering the curd. Bake the tartlets until the meringue is golden brown, about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

PASSION-FRUIT MERINGUES

Steps:

• Make meringue layers:
• Preheat oven to 200°F. and oil a baking sheet. On a sheet of parchment paper, using a 3- or 4-inch heart-shaped cutter as a guide, draw 6 hearts. Turn parchment over and put on baking sheet.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat whites with cream of tartar and a pinch salt until they just hold soft peaks. Gradually beat in sugar and beat until meringue just holds stiff, glossy peaks.
• Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip and pipe evenly onto parchment hearts, filling them in. (Alternatively, divide meringue among parchment hearts, spreading with a small spatula to fill in.)
• Bake meringue layers in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until crisp and firm. (If weather is humid, cooking time may be longer.) Cool meringue layers completely on baking sheet in turned-off oven and carefully peel off parchment. Meringue layers may be kept, layered between sheets of parchment paper, in an airtight container in a cool, dry place 1 week.
• Make filling:
• Halve 3 passion fruits and scoop out pulp (including seeds and juice) into a sieve set over a bowl. Force pulp through sieve, pressing hard on seeds, and discard seeds. In a bowl beat cream until it holds soft peaks and fold in passion-fruit juice and sugar until just combined.
• Make garnish:
• Halve remaining passion fruit and scoop out seeds, reserving them. Halve pomegranate. Bending back rinds, dislodge some seeds from membranes, reserving them, and reserve some juice.
• Arrange a meringue heart on each of 2 plates. Top hearts with whipped cream and garnish with some reserved passion-fruit and pomegranate seeds. Top each dessert with 1 more meringue heart. Desserts may be made 2 hours ahead and chilled, loosely covered. Bring desserts to room temperature before serving.
• Garnish desserts with more passion-fruit and pomegranate seeds and some reserved juice.

PASSION FRUIT PIE

Steps:

• For crust: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine crumbs, butter and sugar in medium bowl. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of 9 inch pie pan. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool.
• Filling: If using fresh passion fruit, cut in half and scoop out pulp. Blend gently in food processor until seeds separate from pulp but do not crush seeds. Strain puree.
• Put 3/4 cup puree in heavy medium saucepan. Mix in yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, gelatin and salt. Stir constantly over low heat until sugar and gelatin are dissolved and it has thickened so your finger drawn across the back of the spoon leaves a trail, about 3-4 minutes. Do not boil.
• Strain puree/egg mixture into a medium bowl and cool stirring occasionally.
• Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar into soft peaks. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar slowly and continue beating until stiff but not dry.
• Fold whites into fruit puree.
• Whip cream in another bowl and fold into fruit mixture. Fold in citron is using.
• Spoon filling into crust, cover with plastic and freeze at least 4 hours. (Can be prepared up to three days ahead).
• Let pie stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
• Garnish with candied violets or shaved chocolate, if desired.