Passion Fruit Meringue Tart 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.

FROZEN PASSION FRUIT MERINGUE CAKE

Steps:

• Make meringue layers:
• Preheat oven to 275°F.
• Draw 3 (14- by 3-inch) rectangles, about 3/4 inch apart, on parchment. Turn paper over (rectangles will be visible) and put it on a lightly buttered large baking sheet.
• Beat whites with a pinch of salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they hold soft peaks. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, then increase speed to high and continue beating until whites hold stiff glossy peaks, about 4 minutes with a standing mixer or 8 to 10 minutes with a handheld. Transfer meringue to pastry bag fitted with 1/3-inch tip and fill in rectangles completely. Gently smooth tops, then bake in middle of oven until firm and very pale golden, 45 to 60 minutes. Slide meringue layers (on parchment) onto a large rack. Cool completely, then carefully peel off parchment.
• Make mousse while meringues bake:
• Melt butter with cornstarch, passion-fruit pulp, and 3/4 cup sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Whisk together whole egg and yolks in a large bowl until combined, then add butter mixture in a stream, whisking. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until thick enough to hold mark of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer curd immediately to a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and cool, stirring occasionally, until cold.
• Beat cream with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Fold 2 cups whipped cream into curd gently but thoroughly to form a mousse (for filling and icing).
• Transfer 3/4 cup whipped cream to a small bowl and reserve, chilled, for cream layer. Fold 1/2 cup mousse into remaining whipped cream, then transfer to cleaned pastry bag fitted with 1/8-inch tip and reserve, chilled, for decorative icing.
• Assemble cake and freeze:
• Arrange 1 meringue layer, flat side down, on platter and spread evenly with 3/4 cup mousse. Cover with another meringue layer and spread evenly with reserved whipped cream. Cover with remaining meringue layer, flat side up, and spread remaining mousse evenly over top and sides of cake, smoothing with a cake spatula. Pipe icing decoratively on top of cake, then freeze, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours.
• About 1 hour before serving, put cake in refrigerator to soften slightly.

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.