Passion Fruit Meringue Tarts Food

PASSION FRUIT MERINGUE TARTS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, mix egg yolks, passion fruit puree, sugar, and cornstarch. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until thick.
• Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Stir in the oil and refrigerate for at least an hour with plastic wrap directly on the passion fruit curd.
• Put all the ingredients of the Meringue Topping in the bowl of a stand mixer (you can do it with a hand held mixer, but it has to mix for about 10-15 minutes).
• Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir by hand until the sugar has dissolved completely in the egg whites. To know if the sugar has dissolved, you can take a small quantity of the mixture and rub with your fingers. If you feel sugar granules, keep going. If it's completely smooth, the sugar has dissolved.
• Place the bowl in its stand and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form and the bowl is back to room temperature.
• To make these you can use store bought tart shells or make them yourself. If you are making them a couple of days in advance, coat the tart shells in a very thin layer of chocolate (I prefer white) so that they remain delicious and don't go soggy on you.
• The first step in assembling these beauties is filling the bottoms with the passion fruit curd. So, take out the passion fruit curd from the fridge and give it a good mix until it's smooth. I like using a piping bag to fill the tart shells; it gives them a more uniform and refined look.
• It's time to add the meringue topping. Pipe it on with a star tip (or whatever tip you prefer) in a circular motion starting from the center out to make a rosette look.
• If you have a blowtorch now's the time to use it. If not, no worries, you can use the broiler function in your oven. Put the tarts as close as you can to the broiling elements of your oven, leave the oven door open and WATCH them. It only takes a couple of seconds and the tarts are done!

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 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 TARTS

Steps:

• For the filling: In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the butter, sugar, eggs, and passion fruit juice until the mixture is thick and will hold a line, about 12 minutes. Transfer the double-boiler insert to a larger bowl filled with ice and cold water, and stir occasionally until cool. The mixture will be quite thick.
• For the crust: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour, the salt, lard, and butter and rub together with the tips of your fingertips until the mixture resembles small peas. Add the remaining 1/4 cup flour and bring together into a rough mass. Add the ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time and press into the mixture with a fork or your fingertips just until the mixture adheres into a dough. You may not need all the ice water. Press the dough into a ball and refrigerate for 2 hours.
• To assemble the tarts: Roll the dough out to 1/8-inch thick and, using a small plate or a cardboard template, cut the dough into six 4 1/2-inch diameter rounds. Transfer the rounds to 2 baking sheets, prick all over with a fork, and freeze for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425.
• Bake the tart bases for 12 to 15 minutes, until slightly golden. Using a large heavy spatula, transfer them to a rack (they crumble easily) and, when cool, spread with a nice thick layer of the passionfruit curd almost out to the edges of the pastry. Scatter the pistachio nuts around the very edges of the tarts and serve.

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.