Passion Fruit Meringue Cake

A refreshing curd with a sweet topping!

A delicious lemon sponge, a refreshing passion fruit curd with a sweet and sticky meringue topping.

For the curd, you will need:-

30g of butter

40g of caster sugar

3 passion fruit

1 egg yolk

For the cake, you will need:-

230g of butter

230g of flour

230 of sugar

4 eggs

2 lemons

For the meringue, you will need:-

2 egg whites

100g of caster sugar

First, make the bottom sponge cake. Preheat the oven to 200C. Mix 115g of sugar and 115g of butter in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Then add 115g of flour, 2 eggs and the rind of a lemon, combine this and beat in as much air as possible. Pour this mixture into a cake tin and bake for 20-25mins. When fully baked, remove from the oven and leave to stand.

For the second step, make the curd. Take 3 passion fruit and cut them in half, spoon out the centre and place into a sieve that is placed over a saucepan. Use the back of a spoon to get as much juice out of the passion fruit pulp as possible. Then, add 30g of butter (chopped), 40g of caster sugar and 1 egg yolk to the sauce pan. Heat over a low flame and stir constantly for 10-15mins. When the curd has thickened, place into a bowl and leave to cool in the refrigerator for an hour.

Now, make the top sponge cake layer (ensuring that the oven is still heated for 200C). To do this, place 115g of sugar and 115g of butter in a large mixing bowl, and cream together until smooth. Then add 115g of flour, 2 eggs and the rind of a lemon, combine this and beat in as much air as possible. Pour this mixture into a cake tin and bake until the cake is pale and firm (approximately 10mins). While this is in the oven, make the meringue topping. Place the egg whites into a large bowl and use an electric whisk to beat in plenty of air, until the mixture forms stiff peaks. Gentle fold in 50g of caster sugar, then gentle fold in another 50g of sugar.

When the sponge is pale and slightly hard to the touch, take out of the oven and turn the heat down to 150C. Spread (or pipe) the meringue over the top of the sponge. Return to the oven for about 10-15mins, until the meringue is lightly brown. When baked, remove from the oven and leave to cool. When fully cool, spread the passion fruit curd over the base sponge and place the meringue sponge on top.

Tip: If you want to make the passion fruit curd separately to put into jars, use four times the ingredients (120g of butter, 160g of caster sugar, 12 passion fruit, 4 egg yolk) and it may be nice to include the pips.

Enjoy! x