This deliciously retro dessert includes a frightening number of my most commonly avoided baking tasks – I’m still amazed that I even attempted it. It included the following:

1. Pastry – Temperamental. Fiddly. Precision required. Avoid at all costs.
2. Anything gelatine related – Yuck. Ew. Shudder. The texture alone. Easy to ruin. Avoid at all costs.
3. Multi-layered cooking – Planning required. Reading ahead required. Multiple opportunities for disaster. Avoid at all costs.

And yet, the passionfruit sitting on my kitchen bench were begging to be made into this. I had also acquired a very fancy rolling pin some time ago that I had not yet used (so great is my fear of pastry). The rolling pin is adjustable depending on how thick you want your dough (see below). So I put my game face on.

You will need: (note. 1 oz = approx. 28g)

 Pastry: 2 oz. self-raising flour, 2 oz. plain flour, 1 oz. custard powder, pinch salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 3 oz. butter (or substitute), 2 tablespoons milk or water.

 Filling: 2 oz. butter, 1/2 cup sugar, pulp 2 or 3 passionfruit, 2 dessertspoons cornflour, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 egg-yolk.

Marshmallow: 1/2 cup hot water, 1/2 cup castor sugar, 1 teaspoon gelatine, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 egg-white, extra passionfruit pulp (about 3).

Do this:

Pastry: Sift dry ingredients into basin, rub in butter; mix to firm dough with milk or water.  Kneed lightly on floured board, roll to 1/4 inch thickness. Line in a 9 inch pie dish, trim, and pinch edges. Prick pastry with fork (oops). Bake in hot oven (about 200 c) for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Allow to cool, prepare filling.

Filling: Place in saucepan the butter, sugar, water and cornflour (which has been combined with lemon juice). Stir over low heat until mixture boils. (Mine boiled pretty darn quickly because I think I forgot the water . . . oops). Add passionfruit pulp, continue stirring, simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add beaten egg yolk. Cool slightly. Dollop onto and spread into pastry case. Meanwhile, prepare marshmallow topping.

Topping: Dissolve gelatine in hot water. Allow to cool. Add lemon juice. Beat egg-white with beaters stiffly. Gradually add dissolved gelatine, then sugar, beating continually until thick. Pile on top of filling in pastry case. Trickle extra passionfruit pulp on top. Allow to chill in the fridge.

Verdict?

This dessert was delicious. The passionfruit and lemon gave it a nice tangy and the ever so subtle saltiness of the pastry meant that it wasn’t overly sweet. It also wasn’t too heavy. Not only that but it turned out pretty darn well. It’s given me the confidence to try pastry and layered cooking again.

But I’m interested to know. What are you scared of when it comes to cooking?

Love Kath and Kate xx