27 Mar 2011

tiny tropical explosions


A simple weekend was well spent with mini friands filled with flavour. Filled friands, inspired by hot jam doughnuts and a sponge muffin filled with orange cream from a street bakery savoured while walking through the bustling streets in Malaysia's pasar malam.

I'm at home celebrating (although stuck with a few university assignments due the coming week) a cloudy and windy day with a summery feel bake. Just to bring back a little colour and warmth to a dull coloured day.


The friand itself has three components; the white chocolate and coconut friand itself, a tangy tart passion fruit gel and a sweet passion fruit cream on top. The friand eaten by itself is like eating a cake like moist coconut macaroon; the passion fruit gel a tad sour to enjoy itself and the cream perhaps a tad to sweet to eat alone. However, paired together, it creates a delectable experience, a tiny explosion of tropical flavours!

***

passion fruit friands
friand recipe adapted from Julie Le Clerc's white chocolate, coconut and peach friands
via more simple cafe food 

ingredients:
makes 20 mini muffin sized friands
  • 50 g unsalted butter
  • 50 g white chocolate
  • 1/2 cup fine desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1/4 cup plain flour
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 Tb passion fruit pulp, strained
method:

Heat the oven to 180°C. Grease 20 mini muffin holes or place mini muffin cups into the holes.

Gently melt the unsalted butter and white chocolate together. Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl. Stir until just combined. Pour mixture into prepared pans - they should be about just more than 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until pale gold and skewer comes out clean when inserted.

Allow to stand in pans for 5 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.

passion fruit gel
  • 1/4 cup passion fruit juice*
  • 1 1/2 tsp potato starch
  • 3 tsp water
note: to get passion fruit juice, strain passion fruit pulp in a fine sieve 

method:

Dissolve the potato starch in the water and mix it into the strained passion fruit pulp.

Cook over over low heat until the liquid becomes thick and gelatinous. Cool before placing it into a piping bag with a 1.5 mm round piping tip.  

passion fruit cream
I suggest halving the recipe as it does create a surplus
  • 200 ml cold thickened cream
  • 1/4 cup caster sugar
  • 2 Tb passion fruit juice*
note: to get passion fruit juice, strain passion fruit pulp in a fine sieve

method:

Whip cream until soft peaks stage, gradually add the caster sugar and passion fruit juice while beating until the cream is stiff and stays in shape when piped. Refrigerate cream until slightly firmer before placing it into a piping bag with a tip of your choice. (I used a 6 mm star tip)

 to assemble:
  • cooled passion fruit friands
  • passion fruit gel
  • passion fruit cream
  • poppy seeds (optional)
Prick a hole in the friand with the tip of the piping tip, then pipe a small amount of passion fruit gel into each one. (It doesn't matter if it comes out over the top as the cream can cover it)

Pipe a small dollop of passion fruit cream on top of the passion fruit gel and sprinkle poppy seeds if you desire.