Passionfruit Cake with Coconut Cream

Passionfruit Layer Cake

Adapted heavily from Ruby Tandoh’s recipe, Great British Bakeoff & Fine Cooking’s Vanilla Butter Cake.  

Serves: 10-12, two 9-inch layers,

For the cake:

10.5 oz (2 3/4 c.) cake flour

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. table salt

6 oz. (12 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut in 1 Tbs. pieces, room temperature

1/4 c. milk, room temperature

1/2 cup passionfruit pulp (I used the frozen goya product)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

For the coconut cream frosting: 

150 g mascarpone  

75g. cream from chilled can of coconut milk (refrigerated overnight) 

1 Tbsp sugar 

300ml whipping cream 

For the passionfruit curd: 

1 cup sugar

2/3 c. passionfruit pulp  

2 large egg  

2 large egg yolk 

2 1/2 tsp cornstarch

100g unsalted butter  

For the syrup:

1 cup passionfruit pulp 

125 g sugar (to taste)

  

For the cake:

Heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat four 9 inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line bottoms with parchment. 

Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into stand mixer bowl fitted with paddle.  Mix on low until combined. 

Add the softened butter and mix on low (#2) 20-30 seconds.  The mixture should look a little lumpy, with largest lumps about the size of a hazelnut.  Add the milk, passionfruit, and vanilla extract.  Mix on medium (#5) for 1 minute to thoroughly blend and aerate.  Scrape with a spatula.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed for 15 seconds after each addition.   Scrape down the bowl after the 2^nd egg. 

Divide the batter equally between the 4 pans.  Spread the batter evenly in each pan.  Bake until golden brown and the tops feel firm but spring back a little when taped lightly with a finger, and a pick comes out clean, 30-35 min.  Set the pans on a rack, run a table knife around the edge of each cake and let cool in the pans for 30 minutes.  Invert onto rack, lift the pans, peel off the parchment and let the cakes cool completely.  Wrap tightly in plastic after cooling. 

For the curd:

Hand whisk the egg and yolk with the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Stir over low-medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Add the cold butter 3-4 pieces at a time stirring until each pieace is melted and incorporated.    

Turn the heat to low and continue cooking 2-3 minutes until thickened and it coats the back of a spoon.  Strain the curd into a bowl, cover the surface with cling film and leave to cool completely.  

For the syrup:

Place the juice in a small pan with the sugar over a medium heat. Bring the mixture to the boil, boiling for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.  

For the coconut cream:

Place the mascarpone into the clean bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk, and mix to soften.  Measure out 75g of the thick coconut cream at the top of the chilled coconut milk and add this to the mascarpone with the sugar and cream and whisk until thickened.   

To assemble:

Liberally brush the tops with the cooled syrup. Sandwich all 4 cake rounds together in a stack, spreading a generous layer of passionfruit curd between each layer.  Coat the top and sides of the cake with the coconut cream, swirl a little passionfruit curd on top. Chill until ready to serve.