I decided to make cupcakes with the nectar and icing with the pureed fruit. In addition, I wanted them to have a dark chocolate filling. I also got some chocolate sprinkles to top off the icing. It looks I got a little impatient with the above photo because I could not get a clean cut. The frosting went down over the tunnel of chocolate.
The cake part turned out light and airy due to the egg whites. I was glad because it was a good palette, allowing for the tartness of the icing and the rich chocolate filling to really be the leading acts of flavor.
The recipe below makes about 20 cupcakes.
Passion Fruit Cupcakes
by flourtrader
Ingredients/for cake
6 egg whites
3/4 cup passion fruit nectar
red & yellow food coloring (orange colored cake is optional)
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
8 tbs or 1 stick of butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
Ingredients/Dark Chocolate Filling
2 tsp of butter
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 lb or 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
Ingredients/Passion Fruit icing
1 tbs butter
1 tsp passion fruit nectar
1 passion fruit (mine was the size of an apricot)
1 cup of sifted powdered sugar
To make the cake, take out 2 muffin tins and grease the top edge of the holders and then line with cupcake papers. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer until the batter becomes light and fluffy. It should take about 3 minutes on medium speed. Set aside.
In another bowl, sift flour, salt and baking power together. Sift one more time. Then pour half of this dry mixture into the sugar batter. Fold the flour into the batter by using a spatula or wooden spoon until no dry streaks remain. Stir in the fruit nectar until well blended. Pour the remaining dry flour mixture into the batter and mix thoroughly. If using food coloring, stir in a few drops at a time, checking the color. Continue adding drops and stirring until desired color is met. Set aside..
Pull out another bowl and fill with egg whites and cream of tartar. Using clean mixer beaters, whip eggs whites on high until stiff peaks are formed but mixture is still shiny and not dry. Fold the egg whites into the batter with a spatula until evenly blended.
Fill the cavities of the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 2 minutes. Then remove cupcakes and place on rack to finish cooling.
After the cupcakes have cooled, use a knife or cupcake corer to take out a small cylinder or cone of cake from the center of the cupcake. Now you are prepared for the next step of the filling.
To make the filling, place a saucepan over medium high heat. Put the cream and the butter in the saucepan and let cook until it comes to a rolling boil. Then add the chocolate and stir for 1 minute and remove from heat. Continue to stir an additional 5 minutes. This will result in a smooth and shiny filling. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.
After the filling has cooled, get out a gallon freezer bag and cut off a small piece of the corner. Using a large spoon, put filling into bag. Then pipe chocolate into cupcake cavities until chocolate reaches the top. Let filled cupcakes sit for at least an hour before frosting.
To prepare the filling, cut passion fruit in half and pull out interior fruit and place in a blender. Pulse a few times and then put into a mesh strainer. Push pulp through strainer into a small bowl, leaving the seeds behind.
Add sugar, butter and pulp to a small bowl and beat with an electric mixer. Add the nectar and beat again. At this point you can add more nectar or add more sugar-depending on what consistency you want. However, you do not want a grainy texture nor do you want the sugar to overpower the flavor of the passion fruit. My icing was, as you can see by the picture, medium texture. It was not thick and stiff nor was it like a glaze.
Decorate and frost cupcakes as desired. I added sprinkles on top of the frosting.
