Passion Fruit Meringue Tart Recipes

PASSION-FRUIT MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Crust:Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Pulse crackers in a food processor until finely ground. Pulse in butter and granulated sugar until combined. Firmly press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Filling:Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, gently whisk together condensed milk, egg yolks, and passion-fruit puree. Pour filling into crust.
• Bake until center is set but still quivers when pie dish is nudged, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
• Meringue Topping:Add topping shortly before serving. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on medium-high speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and gradually add both sugars and salt, beating until stiff peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Pipe or spread meringue on pie, making sure it touches the crust all around. Lightly brown meringue with a kitchen torch.

PASSION FRUIT MERINGUE TARTS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, mix egg yolks, passion fruit puree, sugar, and cornstarch. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until thick.
• Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Stir in the oil and refrigerate for at least an hour with plastic wrap directly on the passion fruit curd.
• Put all the ingredients of the Meringue Topping in the bowl of a stand mixer (you can do it with a hand held mixer, but it has to mix for about 10-15 minutes).
• Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and stir by hand until the sugar has dissolved completely in the egg whites. To know if the sugar has dissolved, you can take a small quantity of the mixture and rub with your fingers. If you feel sugar granules, keep going. If it's completely smooth, the sugar has dissolved.
• Place the bowl in its stand and whip on high speed until stiff peaks form and the bowl is back to room temperature.
• To make these you can use store bought tart shells or make them yourself. If you are making them a couple of days in advance, coat the tart shells in a very thin layer of chocolate (I prefer white) so that they remain delicious and don't go soggy on you.
• The first step in assembling these beauties is filling the bottoms with the passion fruit curd. So, take out the passion fruit curd from the fridge and give it a good mix until it's smooth. I like using a piping bag to fill the tart shells; it gives them a more uniform and refined look.
• It's time to add the meringue topping. Pipe it on with a star tip (or whatever tip you prefer) in a circular motion starting from the center out to make a rosette look.
• If you have a blowtorch now's the time to use it. If not, no worries, you can use the broiler function in your oven. Put the tarts as close as you can to the broiling elements of your oven, leave the oven door open and WATCH them. It only takes a couple of seconds and the tarts are done!

PASSION MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Dust the work surface with a little flour, then roll the pastry out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Use to line a deep, 23cm loose-bottom flan tin and chill until firm. Line with greaseproof paper and a layer of baking beans, then bake for 20 mins. Remove the paper and beans, then return to the oven for 5 mins until pale golden in colour. Leave to cool.
• For the filling, cut the passion fruit in half, then scoop the pulp of 10 into a sieve over a large jug. Rub the pulp and juice through the sieve; discard the seeds. Scoop the pulp and seeds of the remaining fruit into the juice. You should now have 150ml in total - so make up with orange juice if you don't have enough. In a pan, mix the cornflour with the sugar, then gradually stir in 200ml cold water followed by the passion fruit. Cook over a medium heat, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens. Take the pan off the heat and whisk the yolks into the hot mixture.
• Reduce oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. For the meringue, whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks, then gradually whisk in the sugar until thick and glossy. Reheat the filling briefly, then spread over the pastry base. Spoon the meringue over the filling, starting from the pastry edge and working your way into the middle, then gently swirl the spoonfuls together. Bake for 20 mins until the meringue is lightly golden. Serve warm or cold.