White chocolate and passion fruit entremet

I've bought three new cake rings and I wanted to test them out. I had this idea of a mousse cake or entremet with white chocolate and passion fruit. I made a passion fruit curd that I layered in the middle of the white chocolate mousse. When I cut the cake the curd oozed out a little and it looked absolutely delicious.

The first layer was a pistachio meringue, it's easy to make and the taste is so good that all of the leftovers were gone the next day. I made the pistachio meringue because the passion fruit curd requires egg yolks and I hate wasting food. That way I used the whole eggs in one dessert.

The white chocolate mousse can be done in minutes and it comes out really light and fluffy. The combination of white chocolate with the passion fruit is one of my favorites. The chocolate is sweet and the passion fruit cuts all the richness and sweetness and brings acidity to the whole dessert.

I think that the milk glaze makes the cake look even more delicious. I added a drop of red food coloring to mine but you can add any color you prefer.

White chocolate-passion fruit cake

(Makes one 26cm)

Time:

Preparation: 45min

Cooking; 10min

Baking; 15min

Setting: overnight

For the pistachio meringue:

• 70g ground pistachio
• 100g icing sugar
• 3 room temperature egg whites
• 35g white granulated sugar

For the passion fruit crud:

• 1/4 cup passion fruit juice (save some of the seeds)
• 3 egg yolks
• 100g granulated white sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 113g butter (in cubes)

For the white chocolate mousse:

• 180ml whole milk
• 220g white chocolate
• 6g gelatin sheets
• 240ml heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste (or 1/2 vanilla bean)

For the milk glaze:

• 180g white granulated sugar
• 44g water
• 200g whipping cream
• 44g milk
• 60g glucose syrup
• 30g nappage (I substituted with cold mirror gel)
• 6g gelatin sheets (2 leafs)
• red food coloring (optional)

Making the pistachio meringue:
Prepare a baking sheet and, according to the size of your cake ring for the entremet, draw circles on the parchment paper. Flip over the parchment paper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 160°C (320°F).

Sift ground pistachios and icing sugar together in bowl.

Whisk the egg whites until foamy, then start adding the granulated sugar in small additions. Whisk until stiff peaks form.

Fold the dry ingredients gently into the meringue until combined.

Pour the mixture in a big piping bag fitted with a round attachment. Pipe the meringue on the parchment paper in a circle. Start piping from the middle and go all the way around until you reach the edges of a circle that you have drawn on the parchment paper. It is not as easy as it seems and the circles were not perfect but with more practice they will get there. (Pipe leftovers over the parchment paper for snacks.)

Bake for 15minutes or until golden brown. Turn the oven off and leave to cool down completely in the oven. 

Cover the cake ring (size 26cm) with plastic wrap at the bottom and place in the pistachio disc. 

Making the passion fruit curd:

In a saucepan, combine the yolks with the passion fruit puree, sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

 Cook over low heat, whisking, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens.

Strain the curd in a medium sized bowl. Blend with immersion blender and start adding the cold butter a cube at a time. Blend until the curd in smooth and the butter is completely incorporated. Add the seeds from passion fruit and stir.

Cover the cake ring (size 24cm) with plastic wrap at the bottom (so that the curd doesn't leak out). Place the cake ring on a baking sheet and pour the curd in. Freeze until completely hard. Save some of the curd, pour it in a piping bag and place in the fridge. This can be used for decorating the cake later.

Making the white chocolate mousse:
Soak gelatin in cold water and set aside.
Pour milk in a small sauce pan and add the vanilla. Chop the chocolate in small pieces and place in a medium sized bowl. Bring the milk to a boil and pour it over the chocolate. Add the soaked gelatin and stir until all the chocolate melts. Set aside to cool completely.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and pour a small amount in the chocolate mixture. Stir and pour the mixture back into the cream. Slowly mix until completely incorporated. Pour 1/2 of the mixture on top of a pistachio disc. Set in the freezer for 30 minutes. Set aside the rest of the mousse but don't place it in the fridge.

Unmold the passion fruit disc and place it on top of the white chocolate mousse. Pour the rest of the mousse on top and return to the freezer until completely frozen, best overnight.

Making the milk glaze:
Soak gelatin in a bowl of cold water.
Pour water and sugar in a small pot and cook until it reaches 110°C (230°F). Meanwhile pour cream and milk in a separate pot and bing to a boil. Take off the heat and pour the hot syrup in the cream mixture while whisking. Pour in the glucose and cold mirror gel and stir on low heat until melted. Take off the heat and stir in the soaked gelatin. Add food coloring if using and mix. Pour in a measuring cup and cool to room temperature or until thick.

Unmold the frozen cake and pour over the cooled glaze. Let the glaze drip off the cake. Place cake on the plate and decorate with leftover curd or other decorations. Place in the fridge to thaw completely.