Chocolate Passionfruit Cake Recipe
Delicious, fudgy chocolate cake layers, sweet, toasted meringue, and tart passionfruit curd - it's a match made in dessert heaven.
Equipment
- Electric or stand mixer with a paddle attachment
- 2 6-inch cake pans
- Blow torch
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 125 ml full-fat milk
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 120 gs all-purpose flour
- 100 fs white granulated sugar
- 100 gs brown sugar
- 38 gs cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4th tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp coffee powder
- 60 ml neutral oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 125 ml boiling water
Passionfruit Curd
- 4 egg yolk
- 140 gs caster sugar
- 120 ml passionfruit pulp (with seeds)
- 90 gs unsalted butter
Swiss Meringue
- 100 gs egg whites
- 150 gs white granulated sugar
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and prepare the cake pans with butter and flour to ensure the cake does not stick while baking and comes out easily.
- Prepare your buttermilk by adding the vinegar to the milk and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Combine the dry ingredients - flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and coffee powder using a hand whisk.
- Add the buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla essence in the same bowl, and mix on medium speed using an electric or stand mixer until everything is well combined. You will have a thick batter at this point.
- With the mixer on low, pour the boiling water into the batter and keep mixing until the water is well incorporated. Be careful at this step: the water may splash if the speed of your mixer is too high. After this step, you will end up with a thin batter. Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake for 20-30 mins or until a test toothpick comes out clean from the center.
Passionfruit Curd
- Create a double boiler: Fill a saucepan halfway with water and let it boil, then find a heat-proof bowl that fits over the saucepan. The bowl will be placed on top of the boiling water, and the curd will be cooked in it to avoid direct heat contact which may cause the eggs to scramble.
- Add the egg yolks, passionfruit pulp, and sugar into the bowl and whisk until combined.
- Once the water in the saucepan has come to a boil, reduce the heat and bring the water to a simmer. Then, place the heat-proof bowl with the lemon curd mixture on top of the saucepan. Make sure that the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. As soon as you place the bowl on the saucepan, start whisking the mixture continuously to stop the eggs from scrambling from the heat. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 5-8 minutes.
- Once thickened, take the curd off the heat and immediately add the softened butter (90 gs) and whisk until it's melted and incorporated into the mixture. Cover the curd with a cling film while you chill it in the refrigerator. Make sure that the cling film is touching the surface of the lemon curd to stop a film from forming on top of the curd. Let the curd chill for 1 hour. Give it a quick whisk before using it to smooth out any lumps.
Swiss Meringue
- Mix the egg whites and sugar in the heat-proof bowl using the same double boiler technique as the passionfruit card and place it on top of the saucepan with the boiling water. Keep whisking continuously and cook until the sugar is fully incorporated into the egg whites. You can test this by rubbing the egg whites between your fingers. Once the mixture is smooth and not grainy, the meringue is ready.
- Take the egg white mixture off the heat and whisk, starting on low speed and then gradually increasing the speed, until the meringue reaches the stiff peak stage*. Meringue deflates overtime, so make sure you prepare it just before assembling the cake.
- Assemble the cake: Place the first cake layer, then spread a layer of the meringue and blow torch it until the surface is fully toasted. Spread a thick layer of passionfruit curd on top of the toasted meringue, then top with the next cake layer. Repeat the process for the remaining cake layers, then decorate it however you like. I topped it with more toasted meringue, half a passionfruit, passionfruit curd, fresh passionfruit curd, and some dried roses for a pop of color.
Notes
Make Ahead:
The cake layers and passionfruit curd can be made a day ahead. Make sure to tightly cling film the cake layers and the curd and refrigerate overnight.
Storage:
This cake can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to two days.
Tips & Tricks:
Semi-stiff/ stiff peaks: These terms are used to describe how much whipping is required for the meringue. Stiff peaks refer to fully whipped meringue, where when you pick up your whisk from the cream, it creates stiff, stable peaks