Thursday, July 21, 2011

Passion fruit poppy seed pound cake

Passion fruit poppy seed pound cake / Bolo de maracujá e sementes de papoula

I bought a bag of beautiful, fragrant passion fruit to make Tessa Kiros’s passion fruit ice cream, but since there still was some strawberry cheesecake ice cream in the freezer I had to think of another use for the fruit. I thought of my good friend Ana Elisa, who I’d discussed Tessa’s book with once: I’d told her that I’d bought the book but hadn’t cooked from it yet, and how disappointing that was. “You have to give the book another try, it’s great!” she said. I remembered our conversation, then I remembered an amazing passion fruit cake she’d baked a while ago. Bingo!

I love it when one good thing leads to another – a perfect train of thought. :)

Passion fruit poppy seed pound cake / Bolo de maracujá e sementes de papoula

Passion fruit poppy seed pound cake
adapted from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe, inspired by Ana Elisa’s cake

Cake:
2 cups (240g) cake flour*
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup + 3 tablespoons (156g) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ½ tablespoons passion fruit pulp, strained
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
4 large eggs
1 ¼ cups (250g) superfine sugar

Passion fruit glaze:
½ cup (70g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1-2 tablespoons passion fruit pulp, strained

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 22.5x12.5cm (9x5in) loaf pan**, line it with baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, cream, vanilla extract, passion fruit pulp and poppy seeds. The mixture should have the consistency of thick liquid – if too thick, reheat gently until the butter melts again.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in medium speed for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture until just combined. Fold ¼ of the egg-flour mixture into the butter mixture to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining mixture until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 1 hour or until the cake is risen and golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for at least 30 minutes then carefully unmold onto another wire rack. Cool completely.
Make the glaze: in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and passion fruit pulp until smooth. Pour over the cake and let it set for 20 minutes before slicing it.
Cake can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap in room temperature for up to 3 days.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

** I made the exact recipe above using a 20x9cm loaf pan

Serves 8

10 comments:

  1. SWEET MOTHER OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN that looks DELISH :D

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  2. I adore passionfruits but have never had them in a baked good, a deep shame i feel! This looks truly fantastic and i hope i get the chance to give it a shot someday :)

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  3. Wow this looks really delicious. I may have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing this recipe :)

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  4. AnonymousJuly 21, 2011

    Your cake looks great! Love its sponge texture and the little poppy seeds inside! And the flavours look awesome!

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  5. Beautiful! I love poppy seeds in cake like this and though I've never tried passion fruit in a cake it looks and sounds delicious!

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  6. Looks really delicious!

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  7. I love the taste of passion fruit and I haven't seen these yet in any store. This cake looks so lovely.

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  8. Wow this looks spectacular and so fresh and summery. I can almost taste it!

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  9. I just scrolled down and saw this post as well (been on vacation)...we definitely WERE channeling the same citrus vibe, although I have never used passion fruit before. Can't wait to give it a try...you provide such WONDERFUL inspiration!

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