Mango, coconut, passionfruit – all words that evoke a flood of sensory memories: eating my first mango and juice is running down my chin; picking abundant passionfruit from the vine growing wild in the vacant block next door; dropping a tough coconut onto a concrete path and hearing that distinctive “thwack” that tells you you’ve broken through its tough defences.
And here they are combined into one perfect summery dessert. This tangy passionfruit parfait on a coconut macaroon base (see Rosie's 'Sumptuous Shortcut' blog for the original use of this handy base), served with mango sorbet, may transport you back to your childhood or even to a tropical island. Wherever it takes you I’m sure you’ll love it.
Caren
PASSIONFRUIT PARFAIT ON A COCONUT MACAROON BASE WITH MANGO SORBET
Start this recipe at least a day before required.
Mango Sorbet
500 ml strained mango puree from 3-4 large, very ripe mangoes
100 gm caster sugar
30 ml lime juice, or lemon juice
100 gm liquid glucose
Stir the sugar and juice into the mango puree until the sugar has dissolved.
Gently heat the glucose and stir it into the mango mix.
Pour it into an ice cream machine and churn. Place in the freezer until required.
Coconut Macaroon Base
75 gm ground almonds
75 gm desiccated coconut
75 gm caster sugar
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1 pinch salt
Preheat oven to 160°C. Line an 18cm x 28cm (or equivalent) tin with baking paper.
Combine ground almonds, desiccated coconut and caster sugar together in a bowl.
Whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm peaks form. Gently fold the almond/coconut/sugar mix into the egg whites a third at a time.
Spread onto the base of your prepared tin and bake for 20 minutes or until the edges start to colour. Cool completely.
Passionfruit Parfait
10 passionfruit
500 ml thickened cream
200 gm caster sugar
6 eggs yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Place the pulp from the passionfruit in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to loosen the seeds. Strain into a bowl, discard all but 2 teaspoons of the seeds. Add the saved seeds back into the juice. You should have about 120ml. Add the lemon juice
Put the cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat.
Whisk the egg yolks and add the juice mix. Take a large spoonful of the warm cream mix and stir it into the yolk mix. Repeat.
Stirring all the time, pour the yolk mix into the remaining cream mix and return the saucepan to the heat. Increase the heat to medium and stir until the mix just coats the back of a wooden spoon. Be careful not to boil the mix as it may split.
Pour into a clean bowl and chill completely in the fridge, then place the bowl in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Lift the macaroon base on its paper out of the tin. Re-line the tin with one large piece of baking paper and replace the paper with the macaroon base over the fresh paper. This will stop the parfait from leaking down the sides of the tin.
Remove the parfait from the freezer. Stir it well and pour it over the macaroon base. Cover loosely with cling wrap and freeze again for at least 6 hours, preferably longer.
Cut the parfait into shapes of your choice and top with a quenelle of sorbet and some fresh tropical fruit if desired.
TIPS: Make this dessert in stages over a few days.
The sorbet and the parfait are lovely on their own with fresh fruit.
Make the macaroon base and the sorbet and buy a quality ice cream if you are short on time.