02.18.20 Michael's Passion Fruit
Michael is an endangered species; he actively goes out of his way to know all of his neighbors. Then, he throws a big party for the whole neighborhood and bakes at least 6 kinds of dessert. Patricia of the “pink guava orange sauce’ must be acknowledged here as she also hosts these parties. Michael is always either building something, fixing something or helping someone. I think all of his good neighborly karma is what imbues his desserts with extra deliciousness. If you want to appreciate his credentials as a cake baking teacher, watch him demo his Blackforest Torte in 1982. For Arugula Forest 2020, he demo-ed his Passion Fruit Lemon Curd in Shortbread Shells.
Passion Fruit Lemon Curd:
4 egg yolks
4 passion fruit (strain out seeds)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 TBS lemon zest
2/3 cup sugar or 1 tsp stevia crystals
6 TBS unsalted butter
Whisk continuously egg yolks, passion fruit, lemon juice, zest and salt in a double boiler. Will resemble hollandaise sauce when ready, about 10 min.
Remove from heat and add butter one TBS at a time, stir until blended.
Immediately pour into a glass container and put a piece of plastic wrap directly over curd to prevent a skin from forming on top. Refrigerate
Shortbread Shells:
1 cup of butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar (or equivalent in erythritol or stevia)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour (he used gluten free which was a bit crumbly but still worked)
Preheat oven 325 degrees and butter coat a muffin pan.
Mix flour and salt in small bowl.
Mix butter with electric mixer until creamy and add in sugar and vanilla.
Incorporate flour mixture.
Put one level TBS of dough in each hole of muffin tin. Use a dough tamper to push lightly down on all sides. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Bake for 10 minutes and then use dough tamper again to push dough into shell and bake for another 7-8 min.
Allow to cool and then carefully remove. They can be crumbly so take it slowly.
When shells are cool, spoon passion fruit lemon curd into each one.