If you found $5 on the ground and you picked it up, is it stealing? I don't think so. I think the same rule applies to fruit that is hanging into public space. Ok so I have applied the same rule to fruit that is hanging in public space. When I saw a giant passionfruit vine dripping in plump, juicy fruit on my early morning walk last week I couldn't help but grab a few.
Didn't I deserve a reward for being out exercising in the cold, wee hours of the morning? I had received a request for some sort of passionfruit Birthday cake the following weekend so in my eyes it was meant to be. I did some good deeds to pay back my karmic debt too just in case.
Mum had asked me to make a cake for her friend. She loves passionfruit sponge (which I made last year) so the brief was some sort of cake with passionfruit and maybe meringue. A little flip through my magazine clippings and I came across passionfruit meringue cupcakes. It must have been written for the occasion!
The result is a pound cake like cake with a deliciously light topping and a little bit of crunch. I made half cupcakes and made the rest into a little cake which turned out just as well. They're pretty quick to throw together and look rather pretty too.
There's quite a yellow theme going on with these ingredients.
The recipe said to throw everything in, except the passionfruit and beat it all together. I didn't think that would work too well so I made them like every other cake. Start by beating the butter and sugar together until they're light and creamy.
Then add the eggs and stir them through.
Add the flour and mix it through. The batter is quite thick and stiff after you add the flour.
Now add the star of the cupcakes - the passionfruit. Mix it through until it's just mixed in but don't over-mix it.
Divide the batter up between the cupcake cases. It's best to put the cases in a cupcake tray so they hold their shape. I baked them free-form. Bake them at 160C fan-forced for 16-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Leave the cupcakes to rest on the tray for 10 minutes.
Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
While they are cooling, make the meringue topping by beating the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time and then continue to beat until the sugar has all dissolved and the meringue is nice and glossy.
Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and then pipe swirls onto the top of the cooled cupcakes. I got a bit sick of the piping after a while and free-formed a couple of them with just a blob of meringue. I think they looked just as good.
Bake them for another 3-4 minutes at 160C or until they start to brown.
Leave the cupcakes to cool again on the tray.
Serve them up straight away. I don't think they would last too long but you won't need them to last more than a day or two.
Enjoy!
What about you? Do you help yourself to foods that are growing in public?
Recipe
Ingredients
Cupcake
- 175 g 6oz butter, softened
- ¾ cup caster superfine sugar
- 1 ⅓ cup self-raising flour sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup passionfruit pulp 1 big passionfruit or 2 little ones
Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- ¾ cup caster superfine sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 160C(320F) fan-forced and line a cupcake tray with cup cake cases. You can do it free-form but they won't be as perfect (they'll be like mine!).
- Beat the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until they are combined.
- Add the flour and baking powder and mix them in too then gently add the passionfruit and stir until it is just mixed in.
- Divide the batter between the cupcake cases and bake the cupcakes for 16-20 minutes or until a cake-tester comes out clean.
- Leave the baked cakes to rest on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once they are cool, make the meringue by whipping the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add the cater sugar a tablespoon at a time making sure it is mixed in before adding the next lot. Beat it all until it is glossy and the sugar has dissolved.
- Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe a round of meringue onto each cupcake. Alternatively, you can use a spoon and blob it on top.
- Bake the cupcakes at 160C(320F) fan-forced again until the tops start to turn golden.
- Leave them to cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
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Jen @ Savory Simple says
Wow, I think I may know what I'm doing with my last bit of passion fruit puree now!
Claire says
Definitely Jen! You can halve the recipe if you don't have enough passionfruit too.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Hehe some of the nicest mandarins were ones that hubby picked that were hanging over the fence at the Post Office. He was waiting for me and decided to pluck one and it was so good I asked him to pick one for me!
Claire says
I think it makes them taste even better doesn't it?!
Jennifer (Delicieux) says
Gorgeous cupcakes Claire!! It definitely sounds like the planets were aligning for you to make these. As for taking fruit hanging in a public place, I haven't actually thought of doing that. Our neighbour though has a lime tree dripping with limes that borders our fence line, which I've thought of taking a couple from but he seems to deliberately prune the tree back so we can't reach any :( The poor tree is overburden with fruit on one suit and completely naked on the other.
Claire says
Not that I know anything about this (me, who me?) but those long sticks with the basket on the end that you use to rescue golf balls from the water are also excellent for picking fruit. My mother may or may not have demonstrated this to me before.
Nina Munchen says
Hi Claire,
Your passionfruit meringue cupcakes looks so fresh. :)
I don’t mind eat this every day. LOL.
Thank you for sharing. :)
You can submit your passionfruit meringue cupcakes pics on http://www.foodporn.net It is a food (and drink of course) photography site where members can submit all food (and drink of course (again) LOL ) pictures that make readers hungry.
Well, you know it’s fun to make others hungry (and thirsty)! :D
Claire says
Thanks Nina. I'll check out your site!
vanessalilllian says
Absolutely! I also think it's acceptable to take small cuttings from plants to propogate in your own garden - as long as you don't decimate the plant or steal all the flowers.
I'm currently propogating ideas for a lemon meringue cupcake. Watch this space...
Claire says
Vanessa I hadn't contemplated that before. Brilliant! I'll look forward to hearing about the lemons.
Hotly Spiced says
I have never put meringue on top of a cupcake before. What a lovely idea. And when I find money on the pavement I rejoice - finder's keepers! And yes, fruit hanging over public property is public property. Well done! xx
Claire says
Neither had I Charlie but it's a really easy and pretty tasty addition. I'm glad because I just discovered another passionfruit vine just a few houses away. Yay!