Susan Jung’s recipe for passion fruit and meringue eclairs
A dessert that looks great but doesn’t require a lot of last-minute fussing is a great way to end a meal
There are occasions when I want to make a dessert that looks impressive but doesn’t need a lot of last-minute work. For this dessert, both the filling and eclair shells can be made in advance. When it’s almost time to serve the dessert, it takes only a few minutes to pipe the filling into the shells, then make the meringue, pipe it over and torch it.
For the passion fruit purée, you can use the fresh fruit, but it’s a bit of a nuisance because the yield is low and you need to strain out all the seeds. A better idea is to buy frozen passion fruit purée from speciality baking shops such as I Love Cake, Baking Warehouse or TwinsCo.
For the passion fruit curd:
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
200 grams granulated sugar
½ tsp fine sea salt
250ml passion fruit purée, thawed, if frozen
100 grams unsalted butter, chilled
For the eclairs:
240ml water
¼ tsp fine sea salt
120 grams unsalted butter, cut into chunks
130 grams bread flour or plain (all-purpose) flour
3-5 large eggs, at room temperature
For the meringue:
75 grams egg whites, at room temperature
¼ tsp fine sea salt
75 grams granulated sugar
Make the passion fruit curd at least a day in advance. Put the eggs and yolks in a bowl, add the sugar and salt, and whisk immediately until frothy. Whisk in the passion fruit purée, then strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl that will fit over a double boiler without touching the water. Pour water to the depth of about 4cm in the bottom part of the double boiler and heat over a medium flame until boiling. Lower the flame then place the bowl holding the egg-sugar-passion fruit mixture in the top of the double boiler. Whisk constantly until you start to see tracks as the whisk moves through the mixture (about 10 minutes).