We have an abundance of passionfruit in our garden most of the year. Our family is perhaps a little spoilt by these delicious, flavour packed fruit. We scoop them generously onto our morning fruit and yoghurt or our hot steamy porridge in winter, and the children often grab one as a snack.
I have teamed passionfruit with generous amounts of white chocolate in these light, tangy and flavoursome cupcakes. What better partnership could there possibly be than white chocolate and fresh passionfruit straight from the garden? For those who depend on the supermarket for their passionfruit, I suggest buying the passionfruit pulp in 170g cans. You will need two tins to use in both the cupcake mixture and the buttercream frosting.
You may notice that my cupcakes are void of those bitter little purple passionfruit seeds. I actually have issues with those nasty little things and hate having them turn up unexpectedly in my food with an unsuspecting crunch!
SO, feel free to smother them all over your frosting, or even in the cupcake batter…go right ahead…you just won’t see them anywhere near my table!!
White chocolate & passionfruit cupcakes
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Line two muffin trays with papers.
Mixture makes approx 18 – 20 cupcakes.
Ingredients
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 x 170g tin passionfruit pulp,put through a sieve. Keep juice.This should give you 1/2 cup of nectar.Or, use approx 5 large passionfruit.
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups plain flour
1 3/4 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bi carb soda
150g good quality white chocolate,roughly chopped
Method
1. Whisk eggs, extract and oil in a clean bowl. Add sour cream and use a hand whisk to combine.
2. Put strained passionfruit nectar into a measuring jug.You will need about 1/2 a cup. Make up the rest of 1 cup with warm water. Add to wet mixture. Set aside.
3. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and bi carb soda into a separate bowl. Add chopped white chocolate.
4. Carefully pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and hand whisk until well combined.
5. Place mixture into patty papers until each one is 3/4 full.
6. Bake in pre heated oven for approx 18 – 20 minutes or until firm to touch.
7. Keep on a wire rack to cool. Pipe passionfruit frosting onto cupcake and scoop those nasty little seeds on top if desired!!
Passionfruit buttercream frosting
Ingredients
125g butter, softened
125g cream cheese,cold
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g white chocolate melted and cooled slightly
Approx 2 – 4 cups icing sugar
1 x 170g tin passionfruit in syrup or approx 3 large passionfruit
Method
1. Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy, approx 3 minutes. Add cream cheese and beat another 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract.
2. Slowly pour white chocolate into mixer, on low speed.
3. Put the tin of passionfruit through a sieve and pour half of the nectar into the frosting. Keep remaining nectar to spoon on top of cupcakes.
4. While mixer is on slow speed, carefully spoon icing sugar into the mix, a little at a time. You will need to check the consistency of the frosting, adding more nectar or pure cream if it is too stiff.
5. When frosting is the desired consistency, place it into a piping bag and using a large star tip, swirl the frosting on top of cupcakes. Sprinkle with edible pearls or passionfruit seeds, before spooning the remaining nectar on top.
