I picked up a huge bag of discount passionfruit the other day! Seriously, there were probably a good dozen-and-a-half beautiful looking fruit in one of the discount produce bags for $2. Very exciting!

Of course, now I needed to figure out what to do with that many passionfruit. I found a lot of promising looking recipes. But, in the end, it came down to a choice between this posset and a banana-passionfruit soufflé. TF voted for the posset though, so that's what we went with.

I love how easy this posset is. Although, I did make it slighlty more difficult for myself by straining all the seeds out of the passionfruit when I didn't actually need to. I'd been reading so many passionfruit recipes that I just got my wires a little crossed. Whoops! Oh well... I just reserved the seeds, stirred a few back in, and saved the rest to use as a garnish. Next time, though, I'll just scoop the pulp directly into the pot and save myself a lot of time and effort.

Passionfruit Posset

Slightly adapted from Delicious.com.au

Ingredients

• 1 packet (~1 1/2 Tbsp.) unflavoured gelatin powder¹
• 1/4 c. cold water
• 2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 160g sugar
• 1/4 c. boiling water (optional)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2-2/3 c. passionfruit pulp (from ~8 fruit)

Directions

1. Add the gelatin powder to the cold water and set aside to soften for ~5 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the cream and sugar and heat until just barely simmering. Do not boil!
3. Add the boiling water (if using) to the gelatin and stir to dissolve, then pour it into the cream mixture. Otherwise, just add the softened gelatin to the hot cream and stir to dissolve.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and passionfruit pulp.
5. Pour into custard cups, cover, and chill until set (at least 2 hours).
6. Garnish with additional passionfruit pulp and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for 1/2 a sheet of "titanium-strength" gelatin. The gelatin was to be soaked for five minutes and then have excess water squeezed out. I had powder, not leaves/sheets. So I just followed the package directions on the packet. It said to soak the gelatin in 1/4 c. of cold water, then dissolve it in 1/4 c. of boiling water, then stir it into whatever liquid you were trying to set. This worked fine. That said, I think I'd skip the boiling water next time and try just dissolving it in the simmering cream directly. I'd think either way should work though, so follow your heart. ^Back

It was my birthday yesterday. (I guess, technically, it's kind of still my birthday; it's still the 8th back in Ontario.)

Anyway, it was a pretty low-key birthday overall. Both because I didn't really want to do anything big for it and because the Kidlet had caught a cold and was feeling a bit under the weather. I did want to at least make a cake to mark the occasion though. And, after perusing the various recipes in my collection, I decided to hit up this one from my collection of recipes from the Something Awful CAKE thread.

It's a pretty simple, no-bake cheesecake recipe. Nothing too fancy. Just make the crust, beat together all the ingredients for the filling, pour it over, and chill until set. No fancy techniques or decorations. No icing. No layers. But that was honestly exactly the type of thing I wanted for the day. And, if I was going to do a cheesecake, how could I resist the Milo one? It was the perfect recipe to try out while I was here in New Zealand.

Not only is it a straight-forward, chilled cheesecake full of Milo. The crust is basically just a batch of chocolate crackles mushed into the bottom of a springform pan!

I mean, it's not quite exactly the recipe from Edmonds, but only because the author has you use real milk chocolate rather than getting you to make ersatz chocolate by combining shortening, icing sugar, and cocoa powder the way the Edmonds recipe does. Same idea though.

And, given that this recipe specifically calls for 250g of "good quality milk chocolate", Reiver pointed out that the author almost certainly had Whittaker's in mind. Since it's one of the only brands that still comes in 250g blocks. So, between that, and the Milo, and the inclusion of thickened cream, this does, indeed, feel like a very NZ recipe.

It is also, as it turns out, delicious! I liked this one a lot. It's easy to make, not too sweet, and nicely flavoured. The chocolate crackle crust comes out pretty firm, so it can be a bit challenging to get your fork through it, but it tastes lovely and adds an interesting texture to the base. Also, the fact that the crust is so sturdy makes it relatively easy to lift off the pan in one piece. I mean, it was a little tricky to get any implements under it initially. But once we managed to wedge the edge of a spoon under there, we were pretty much able to lever the whole thing up and slide it over onto a plate without any worries about the structural integrity. So that was handy!

I don't think this is my favourite cheesecake that I've ever made, but it is certainly a good one! I liked it a lot, I'm glad I tried it, and I would definitely make it again.

ETA: Now that I've clicked through to the link provided in the original post, I see that this was presented as an Australian recipe, not a NZ one. Oh well... I still think it was very approparite to NZ, so no complaints here.

Milo Cheesecake

From Raspberri Cupcakes via the Something Awful forums

Ingredients

Crust

• 250g milk chocolate (preferably Whittaker's)
• 1/3 c. dessicated coconut
• 2 c. Rice Krispies

Filling

• 300mL thickened cream or heavy (35%) cream
• 340g cream cheese, softened
• 75g sugar
• 4 tsp. unflavoured gelatine
• 3 Tbsp. cold water
• 200mL milk
• 1 1/2 c. Milo (plus extra to decorate)

Directions

1. Lightly oil a 20cm (8") springform pan.¹
2. Melt the chocolate over low heat.
3. Mix in the coconut, then stir in the Rice Krispies.
4. Once everything is well-mixed, press the chocolate mixture into the bottom of the springform pan in an even layer.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Set aside.
7. In a clean bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.
8. Beat in the sugar until well-combined.
9. In a small bowl, combine the gelatine with the water and set aside.
10. Heat the milk over medium heat until just boiling.
11. Remove milk from heat and mix in the Milo.
12. Add the softened gelatine to the Milo mixture and stir until smooth and well-mixed.
13. Add the Milo mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until evenly mixed.
14. Fold in the whipped cream.
15. Pour the filling over the crust.
16. Chill for at least 3 hours.
17. Run a hot knife around the edge of the pan and pop off the sides.
18. Carefully lift the cake off the base and transfer to a serving platter.
19. Sprinkle with additional Milo and serve.

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¹ I ended up using a 24cm (~9") springform pan for my rendition of this cake. Obviously this resulted in a wider, but shorter cake, but it was fine. The crust was still thick enough and everything seemed to work out fine. That said, if you'd like a taller cake, the smaller pan is definitely the way to go. ^Back

This recipe didn't look like it should work. You beat a whole lot of cream into cream cheese -- not whipped cream even, just runny cream -- and then pour it into a pie shell and expect it to set up. It doesn't contain any gelatin or eggs or anything else that seems like it would cause it to set. You're relying entirely on the fact that cream cheese firms up a bit when chilled. (And, I guess, the tiny amount of icing sugar.) Neither of these seemed like they would be enough to cause the filling to set. I was dubious. But I've been surprised by recipes before! There are lots that seem like they shouldn't work, but then somehow do. So, I followed the recipe and gave it a go. It did not set. At all. The flavour is nice, but it has zero structural integrity. Oh well... Now I know.

I haven't bothered including the original recipe below as I don't think it actually works as written. Instead this is a rough idea of what I'd like to try next time in the hopes of getting something that actually holds together.

I've increased the cream cheese slightly and specified a small amount of gelatin. Hopefully that'll be enough to get it to hold together. I've also bumped up the quantity of strawberries. Not for any structural reason, just because I though it'd be nice with more fruit.

All the usual caveats here: this is an untested variation, use at your own risk, etc., etc.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Tart

Adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• enough pastry for a 9" pie crust¹
• 3/4 c. heavy (35%) cream, divided
• 1/2 Tbsp. unflavoured gelatin powder
• 225g cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 50g icing sugar
• 400g strawberries, hulled and halved

Directions

1. Roll out the pastry and line a 9" (23cm) pie plate or tart tin.
2. Crimp and trim the edges, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 20-30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
4. Remove the plastic wrap from the crust and prick bottom a few times with a fork.
5. Line with parchment/baking paper and fill with pie weights.
6. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 20-25 minutes.
7. Remove paper and pie weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes until well-browned and cooked through.
8. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
9. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin into 1/4 c. of the cream and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
10. Scald the remaining cream, heating it to just shy of a boil.
11. Add the gelatin mixture to the hot cream and whisk thoroughly to combine.
12. Beat the cream cheese until lightened.
13. Pour in the cream mixture and beat until smooth.
14. Mix in the vanilla.
15. Sift in the icing sugar and mix well.
16. Once the pie shell is completely cool, pour in the cheese mixture.
17. Add the strawberries on top.
18. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours to allow filling to set.
19. Cut into wedges and serve.

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¹ I was making this to try to use up some leftover pastry from a previous recipe. Feel free to use whatever sort of pastry you prefer. Shortcrust, sweet shortcrust, sourdough shortcrust, or flaky are all good options. ^Back

I've been itching to try out this lemon chiffon pie recipe for a while. I love lemony desserts. And I even had some extra egg yolks to use up after making the last pavlova!

Ideally this would have been made with a freshly baked, home-made gingersnap crust. But when I spotted a bunch of "reduced for quick sale" ready-made gingerbread crumb crusts at the grocery store just after Christmas, I figured that would give the same ginger-y vibe as the gingersnap crust, but with a bit less effort on my part.

This was great in theory, but the recipe ended up making more filling than would fit in the store-bought crust, so I ended up whipping up a quick graham cracker crust to contain the excess. So now I've got two pies: one (slightly underfilled) with a home-made graham cracker crust and one with a store-bought gingerbread crust.

We've only tried the gingerbread one so far, but it was a hit. Although I found that the ginger notes were kind of drowned out by the lemon. The crust tastes gingery when eaten on its own, but it doesn't really come through when combined with the lemon filling. Maybe next time I can try it with a home-made gingersnap crust and see if that produces a punchier flavour.

Lemon Chiffon Pie

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Crust

• 125g gingersnaps, crushed
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 75g unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1/4 c. cold water
• 2 1/4 tsp. (1 packet) unflavoured gelatin
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 3/4 c. lemon juice
• 4 large egg yolks¹
• 1 Tbsp. orange zest
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/4 c. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Combine the gingersnap crumbs and sugar and mix well.
3. Add the butter and thoroughly combine.
4. Dump the crumb mixture into a pie plate and press firmly. Try to create and even layer of crumb mixture across the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate.
5. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for ~7 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and allow to stand until softened (5-10 minutes).
8. Add the sugar, lemon juice, egg yolks, orange zest, and sea salt and whisk to combine. It may be a bit lumpy and that's okay.
9. Cook over medium-low to medium heat², whisking constantly, until slightly thickened (~8 minutes). Do not let the mixture come to a boil!
10. Remove from heat and place pot in ice bath and allow to cool to room temperature.
11. Once custard mixture has cooled, in a separate bowl, beat the cream with the icing sugar until stiffened.
12. Add the whipped cream to the custard and gently fold it in.
13. Scoop the filling mixture into the prepared pie crust and smooth the top.
14. Cover and chill until set (~4 hours in the fridge or 1 hour in the freezer).
15. Let stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving.

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¹ My eggs were a little on the small side so I tossed in an extra yolk for my pie. ^Back
2 The recipe calls for cooking over medium heat, but also warns against boiling. I started mine off over medium heat, but gradually nudged the temperature down as it cooked to ensure that it stayed below a boil. ^Back

This pie did not go as planned. Just about everything that could go wrong, did. I mixed the gelatin in at the wrong point. The meringue didn't whip up properly. I had to ditch the whole batch and start over again. I ended up making a French meringue rather than the Swiss one called for in the recipe. And then, because the French meringue is uncooked, I had to try to bake it in the oven rather that giving it a quick blast under the broiler to brown it. On top of that, I ended up baking it to at too high a temperature which then required me to take it out before the meringue had fully set. And heating the pie back up caused filling to liquefy, so then I had to toss it back in the fridge to try to get it to set again. By the time I'd reached the end of the whole process and managed to assemble the pie, I felt like it was cursed.

Even with all that, this pie was amazing! Seriously, so delicious. I can't even imagine what it would've been like if I'd managed to do it right. Definitely one to try again.

Banana Pudding Pie

Adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2020

Ingredients

Crust

Original Recipe

• 4 c. Nilla Wafer cookies
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Lazy Way

• 1 ready-made graham cracker pie crust

Filling

• 2 tsp. unflavoured gelatin
• 1 3/4 c. half-and-half (10% cream), divided
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 5 large egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• pinch ground cinnamon
• pinch ground allspice
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced

Meringue

Swiss Meringue¹

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

French Meringue

• 4 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 c. sugar

Directions

Crust

Original Recipe

1. Pulse cooies, sugar, flour, and salt in food processor for ~10 pulses.
2. Add melted butter and pulse until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
3. Transfer to 9" pie plate and use your hands to press the crumbs firmly up the sides of the plate. The walls should be at least 5mm thick and go all the way up to the top edge of the plate.
4. Press the remaining crumbs into an even layer on the bottom of the plate. Be sure to firmly press into the corners.
5. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for 18-20 minutes.
6. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Lazy Way

1. No prep needed. Crust is ready to use.

Filling

1. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 c. of the half-and-half and set aside.
2. Whisk sugar, egg yolks, flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and remaining 1 1/4 c. half-and-half until fully combined.
3. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping corners, until mixture thickens (5-7 minutes).
4. Remove from heat and whisk in butter, vanilla, and gelatin mixture.
5. Stir bananas into hot filling.
6. Pour filling into crust.
7. Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.

Meringue

Swiss Meringue

1. Whisk all ingredients together in a heatproof bowl.
2. Place bowl over saucepan filled with a couple inches of boiling water.
3. Whisking gently but constantly, cook until mixture reaches 71-73°C (160-165°F). This should take ~8 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and whisk on high speed until meringue forms stiff peaks (2-3 minutes).
5. Uncover pie and spread meringue over filling. Make sure to spread it all the way to the edges.
6. Heat broiler and broil until meringue is well-browned (1-2 minutes).

French Meringue

1. Combine egg whites and cream of tartar and beat until frothy.
2. Add sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time while continuing to beat on high speed.
3. Continue beating until stiff peaks are formed.
4. Uncover pie and spread meringue over filling. Make sure to spread it all the way to the edges.
5. Bake at ?? for ??. I tried baking it at 450°F (230°C), but had to take it out after only 8 minutes as the top had become excessively brown and was in danger of burning. I'll try 400°F (200deg;C) next time and see how that goes.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 2/3 c. sugar total (1/3 c. granulated, 1/3 c. brown). This did NOT work at all for me. I don't know if the problem was too much sugar or something else, but it certainly seemed like A LOT of sugar for the amount egg and the mixture was thick and sticky and syrupy, almost like molasses. I didn't want to try the Swiss meringue again after one failed attempt, so I just whipped up a quick French meringue since they're reliable and I've never had one fail. If I were going to try the Swiss meringue again, I'd start by adding less sugar and see if that helped at all. Hence the reduced sugar quantities above. ^Back

I'd never even heard of chiffon pies before coming across this recipe. Apparently they were popular from the 30s up through the 70s, but you don't see them so much these days. I'll still always love the classic cooked custard pumpkin pie, but it was nice to try something a little different this time. This does make a lovely light and airy pie. And it's not as difficult or fussy to make as I was expecting. I did use a ready-made graham cracker crust rather than making my own. Homemade would, of course, be nicer, but I was happy enough with the short-cut.

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country October/November 2016

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 ready-made graham cracker pie crust
OR

• 9 whole graham crackers, crushed into fine crumbs
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1/4 c. dark rum
• 1 Tbsp. gelatin
• 2 c. pumpkin purée
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 4 large egg whites
• 1/3 c. sugar

Topping

• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 gingersnap cookies, crushed

Directions

Crust

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and ginger and mix well.
2. Stir in melted butter.
3. Press crumbs into bottom and up sides of pie plate.
4. Bake at 160°C (325°F) for ~15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Filling

1. Sprinkle gelatin over rum and set aside for ~5 minutes.
2. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around the edges and gelatin is completely dissolved (30-60 seconds). Set aside to cool until just warm.
3. Microwave pumpkin until also just warm (1-2 minutes).
4. Beat pumpkin with brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cream until completely combined.
5. Stir in gelatin mixture.
6. In a clean bowl and with clean beaters, whip egg whites on medium-low until foamy (~1 minute).
7. Increase speed to medium-high and whip to soft peaks (~1 minute).
8. Gradually add sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. (You should be able to invert the bowl without the meringue slipping or dripping.)
9. Whisk about a third of the meringue into the pumpkin mixture to loosen it.
10. Gently fold in the remaining meringue.
11. Scoop the filling into the crust, letting it mound in the centre slightly.
12. Chill for at least four hours.

Topping

1. Combine the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a blender¹ and mix on medium for 30 seconds or so.
2. Increase to high until cream stiffens.
3. Spread cream over pie.
4. Top with crushed gingersnaps.

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¹ Using a blender rather than beating with a hand or stand mixer results in smaller air bubbles and a denser, stiffer whipped cream that will last much longer without "deflating". If the pie will be eaten right away with no chance of leftovers, feel free to use the beaters for extra fluffy whipped cream. ^Back