Passion Fruit Hearts

Before starting this Passion Fruit Hearts recipe, organise the necessary ingredients for the raspberry and rhubarb confit.

In a saucepan, place the rhubarb and castor sugar. If you're using fresh rhubarb, make sure you peel the stalks first. If you're using frozen rhubarb, it usually comes in ready to use pre-cut chunks.

Cook the rhubarb over medium heat.

After a few minutes, the sugar should turn into a syrup and the rhubarb into a compote.

The rhubarb is done when no chunks remain. You should obtain a kind of mash.

Add the raspberry purée.

Add the lemon juice...

... and the glucose syrup...

... then combine all the ingredients.

In a separate bowl, combine the pectin NH and castor sugar. It is essential to combine the pectin NH and castor sugar together beforehand to avoid any lumps in the preparation. Combine until the pectin is completely incorporated.

Combine well with a teaspoon.

Add the pectin and sugar to the hot fruit preparation.

Combine immediately with a whisk...

... and cook for about one minute.

The preparation is cooked when it starts to thicken and jellify. Transfer into a piping bag. The use of a nozzle is not necessary.

Fill the 24 cavities of a round petit four silicone mould with the raspberry and rhubarb preparation...

... and even the surface with a small cranked metallic spatula. Store in the freezer overnight.

For the passion fruit mascarpone cream: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Pour 18 grams of water over the powder gelatin...

... then combine and set aside.

Pour the whipping cream over the passion fruit purée.

Split the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds out with the tip of a knife...

... and add them to the passion fruit preparation, along with the vanilla pod. Add the glucose syrup...

... and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat when the preparation starts boiling, then add 1/4 of the preparation over the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Combine with a whisk.

Transfer this preparation into the saucepan with the rest of the passion fruit cream.

Cook the preparation 'à la nappe' (i.e. until the consistency is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon). This should not take long at all, make sure the egg yolks don't coagulate. Stir constantly with a spatula, making 8-shaped motions at the bottom of the recipient.

When you reach the right consistency, pass the preparation through a fine sieve...

... and combine...

... then refrigerate until the preparation cools down to 5°C.

For the Italian meringue: This meringue is a component of the passion fruit mascarpone cream. Organise the necessary ingredients.

In a saucepan, pour the water...

... the castor sugar...

... and the glucose syrup. Place the saucepan on the stove and bring to a boil.

Clarify the eggs and place the egg whites in the stand mixer recipient. Fit the mixer with the whisk accessory.

When the syrup reaches 119°C, remove the saucepan from the heat.

Start beating the egg whites until firm.

When the egg whites are almost done, gradually add the cooked sugar, pouring it against the inner side of the bowl...

... and beat until cooled down completely.

Remove the raspberry and rhubarb round shapes from the freezer...

... then gently release them from the mould...

... and return them to the freezer until you're ready to assemble the cakes.

When the meringue is cold, stop the mixer and set aside. You will have noticed that we're making a large amount of meringue for only a small amount needed/ That's because it is too difficult to obtain a stiff Italian meringue with a small quantity of egg whites.

When the passion fruit cream is cold (5°C)...

... add the cold mascarpone (straight out of the fridge)...

... and place the bowl in the stand mixer, using the whisk accessory. Combine until homogeneous.

Melt the rehydrated gelatin in the microwave for a few seconds only.

Add the melted gelatin to the passion fruit and mascarpone cream and continue beating.

Add 65 grams of meringue to the preparation.

Combine with the whisk until homogeneous.

Scoop the passion fruit mascarpone cream into a piping bag...

... and fill the cavities of a rounded heart silicone mould...

... halfway up.

Bury a raspberry and rhubarb insert in each cavity...

... flat side facing up.

Repeat the operation and bury a second round shape...

... to create a generous raspberry and rhubarb insert. This time, the rounded side should be facing up.

Repeat the operation with the remaining hearts.

Pipe more passion fruit mascarpone cream...

... and fill all cavities.

Even the surface with a small metallic cranked spatula.

Cover the surface with cling film and store in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

For the biscuit base: Using a rolling pin, roll out the hazelnut rich shortcrust pastry to a thickness of 3mm.

Transfer the dough onto a Silpat baking mat, placed on top of a Silichef XL perforated baking sheet. Using a curved triangle cutter, cut the pastry in 8 shapes. Discard the pastry scraps.

Arrange the biscuits on the baking mat, making sure to leave enough space between each of them.

Bake in a fan-assisted oven at 170°C (gas 3) between 12 and 15 minutes.

When the hearts are completely frozen, remove from the freezer.

Remove the cling film...

... and gently release the shapes from the mould.

Arrange the hearts on top of a rack and return to the freezer until you're ready to pour the icing.

When cooked, remove the biscuits from the oven and set aside to cool.

For the passion fruit icing: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Place the clear mirror glaze in a bowl, then melt it in the microwave for about 10 seconds until homogeneous.

Add the passion fruit purée.

Using a hand blender (such as Bamix), mix until homogeneous. Make sure there are no air bubbles.

Add the gold colouring powder...

... and combine...

... until perfectly homogeneous and smooth.

Remove the hearts from the freezer and place the rack on top of a deep tray.

Using a small ladle, coat the hearts with the passion fruit icing. Make sure you pour the glaze in one stroke. Place in the fridge and let defrost slowly.

For the sugar decorations: Organise the necessary ingredients.

Place the Isomalt powder and castor sugar into a saucepan.

Place the saucepan on the hob, then gently combine these two ingredients...

... until you obtain a cooked sugar. The sugar will melt really quickly.

Continue cooking the sugar until it reaches 160°C. I recommend using a laser thermometer to facilitate the operation.

Take the pan away from the heat and let the sugar cool down to 120°C.

Dip a wooden pick (with a bead on its tip) in the cooked sugar. Let the sugar drip a little to create a thread of sugar. The thread should neither be too thin nor too thick. The sugar should set very quickly.

Cut the thread with scissors and arrange it carefully on a Silpat silicone mat and set aside to cool. While the sugar is still soft, make sure it is in a flat position on the mat. Repeat the same operation to create a total of 8 sugar threads. They will make beautiful decorations for our heart cakes.

Remove the passion fruit hearts from the fridge.

Carefully arrange one passion fruit heart on top of a triangle biscuit. I used a kitchen fork for this operation to lift the cake without damaging it.

Repeat the same operation with all cakes. Return to the fridge to let defrost further. This operation should be done while the hearts are still frozen. If you wait until the cakes are defrosted to place them on top of the biscuits, lifting them will be too tricky.

Fill eight disposable pipettes with raspberry purée...

... and reserve in the fridge.

For the finish: Cut the tip of the pipettes at a slanted angle. It will be easier to insert them inside the passion fruit cakes.

Insert the pipettes inside the heart cakes, at a slanted angle.

Repeat the operation with the remaining hearts.

Cut the sugar threads to the desired length, then carefully arrange them on the surface of the cakes. Finish by placing a small piece of gold leaf where the sugar thread is in contact with the surface of the cake. I recommend using decorating tweezers to decorate the cakes with gold leaf.

Congratulations, your passion fruit heart cakes are now finished.
Return them to the fridge until defrosted completely. Take the cakes out of the fridge at the last minute before serving.