Apr 5, 2009

Lilikoi (Passion Fruit) Charlotte


My friend from college just came to visit me recently and we did a drive around the island. On our way home from the very yummy Giovanni's shrimp truck, we stopped by the cutest fruit stand. The lady there is so nice, and she had so many different exotic fruits. I bought some lilikois (passion fruit), some guavas, and this unusual fruit that she described as a creamy apple.

I can't for the life of me remember what she called this "apple", but it was delicious. I would not call it an apple, because it does not resemble an apple at all. It has a semi hard skin, that's about 1/4 inch thick and it's green. On the inside, there are these soft white wedges with black seeds. It is very creamy and has a very mild sweet flavor. It kinda reminds me of a mangosteen. Any idea what I'm talking about? I will have to hunt down this fruit again and take a picture.

Anyway...because of these lilikois that I have, I decided to make a lilikoi charlotte for my friend's husband's birthday. I have never attempted to make a charlotte (also known as charlotte russe) before and did quite a bit of research before proceeding. Before I started baking, I thought charlotte russe is the name of the clothing store...heehee. What I found out is, charlotte russe is a dessert that is lined with ladyfingers on the outside and a bavarian cream on the inside.

My take on the charlotte is not a bavarian cream, but a lilikoi mousse. I didn't get to taste the cake as a whole, as it was a gift. But I did try the components and I was happy with the results. I found the recipe for the ladyfingers at Bonbini. I love how she made her ladyfingers slanted, I thought it was so pretty, so I borrowed the idea! Here are the recipes.


Lilikoi (Passion fruit) Charlotte
adapted from Bonbini
makes one 7" cake
total time: 2 1/2 hours

for the ladyfingers:
4 yolks
1 1/2 oz. sugar
4 egg whites
2 1/4 oz. sugar
3 oz. cake flour, sifted
powdered sugar for dusting



1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Whip the egg yolks and 1 1/2 oz of the sugar until it is thick and pale yellow. Set aside.

3. Whip the egg whites and 2 1/4 oz of the sugar until stiff peaks form.

4. Fold 1/4 of egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten the batter. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites in two increments.

5. Sift in the flour and fold until just combined.

6. Fill the batter into the pastry bag with # 4 plain tip, pipe approximately 24 three inch long ladyfingers. Also pipe a spiral into a circle that's approximately 6 1/2 inches in diameter, this will be used to line the bottom of the cake.

7. Lightly dust them with powdered sugar bake for 8-10 minutes. You can tell that they're finished when they're golden in color. Also if you press lightly on the ladyfingers, they should spring back instead of leaving an indentation.


For the lilikoi mousse, refer to this recipe.

Assembly:
1. Line a 7" springform pan with parchment paper.

2. Take out enough ladyfingers to fit your pan (I used about 15 ladyfingers for a 7" pan). Trim the bottom edges of the lady fingers for a smooth edge. Line the edges of the pan with the ladyfingers. Place the spiral cake on the bottom of the pan.

3. Fill the cake with lilikoi mousse and decorate as you please.

11 comments:

100% Made with Love said...

Hey you!! I hope you had a nice time with your friend! Can I just say WOW WOW WOW!!! That's the most beautiful charlotte cake I ever seen!! We have lots of those here in France, but so far your's is the best, and it looks SO GOOD!!!The slanted ladyfingers is defenitely A++ :)

kk said...

oh you are so sweet!!! that made my day!! -kk

Christine said...

Amazing! You are definitely quite the baker!! I hope that I get to taste one of your beautiful treats sometime. Who from college came to visit?

dollee said...

Now THAT looks AMAZING. I saw Mr. G. tonight for dinner during his Bay Area visit. I jealously inquired if he gets to eat your baked goods.

kk said...

Hey Christine-it was a friend that I met when I was in Australia. I promise to make you something if you come to visit me!! =P

Hey Dollee-I'm more jealous of Cha Cha Cha. It sounds delicious..you are so lucky to live in the land of yummy food. =P

L said...

This looks amazing!!
I'd love to try this one day!
Oh, and I'm subscribing to your blog~ ;D

L said...

Oh. And the fruit you're referring to as "creamy apple", we call it custard apple over here. I think it's an Asian fruit. Mmmm.. haven't had them for a long time!

kk said...

i bake for you-oh my goodness!! Thank you!! I have been trying to search for the "creamy" apple online, with no success. -kk

Anonymous said...

Maybe you were talking about Dragon Fruit? That's what they are called in the UK anyway.

Unknown said...

I wonder if what you describe might have been a Soursop? We just discovered them ourselves this week, along with Rollinia. You may want to try to find that next. STRANGE looking fruit. Spikey, yellow, green, & black. The fruit can be of an interesting texture if overripe.....but the taste is heavenly!

Unknown said...

I believe you may have just described a Soursop. Not at all like its name! Green, tending to light yellowish tinge. Soft to touch. The black seeds in kind of a sac? Another possibility is Rillinia but they are similar in shape to a very large Dragonfruit. Spiles, green to yellow & black when ripe. The fruit is custard like in both. The Soursop has a (very) slightly more fibrous texture, while the Rollinia can lean to more thick liquidy if overripe. ("Mucousy"....but the flavor is luscious!). The seeds of both are black and must be removed prior to eating the fruit. We have only JUST learned of these fruits this very week thanks to an awesome neighbor! Remove the fruits....puree if needed, & freeze in ice cube trays for smoothies......or in muffin tins for ice cream like snacks!

 

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