The surprisingly excellent passionfruit cake

This evening, faced with two bunches of rapidly wrinkling passionfruit, I hunted around for a recipe. I didn't quite feel like a passionfruit tart, and shortbreads didn't use up quite enough at a go. What I really wanted, I suppose, was a passionfruit mousse cake, one of those things that you ever only get at classy bakeries with expensive arty decorations on that cost more than 50 dollars.

Unfortunately, I am also an impatient cook and frankly couldn't be arsed with the fuss of making the mousse. So, instead, I looked through my trusty Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander, dismissed 'jackie's mum's sponge cake' (made it before, too dry, eggy and gritty), and thought I'd give the Genoise Sponge a go, and What A Massive Success! I have Made a Sponge Cake! a NICE sponge cake!

This sort of domestic achievement is quite overwhelming. Next, I might just sew my own curtains! Make lace doilies! Hand me my frilly apron!

So anyhow, I am going to preserve this moment for posterity by writing down the recipe here. I tweaked it the wee-est bit and don't want to forget. If you're thinking of making a sponge cake, this is The One. As Bear says, it was fan-bloody-marvellous. The best sponge cake he's ever had, he's serious.

This is where I would put the photo except I haven't taken a photo. The cake is now sitting in the fridge divided into several tupperwares and being unattractive, so I'll take a photo next time I make it. I still have plenty of passionfruit to use up!

The Surprisingly Excellent Passionfruit Sponge Cake
(adapted from Stepanie Alexander's Cook's Companion, p. 429)

Ingredients for the genoise:
5 eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup caster sugar
50g cake flour, 100g plain flour (the original recipe uses all plain)
60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Ingredients for assembly:
Juice from 6 passionfruit (strain the pulp) for moistening the sponge
A glop of organic cream
Icing sugar to taste
Pulp from 2 passionfruit

Oven: 180'C

Prepare your cake tin as usual. I parchment the base and butter the sides.
Beat the eggs and sugar together in a deep mixing bowl with an electric mixer - you want to mix it for a while, the recipe says 10 minutes, I did maybe 5 or 6. it should become expand quite a lot and thicken and become pale.
Sift the flour(s) over the egg mixture and fold in gently but thoroughly using a spatula or large metal spoon.
Drizzle in the melted butter, then fold in thoroughly.
Pour into cake tin and bake for 15-18 minutes till top of cake feels springy to the touch.
It says don't open the oven door before 15 minutes has elapsed. I checked at the 15 minute mark but it was still a little uncertain. I eventually left it in for about 20 minutes in my fan forced oven because I forgot and was cleaning up, and that was fine.
Cool cake in tin for a few minutes, then turn out and cool completely.

To assemble, cut cake into half with a long serrated knife, then brush both cut surfaces with the passionfruit juice till it's all used up.

Whip the cream (however much you want) with the icing sugar (to taste) till it's softly whipped, holding soft peaks (do it by hand to avoid getting butter), and then fold in the passionfruit pulp. Lovingly slather the passionfruit cream over the base, then somehow manouvre the top layer down, and finish by sifting some icing sugar over the whole thing. Tadah! Keep chilled, and then serve to great acclaim.

Buon appetito!