Passion Fruit Curd Cupcakes

I only recently tasted Passion Fruit and really enjoyed it.  So I bought some and made some curd and then used that in some tarts.  However I had a problem with the video, so I couldn’t put it on youtube, but it is in this blog.

Passion Fruits tend to be very expensive, but I found some Passion Fruit Puree online from a reputable company, so I bought a 1 kg carton.  It is 90% Passion Fruit and 10% sugar, with no additives.  The puree is actually more like a juice.  As is Passion Fruit pulp if you make your own.

So I decided that today I would make some cupcakes and some Passion Fruit Curd to go in the middle of them. Then to top it off I wanted to make some buttercream frosting, also with a flavour of Passion Fruit.

Since I have a lot of puree I made more curd than I would need for the cupcakes, so that I could put it in jars and use it later.

The cakes, as ever, are easy to make. The curd too is quite easy, though you have to stir it all the time to ensure the egg doesn’t cook and go lumpy. 

I am very pleased with how mine turned out.  The Passion Fruit Curd seemed a little runny as I inserted it into the cupcakes, but that was the heat from my hands loosening it up.  The jars that I refrigerated have firmed up to a nice spreadable consistency.

Of course you could make these cupcakes with any curd, shop bought or home made.  But since I had the Passion Fruit puree that seemed to be the obvious choice.

Ingredients:
For the curd:

• 8 medium eggs yolks(large in USA)
• 200g granulated sugar
• 160ml passion fruit puree(no seeds)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 140g unsalted butter.

For the cupcakes:

• 113g softened unsalted butter
• 130g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs(large in USA)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Zest of one lemon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 195g plain flour
• 60ml whole milk

For the buttercream:

• 113g softened butter, unsalted
• 230g icing sugar
• 2tbsp passion fruit puree

Method:

1. Place the egg yolks, salt,  granulated sugar and 160ml passion fruit puree into a heatproof bowl and whisk to combine.
2. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bowl.
3. Whisk continuously until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Remove the bowl from the heat and add the butter, stirring until it has all mixed into the egg mixture.
5. If you have any lumps of cooked egg you can sieve the curd through a fine strainer.
6. You can jar up, in sterilised jars, 2/3 of the curd and allow the remaining curd to cool ready for use in the cupcakes.
7. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F.  
8. Line a muffin tin with paper cases.
9. In the bowl of an stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitter(you can do this by hand or with a hand mixer) mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffly, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
10. Add the eggs, one and a time and beat until fully combined.
11. Add the vanilla extrace and beat until fully combined.
12. In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder salt and lemon zest together.
13. Add the flour in three additions, interspersed with the milk in two additions, to the butter mixture and mix until just combined each time.
14. Divide the batter into the 12 muffin cases.
15. Bake in the oven for 17 to 20 minutes, until springy to the touch and a skewer inserted come out clean.
16. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool completely.
17. Sieve the icing sugar.
18. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment fitted, add the butter and icing sugar and mix, slowly at first to avoid clouds of sugar, until combined.  
19. Add the passion fruit puree and mix again, until fully combined.
20. Adjust the mixture by adding more sugar to make it firmer, or more liquid to make it looser.
21. Place the reserved curd into a piping bag( I used a special nozzle on mine, for inserting into cakes) and either cut out a hole in the top of each cake and fill with curd, replacing the top, or insert the nozzle and squeeze curd into the centre of the cake.
22. Wipe any excess curd from the cupcakes.
23. Place the buttercream into a piping bag that has a star nozzle fitted.
24. Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake, starting on the outside and working into the centre, pulling up at the middle to make a point.
25. Refrigerate for a short while to allow the buttercream to firm up slightly, then serve.