Passionfruit Cream Cheese Sponge
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- 75g/2.65 ozs butter
- 375g/13.25 ozs cream cheese
- 150 ml/5 fl ozs milk
- 90g/3 ozs plain flour
- 30g/1 oz cornflour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 225g/8ozs fine granulated sugar
- 9 eggs separated
- 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Passionfruit cream cheese
- 250g/8.83ozs. cream cheese, softened
- 113g/1 stick butter, softened
- 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
- 4 tablespoons fresh Passionfruit
- Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 160C/325F and line the base and sides of 2x20cm/8inch round tins. Have a tray with high sides ready that will fit the two tins in it to act as a water bath. Place a kettle full of water to boil. Mix cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Cool the mixture. Fold in the flour, the cornflour, egg yolks, vanilla and mix well. Whisk the egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form.
Step 2 - Add one third of the whites to the mix and fold in gently and then repeat in two more lots folding until no streaks remain. Divide the mixture among the two tins. If you are using springform tins then wrap them in two layers of foil to prevent water getting through. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes and then cool completely.
Step 3 - Beat the cream cheese and butter together. I do it really quickly in a food processor by adding the icing sugar there (instead of sifting which I hate doing) and then blending in the cream cheese and butter. Then I transfer it to a bowl and then mix in the passionfruit and lemon (I don't do it in the processor because I didn't want to break up the passionfruit seeds). Spread it on half of the cake and then refrigerate to set. Then add the other layer once the middle icing has set and then spread it over the top layer.