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Adriano Zumbo’s passionfruit, lychee and coconut bûche de Noël

Australian Gourmet Traveller Christmas dessert recipe for passionfruit, lychee and coconut bûche de Noël by Adriano Zumbo.
Adriano Zumbo: Passionfruit, lychee and coconut bûche de Noël

Adriano Zumbo: Passionfruit, lychee and coconut bûche de Noël

William Meppem
15
2H
40M
2H 40M

“I’m into white at the moment – I want to keep it simple. This is a coconut-pandan mousse with a passionfruit, pineapple, mango and lychee centre, all covered with marshmallow. I won’t be disappointed if you buy the marshmallows instead of making them – just make your own pattern with them on top.” You’ll need to begin this recipe a day ahead.

Ingredients

Coconut dacquoise
Coconut pandan mousse
Marshmallows

Method

Main

1.Reserve 10gm each of lychee and mango, then process remaining lychee and mango in a small food processor until smooth. Add passionfruit pulp, stir to combine, then transfer one-quarter of fruit purée to a small saucepan. Warm over low heat, stir in sugar until dissolved. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to pan, stir to dissolve. Add to remaining puree, stir to combine, stir through pineapple, reserved lychee and mango, pour into a 9cm x 18cm loaf tin lined with plastic wrap, refrigerate until set (2-3 hours). Turn jelly out of tin, trim edges, then cut out four 2.5cm x 16cm strips (there will be jelly left over), refrigerate until required.
2.Meanwhile, for coconut dacquoise, preheat oven to 180C. Combine coconut, icing sugar and almond meal in a bowl, set aside. Whisk eggwhite in an electric mixer until soft peaks form (1-2 minutes). Gradually add sugar, whisking continuously until firm peaks form (5-6 minutes), then fold through coconut mixture and lime leaves. Spread in base of a 20cm square cake tin, greased and lined with baking paper, smooth top. Bake until just beginning to colour (10-15 minutes), then cool in tin. Cut out two 2.5cm x 18cm strips and two 6cm x 18cm rectangles from dacquoise and set aside until required.
3.For coconut pandan mousse, combine sugar and eggwhite in a small saucepan, stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Warm to 65C on a sugar thermometer (2-3 minutes), then cool to room temperature. Transfer to an electric mixer, whisk until firm peaks form, set aside. Combine coconut cream and pandan leaves in a saucepan, simmer gently over very low heat to infuse (10-12 minutes). Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to coconut mixture, stir to combine, then process with a handheld blender until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl placed over ice, whisking occasionally until beginning to thicken (5-10 minutes). Fold through whipped cream and reserved meringue.
4.Lightly oil a 35cm-long, 800ml-capacity bûche de Noël mould (see note), line with plastic wrap and half-fill with coconut pandan mousse. Place two strips of jelly end to end down centre, pressing firmly into mousse, then lay remaining jelly strips on top. Top with two dacquoise strips, placed end to end, then fill mould with remaining mousse, smoothing top. Top with dacquoise rectangles placed end to end to cover mousse completely, cover and freeze until firm (6 hours or overnight).
5.Meanwhile, for marshmallows, combine sugar and 75ml water in a saucepan, stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Cook until mixture reaches 118C on a sugar thermometer (4-5 minutes), remove from heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to syrup with vanilla. Meanwhile, whisk eggwhite in an electric mixer until foamy, then add hot syrup in a steady stream, whisking continuously on low speed. Increase speed to medium and whisk until cooled to room temperature (6-8 minutes). Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm plain nozzle and pipe strips onto trays lined with lightly oiled baking paper, stand until firm and set (4-5 hours). Remove baking paper, roll marshmallow in icing sugar, shaking off excess, then cut into 4cm lengths with scissors dusted with icing sugar.
6.To serve, unmould bûche de Noël onto a serving plate, arrange marshmallow over log and serve immediately.

Note Bûche de Noël moulds are half-cylinder moulds available from specialist kitchenware shops.

This recipe is from the December 2009 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine.

Notes

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