P is for passion fruit, G is for guava

Hawaii is a haven for exotic tropical fruits, not the least being the Hawaiian Passion Fruit and the Hawaiian Guava....

Hawaiian Passion Fruit or Lilikoi

 

Hawaiian Passion Fruit, or Liliko'i as we call it here, is a yellow variety of passion fruit, not the purple kind that grows in South America or Australia . The lilikoi tastes great all by itself, but it can also be used in cooking savory dishes, in desserts, or even in martinis and margaritas.

 

 

 

 

Lilikoi Cheesecake

 

Makes one eight inch cheesecake.

Shortbread Crust:
¼ lb. plus ½ oz. butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp. flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour and sugar together. Using fingertips or a pastry blender, work butter in the flour mixture until coarse meals form. Lightly work mixture to form dough. Press the dough into the bottom of an eight-inch spring form pan. Bake for thirty minutes. Let cool completely

Cheesecake:
24 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract (or one vanilla bean, split)
½ cup passion fruit puree

Preheat over to 350 degrees, Begin to boil water for the water bath.

Combine sugar and cream cheese in a bowl of a stand mixer. Cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrap down the bowl in between each egg.

Add heavy cream, vanilla and passion fruit puree and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place cheesecake pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water in the large pan until hallway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil prior to adding water.

Bake 45–55 minutes, until it almost done (will jiggle in the center). Turn off the oven, and let sit for one hour. After one hour, remove cheesecake from the oven, remover from water bath and let cool completely. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate to chill. Top with glaze once fully chilled.

Passion Fruit Glaze:
¼ cup water
½ cup sugar
¼ cup passion fruit pulp
Juice of ¼ lemon

Boil water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat for five minutes. Add passion fruit and lemon juice and boil for three minutes. Remover from heat and allow to cool. Garnish cheesecake with passion fruit glaze.

 

recipe courtesy of Chef Mike Fennelly

 

 

 

 

 

 Hawaiian Guava

 

The Guava is the favorite wild fruit in Hawaii, found growing abundantly throughout the islands. It is rich in vitamin C.

There are innumerable recipes for utilizing guavas in pies, cakes, puddings, sauce, ice cream, jam, butter, marmalade, chutney, relish, and other products.

 



 

 

 

 

 

Guava Cake Recipe

Guava Cake, is a delicious desert made from the juice of the guava fruit, common throughout Hawaii and a favorite dessert.
This recipe is courtesy of the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu.

Ingredients:

• 1 package yellow cake mix or strawberry cake mix
• 1-1/3 cup guava juice
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 small package Cool Whip, thawed
• 2 cup guava juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch

Preparation:

Bake cake according to package directions, substituting guava juice for water. In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with hand mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla and beat in. Slowly fold in the Cool Whip and refrigerate until ready to use. In a medium saucepan, bring the 2 cups guava juice and sugar to a boil. Make a paste out of the cornstarch and a small amount of water. Remove guava juice from heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Return to heat and bring back to a boil and boil for one minute. Cool in refrigerator.

Assembly:

Thickly ice the cake with all of the cream cheese mixture. Glaze the top of the cake with guava gel. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

 

Aloha nui loa my friends