I have been meaning to create a new flavor for my cake collection, and have been indecisive on what to pair coconut flavor with. I've done coconut and lemon curd, and that worked out amazing, but I was in search for something new. During my walks/ surfing for inspiration, I often see that coconut flavors are mostly paired up with cherry, but one day my sister suggested to go with passionfruit.




My second problem was (and it always have been a big deal when I am creating a new flavor mixture) what frosting would go best with it. Seeing how I lately am quite taken by white chocolate ganache - I went with that.


My signature cakes are tall and have tall decos - so I also went with white chocolate shards. I will omit that part from the recipe but here's a link of how-to-make-chocolate-shards

I have to say I was really happy with the cake. It taste like my favorite coconut milkshake. The flavor combination is amazing, and the cake itself is so creamy and moist. Definitely one of my favorites!

Coconut and Passion Fruit Cake 

Ingredients

Coconut Cake 

150ml coconut milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp coconut extract (optional)

200g caster sugar

170g softened butter

2 large eggs

200g plain flour

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1. Heat oven to 180C/350F. Warm the coconut milk on stove till boils and set aside to cool. Add vanilla extract and coconut extract to cooled coconut milk
2. Sift flour and baking powder
3. In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar till pale and fluffy, add eggs one at a time. 
4. In two addition, add in the dry ingredients and alternate it with the coconut milk mixture. Beat on medium speed till combined.
5. Line baking pan with parchment paper (either two 8 inch/ 9 inch pan or three 7 inch pan) and grease side with butter/ nonstick spray. Bake for 20-25 mins or when the skewer inserted comes out clean. Let cake layer cool

Passionfruit Curd 

180 ml (3/4 cup) fresh passion fruit pulp (about 6-7 fruit)
155g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
125g chiled butter, chopped 

Combine the butter, sugar, passionfruit and egg yolks in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Transfer to a sterilized jar and place in fridge for 1 hour to chill. 

White Chocolate Ganache 

250g white chocolate  

250g heavy cream

Place white chocolate in a bowl (if using chocolate bars break into small pieces). In a saucepan, bring to boil the heavy cream, then pour into the bowl with white chocolate. Mix till all white chocolate melted. Refrigerate to set. When set, take out and using an electric mixer, beat till fluffy. 

Assembling
For every layer, put a layer of ganache and two tablespoon passion fruit curd. Top layer drizzle for decoration. Chill before serving. Goes great with tea or better with milk!

Karpatka, is a traditional Polish cream dessert. It is composed of choux pastry slices and filled with a light and creamy layer of vanilla custard cream.







I have the habit of going through Pintrest for inspiration to create a new cake flavor. During one of my sleepless night I stumbled upon this dessert: called the Karpatka (Polish's version of vanilla slice). I remembered how Jakub keeps telling me about this famous dessert and how its his all-time favorite.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

There was some over ripe pears laying around, as I prefer the crunchy pears, I decided to make a tatin out of them. Went through a few recipes and I settled for Jamie's Pear Tart Tatin recipe - with a few twist.

Pear Tart Tatin 

125 g half caster sugar, half brown sugar 

40 g cold butter, chopped 

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

3 large pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges 

frozen puff pastry sheet 

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Meanwhile put a frying pan with an oven proof handle on medium heat. Caramelize the sugar till it turn into a beautiful caramel color and after that add the butter and cinnamon into the caramelized sugar - stir to combine.
2. Place the pear, and turn down the heat, and cook for 5-10 minutes - pear tender, yet still keep its shape. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Take the thawed pastry sheet and place it on top the caramelized pears and tuck it in around the pear and down into the pan
3. Bake ~ 30-40 minutes or till the puff pastry is puffed and turned golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool. Run down the spatula around the edge and placed a plate underneath and flipped the tart over. Served with your favorite ice cream

3-INGREDIENT NUTELLA CROISSANTS

Ingredients:

• 1 package (2 sheets) store-bought puff pastry*, thawed but still cool

• 3/4 cup Nutella

• 1 egg (plus 1 tablespoon of water)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 170C/ 350F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or misting with cooking spray.
2. Sprinkle a cutting board or flat surface lightly with flour. Then spread out the puff pastry sheet so that it is flat. Use a rolling pin to roll out the puff pastry until it is smooth and even. Use a pizza cutter or knife to then cut the puff pastry along the three folding lines into thirds. Then cut each long rectangle into two long triangles, making six triangles total.
3. Place a dallop (about 1 tablespoon) of Nutella on the wide end of the triangle, and use a spoon to spread it out just a bit over the triangle. (Try to leave at least a 1/2-inch border all the way around the edges of the triangle, though, so the Nutella does not seep out during baking.) Then, beginning with the wide end of the triangle, roll the dough up into a croissant shape. Place on a baking sheet, and turn in the edges of the dough slightly to make a "U" croissant shape.
4. Repeat with the remaining five triangles.
5. to make egg wash, whisk together the egg and one tablespoon of water until combined. Then brush the egg mixture onto the top of each croissant. (You can also use the egg wash to help seal the ends of the croissant, if they are not holding together.)
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the croissants are golden and flaky. Serve immediately or store in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
7. To make these vegan, I recommend using Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, melted vegan butter (instead of an egg), and vegan chocolate hazelnut spread. (Baked for 30 mins.)