Passion fruit lamington sponge

Passion fruit lamington syrup

Passion fruit lamington to assemble

Preheat your oven to 170°C (325°F). Grease and line a 30 x 24 x 5 cm (12 x 9.5 x 2 in) rectangular cake tin with butter or oil.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using a handheld electric whisk, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff, then slowly incorporate the sugar, beating until the granules are dissolved. Now add the egg yolks, beating in one at a time.

Pour the batter into a large bowl, then, as lightly as possible, sift and fold in the flour, cornflour and baking powder.

Pour the sponge batter into the prepared cake tin. Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the sponge comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let the sponge cool completely in the tin.

For the passion-fruit syrup, bloom the gelatine leaves in a small bowl of cold water for 5 minutes, until soft and pliable.

In a small saucepan, combine the passion-fruit juice and sugar. Place over medium-low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove and let cool slightly.

While the passion-fruit syrup is still hot, drain and squeeze dry the gelatine leaves, and stir into the syrup. Set aside.

Take a serrated knife and carefully trim and slice a couple of millimetres from the outer layer of the sponge, then cut into lamington squares.

To finish, dip the edges of the sponge squares into the passion-fruit syrup, then press into the coconut. Repeat until complete, then refrigerate

Split the lamingtons in half and place on a clean tray. Whip the cream and sugar together to form semi-soft peaks. Top one inner side of a lamington half with cream then top with the other half. Refrigerate until required.

Serve on a small plate with a fork, add extra cream if you like and, if you have fresh passion fruit, I like to serve a little fresh pulp on the side.