Passion Fruit Mousse Pie - Everyday Annie

One thing I love about celebrating Pi(e) Day is that it always inspires me to think outside the pie plate, as it were. Something about this day gets my creative juices flowing. This year, I have been inspired to bring you not one but two fabulous pies! Last week I shared cinnamon bun pie (totally still drooling over that, by the way). After that I was feeling something more on the fruity side of the pie spectrum, but not your typical traditional pie crust + standard fruit filling. After extensive thought partly inspired by my recent stockpiling of passion fruit puree from the Latin grocery store, the idea of a passion fruit mousse pie just stuck with me.

Passion fruit is such an irresistible flavor to me. The sweet tartness of it and its intense fragrance is unlike anything else, but it can also be easily overpowered by other more dominant flavors. Ultimately I kept the flavors here simple to let the passion fruit shine. The chocolate crumb crust and dark chocolate ganache layer on the bottom serve to complement the silky smooth passion fruit filling. The fresh passion fruit seeds for garnish aren’t absolutely essential but if you can find fresh passion fruit, I really recommend using them. They add a nice brightness that is the perfect finishing touch to this deliciously unique pie.

PS – Shout out as always to my incredible high school calculus teacher Mr. Strawn! He rocked pi like nobody’s business. This one is for you!

Yield 1 8-inch pie

Ingredients

For the filling:

100 grams (½ cup) passion fruit puree
65 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp. water
1 tsp. powdered gelatin
170 grams (12 tbsp.) butter, very cold
2 grams (½ tsp.) kosher salt
½ cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

For the crust:

79 grams (½ cup) flour
3 grams (¾ tsp.) cornstarch
75 grams (6 tbsp.) granulated sugar
49 grams (½ cup) cocoa powder
3 grams (¾ tsp.) kosher salt
64 grams (4½ tbsp.) plus 21 grams (1½ tbsp.) butter, melted (divided)
57 grams (¼ cup) finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
57 grams (¼ cup) heavy cream

To finish:

Whipped cream
Fresh passion fruit pulp

Directions

01
To make the passion fruit curd, put the passion fruit puree in a blender with the sugar and blend until the sugar granules have dissolved. Add the eggs and blend on low until the mixture is bright orange-yellow. Transfer the contents of the blender to a medium pot or saucepan, and clean out the blender canister. Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin evenly over the top to bloom the gelatin. In the saucepan, heat the passion fruit mixture over low heat, whisking often. It will begin to thicken as it heats up. Once it boils, remove it from the heat and transfer to the clean blender canister. Add in the bloomed gelatin, butter, and salt, and blend until the mixture is thick, shiny and very smooth. Transfer to a heatproof container, cover and refrigerate until completely cool, at least 1 hour.
02
To make the chocolate crumb, heat the oven to 300˚ F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Mix on low speed until combined. Add in the 64 grams of butter and mix until the mixture starts to form small clusters. Spread the clusters on the prepared baking sheet. Baking for 20 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. Remove from the oven. The crumbs will dry and harden as they cool. Cool completely.
03
Place the chocolate crumb mixture in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground into a sand-like texture. In a bowl, combine with the remaining 21 grams of butter and mix with a fork until crumbly. Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Transfer the chocolate crumb mixture to the prepared pan and press firmly to the bottom and sides to form a thin crust. Place the chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Heat the cream to nearly boiling. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes, then whisk until a smooth ganache forms. Pour the ganache into the bottom of the chocolate crumb crust in the springform pan. Spread in an even layer. Transfer to the refrigerator or freezer briefly to set.
04
With an electric mixer or immersion blender with whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar on high speed until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat.) Remove the passion fruit curd from the refrigerator. Mix well with a spatula until smooth and silky. Gently fold in the freshly whipped cream in two portions until no streaks remain. Pour the passion fruit filling into the chocolate crust and smooth into an even layer. Cover and chill until set, at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, garnish with additional whipped cream and fresh passion fruit pulp as desired.

Source

chocolate crumb/crust and passion fruit curd slightly adapted from Milk Bar by Christina Tosi