Lilikoi [Passion Fruit] Chiffon Cake

PUREE:
Whisk together the 6 eggs with the 6 egg yolks in a heatproof glass bowl. Add the 3/4 cup sugar [up to 1 1/3 cup] and the lilikoi puree.

Set a heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water [the bottom should not touch the water]. Stir mixture constantly until it thickens. Mixture should coat the back of a spoon. Pour through a strainer to get rid of lumps. Set aside.

CHIFFON CAKE:
Beat 9 egg whites with cream of tartar until it reaches the soft peak stage. “Shower” in 1/2 cup of the sugar while beating until stiff and glossy. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down without the egg whites falling out. Set aside.

Sift together remaining 1 cup of sugar, cake flour, salt, and baking powder. Add egg yolks, water, oil, and extract [or lemon zest]. Beat until smooth.

Add the egg whites mixture to the yolk mixture. Using a rubber spatula, fold the mixture gently in a circular motion until combined.

Pour into three 8 inch round pans [I set parchment paper on the bottom of each of the pans], baking 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Use skewer or toothpick to test for readiness.

Flip the cake to cool upside down [still in pan]. When the cake is cool to the touch, I like to squish the cake down so it tears away from the sides of the pan. It’s a chiffon so can withstand the “squish” techniques. [If it seems to be sticking too much to the sides, simply run a knife along the edge to separate.]

WHIP CREAM [from Joy of Baking]:
I’m not sure if there’s a difference but they said to chill the whisk, the bowl, and ALL of the ingredients to achieve maximum volume. So I did it. I whisked the whipping cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla & sugar together and achieved the perfect frosting!

ASSEMBLY:
I cut the 8″ rounds in half (horizontally) so that each cake pan gave me 2 rounds for a total of 6 rounds. I started by spreading the lilikoi puree mixture on top of the first layer, stacked on the next cake, then layered the whipped cream, stack on the next cake and spread with lilikoi puree, then the next with whipped cream, so on and so forth until it’s fully assembled. Finally, frost the cake using the remaining whipped cream frosting.