Back with another old favourite this week, but with a twist - this is a variation on a lovely, simple dessert, the Lemon Delight. I've always been a huge fan of passionfruit, and so I am beyond thrilled that our passionfruit vine is, in a word, THRIVING. We have been treated to an inflorescence of glorious, white and purple passionfruit flowers which last a day or so, then transform into almost perfectly spherical globes of light green fruit. Under the hot Colombo sun, they have been growing slowly but surely, changing from jade to chartreuse and finally to golden yellow, and a few days ago, we picked the first few fruit. Such a thrill! It seemed only fitting to use them to up the ante on one of my favourite desserts.
The recipe I use is from the Ceylon Daily News Cookery Book, which, despite being organised in somewhat quaint categories (such as Invalid & Convalescent Cookery, Hors-d'Oeuvres, Short Eats to name a few), is still a formidable repository of dishes from Sri Lanka, including those influenced by its colonial past. This pudding originated in England but is also a classic in Australia and New Zealand - in those countries it has a slightly different name - Lemon Delicious - but it is the same pudding. When I say "old", I do mean "OLD" - Wikipedia tells me that similar recipes have been found in cook books from the 17th century!
This is one of those simple, wholesome puddings - no fancy ingredients, no time-consuming, fiddly method - that nevertheless manages to be something far more special than the sum of its parts. Butter, sugar, milk, a mere couple of spoons of flour, eggs, lime rind and juice and that's it. Who would have thought that these humble ingredients, when left to their own devices in the oven, would transform into a light, luscious, pudding which, if not exactly sophisticated, is still pretty special.
I made this with passionfruit juice - slightly reducing the lemon juice and mixing in some passionfruit pulp - and it was divine. As with the Lemon Delight, as the pudding baked, it separated into two distinct layers - a light and airy top, reminiscent of a soufflé, and a rich, passionfruit-curd like sauce, which pooled underneath. The combination of the two make for the most wonderfully satisfying dessert. It is a perfect way to end those meals which leave you full, but wanting something light and sweet to draw a line under it, so to speak.
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