Lilikoi Chiffon Pie

the mid-century Hawaiian classic: a cloud of passion-fruit-scented chiffon lightened with beaten egg white, set in a crumb crust and topped with whipped cream

Origin: United States

From the journey of Passion Fruit.

Lilikoi is the Hawaiian name for the passion fruit, taken from the Maui gulch where the vine was first planted in the eighteen-eighties, and it is one of the defining flavours of island baking. The chiffon pie itself is an American invention of the early twentieth century, a marvel of the era's lighter-than-air ambitions: a cooked custard base is set with gelatine, then folded through with beaten egg whites so that it sets into something between a mousse and a soufflé, far lighter than a cream pie, and poured into a crumb or pastry shell. Hawaii took the form and made it its own with the tart local fruit, and the lilikoi chiffon pie became a fixture of island bakeries, church suppers, and plate-lunch counters from the nineteen-fifties onward. It is exactly suited to its climate and its fruit: cool, airy, barely sweet, and shot through with the sharp perfume of passion fruit, which cuts the richness in a way that a heavier custard could not. Pale yellow beneath a drift of whipped cream, and often finished with a spoonful of raw seeded pulp, it is one of the great desserts of the Hawaiian table.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 200 g digestive or graham crackers, crushed
  • 100 g unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar

Filling

  • 180 ml passion fruit pulp, sieved (from about 8 passion fruit)
  • 4 whole eggs, separated
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp powdered gelatine
  • 4 tbsp cold water
  • 1 pinch salt

Topping

  • 300 ml double cream, whipped, to top
  • 2 tbsp passion fruit pulp with seeds, to finish

Method

  1. Make the crust: mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and 2 tbsp sugar, press firmly into a 23 cm pie dish, and chill for 30 minutes (or bake at 180°C for 10 minutes and cool).
  2. Sprinkle the gelatine over the cold water in a small bowl and leave for 5 minutes to swell. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar until pale, then whisk in the sieved passion fruit pulp and the salt.
  3. Cook the yolk and passion fruit mixture in a bowl over gently simmering water, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Take off the heat and stir in the softened gelatine until fully dissolved. Cool until just beginning to thicken and set at the edges.
  4. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks, add the remaining sugar, and whisk to a firm, glossy meringue. Fold a third into the passion fruit base to loosen it, then fold in the remainder gently in two additions.
  5. Pile the filling into the chilled crust, smooth the top, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, until fully set. Top with whipped cream and spoon over the reserved seeded pulp just before serving.

Notes

Those wary of raw egg white in the folded meringue can use pasteurised whites, or make an Italian meringue by pouring hot sugar syrup onto the whisking whites, which also gives a slightly more stable set. Frozen lilikoi or passion fruit purée, widely sold, works perfectly and is what most island bakers use out of season. The same chiffon method makes the guava and lime versions found alongside it in Hawaiian bakeries; a macadamia-nut crumb crust is a common local refinement.

The Gastrographer

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