Food For Thought Thursdays: Passionfruit & Citrus Cheesecake and Passionfruit Coconut Sorbet

One of the best things about the summer season is the abundance of fresh fruit available. I love passionfruit and found two incredible recipes on Cafe Liz that I had to share with you. Because these desserts are so luxe and rich, they would be the perfect ending to a lighter, more delicate meal of a citrus -infused fish entree. I really like the presentation of the ice cream in the passionfruit shells, coconut would be very stylish as well. Ejoy!
Passionfruit Citrus Cheesecake

For one 16-centimeter cake (approximately 6 centimeters tall):

For the filling:
600 grams cream cheese (I use 500 grams 5% fat, and 100 grams 30% fat)
200 grams passion fruit (weight including shells)
6 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange
juice of 1/2 lemon

For the crust:
120 grams plain cookies
40 grams butter

For the glaze (optional):
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup orange juice

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.

Blend the butter and cookies in a food processor until you have thick crumbs, and pack into the bottom of your prepared baking ring or spring-form pan, so that you have an even layer of crust.

Cut open the passion fruits, and scoop out the yellow insides into a bowl. I don’t bother to strain out the seeds, since that’s what makes the cake look like it’s passion-fruit flavored, but you could. Mix with the rest of the filling ingredients.

Pour the filling into the crust, and put into the oven. After about 10 minutes, cover the top of the cheesecake with foil, to keep it from browning. Let bake for about an hour.

Then, turn off the oven, and let the cake cool down in the oven for at least 1/2 hour (you can crack the door open slightly.)

Once the cake begins to approach room temperature, take it out of the oven and let it sit for a few more hours, until it is completely cool. At this point, you can safely remove the baking ring/spring form pan without the cake falling apart. If you followed all these steps patiently, your cake will look like the one in the top photo, and not the disaster I described. Chill.

Top with glaze before serving (optional): Reduce the orange juice and the sugar in a saucepan, until thick and glossy. Spoon over slices of cake before serving. The glaze will be absorbed into the cake if left to sit on it in the fridge; therefore, it’s best saved for the last minute.

Passionfruit Coconut Sorbet

15 passion fruits (about 750 grams with the shells)
3 cups coconut cream
1 cup sugar
water (optional)

Slice open the passion fruits, and scoop out the filling (seeds and all). Mix with the coconut cream and sugar (and the optional water). Chill if ingredients are not at refrigerator temperature. Churn in your ice cream maker according to the instructions. Once the ice cream is frozen, put in the freezer to harden.

**recipes and images courtesy of Cafe Liz