Ingredients

Method

For the base:
• 125 g salted butter
• 110 g white sugar
• 150 g cake flour
• 65 g desiccated coconut
• 1⁄2 t baking powder
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 4 T boiling water
• 200 g salted butter, melted
For the filling:
• 2 x 80 g packets lemon jelly powder
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 x 385 g can condensed milk
• 440 g fresh granadilla pulp
For the Italian meringue:
• 4 free-range egg whites
• 300 g caster sugar
• 7 T water

Method

Ingredients

To make the base, preheat the oven to 180°C. Cream the butter and sugar. Add the flour, coconut and baking powder.

Dissolve the cocoa in the boiling water. Add to the mixture and combine well.

Roll the biscuit mixture into marble-sized balls, place on a greased baking tray, and press lightly with a fork to flatten.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the biscuits on a wire rack until completely cool.

Process the biscuits and melted butter to form semi-fine crumbs. Press the crumbs into the base and up the sides of 2 x 20 cm tart tins. Place in the fridge to firm up.

To make the filling, dissolve the jelly powder in the boiling water. Allow to cool slightly. Mix the condensed milk and fresh granadilla pulp. Add the lemon jelly mixture and stir through until well combined.

Divide the filling between the two chilled tart shells and place in the fridge overnight (or for at least 5 hours) to set.

To make the Italian meringue, place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring continually until the sugar dissolves. Stop stirring at this point, otherwise the sugar will crystallise.

Place a sugar thermometer into the saucepan and cook the sugar syrup until it reaches 110°C on the thermometer.

When the syrup reaches 110°C, start whisking the egg whites. When the sugar reaches 114°C and the egg whites are at soft-peak stage, start adding the sugar syrup to the egg whites, pouring it very slowly in a thin stream against the side of the bowl while whisking. Keep whisking until the egg whites reach stiff-peak stage and the outside of the bowl is cool. The meringue will have a smooth, glossy appearance.

Scoop the meringue onto the granadilla filling. Use a blowtorch to lightly brown the tops.

Cook's note: My mom, Mauveen Cameron, always had a few tart shells in her pantry cupboard in case someone popped in over a mealtime. Then she’d whip up a lemon meringue tart, milk tart or granadilla tart. For this recipe, I’ve taken her granadilla tart made with lemon jelly powder, condensed milk and granadilla pulp, and made it my own, topping it with an Italian meringue and making a home-made “Romany Cream” base, biscuits that my sister and I used to whip up when we were craving something sweet.

Discover more fruity-dessert recipes here.