White Gold Passion Genoise

I've wanted to make this cake since I purchased the book. Two things held me back: the inability to locate frozen passion fruit puree and the intimidation of a 5 page recipe. When I found the fruit puree at my local grocery store, (quite by accident next to the samosas!), I knew it was time to tackle the recipe. And I'm so glad I did.

This is the most delicious cake I have ever tasted: a moist vanilla sponge flavoured with passion fruit syrup, filled with sweet-tart passion fruit curd, and frosted with a delicate, white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Every bite is sheer bliss.

Each component is relatively simple to make and can be made in advance. The cake itself can be assembled ahead of time (the recipe recommends the day before serving). And those 5 pages?....the detailed information included in those pages ensures success. Be particularly mindful of ingredient temperatures where specified: eg don't overheat the white chocolate for the frosting as it's prone to break emulsion (speaks the voice of experience); make sure the eggs for the genoise are warm enough so they reach the required volume when whipped.

As with most frosted layer cakes, this one does require a little bit of planning but the experience of eating it will make it well worth your time and effort.