The recipe is on the Guardian site for those of you who didn’t buy Saturday’s Guardian and here is the version I made yesterday.
It was a lot quicker than the other crumble cake and quite different in texture, which surprised me a little as I thought it would be more similar, but I am not that au fait with the effect of the small but significant changes of using cornflour and a mix of oil and butter. It certainly worked and was quite fast to put together too and used fewer bowls! All plusses for me!
I think I would give it maybe 45 – 50 minutes and start checking it at that point as when I stuck my skewer in at 55 minutes it came out clean as a whistle.
Found another photo!
I used five little passionfruits as the ones I bought were very small (less than 35 mm across) and the only ones I could find and had a slight experiment with flavouring the crumble topping as we don’t like coconut in cakes and used some green ‘matcha’ type tea powder, but as Choclette says, maybe it wasn’t the best quality so the slight green tinge to the top is not really what I was after. Still it didn’t upset the cake too much (thank goodness) and it tastes surprisingly buttery, without too much butter in it – I wonder if that is the influence of the yellow hue from the passionfruit pulp making me think it’s more buttery than it is – and has the delicate aroma of passionfruit and a little crunch in every bite.
A fun cake to make and even more fun to eat! I just wish Dan Lepard would stop coming up with more and more recipes as I haven’t had a chance to bake from his new book Short & Sweet yet. I want to make the pastries and the cakes and the icing… and… mutter mutter.
Zeb Bakes 
Ooh Joanna – this is bookmarked! It looks fantabulous! Thanks for the tip.
I’m in crumble mode and this one waved at me saying ‘bake me, you have left over cream in the fridge, all you need are passionfruit’ and then before I knew it. How many excuses can I make for wanting to bake this… (grins) :D
Got my copy of Short and Sweet, haven’t made anything from it yet,but WOW… great book!
this cake would make my husband go crazy, he loves passionfruit, and I happen to have some pulp in the freeze…. hummmmm….. I’m tempted ;-)
There is no creaming for this one, melt the butter…. I know how much you like creaming butter and sugar Sally :D Sounds like you have everything you need to make it… go on… treat yourselves…
Yeah, you do know me… I am getting a little more daring with the sugar and butter thing, but still prefer cakes that don’t inflict that torture on me
I am thinking of making it this weekend…. will keep you posted!
I greased the tin sides too, I know it doesn’t say it in the recipe but I just did it and I used a loose bottomed tin. Go easy on the baking time as you leave it to cool in the tin so it will carry on cooking for a bit in there. That’s all I can think of. I mixed it with an ancient hand mixer to start with and folded the eggwhites and flour in at the end with a metal spoon. I have learnt to put one spoon of the eggwhites in first and mix that in fairly well as it sort of loosens it up and makes it easier to be gentle with the rest and not lose too much air. Does that make sense? Do I sound convincing as a cake maker? Ha!
You’ve just reminded me that I forgot to add baking paper to my shopping list this weekend. Heck.
I’m apt to make this cake in November when P. is headed for DK for a couple of weeks. I’ll cut it into small slices so that my waistband doesn’t need one of those elastic expandable hook-n-eyes that I just saw in the Kleenez brochure.
Lycra in jeans is a wonderful thing I find :D
The problem is that it’s nearly comfort food season again.
Food isn’t a problem in itself surely? and dare I say it reading blogposts doesn’t make one fat :)
You were quick off the mark with this cake Joanna – I’ve noted it for future baking, but I’ve got to make something for Chocolate Week and We Should Cocoa first!
It looks a lovely texture and very appetising!
I find that if I put things on lists for future baking these days they rarely happen. But I’m doing well with Dan’s cakes right now, I made the sour cream chocolate cake too last month and some of that is still in the freezer so I don’t think I’m doing any more cake for a bit, but you never know, if someone asks me I might. I’m feeling more confident in my basic cake making these days :)
Mmm! Looks yummy!
I just made blueberry crumble and fudge brownies- so my next baked goodie is going to be nutty. Like maybe pecan tarts- or maybe cinnamon or cardamom – spicy. I don’t know- I just am tired of making goodies for the lunch box group and want something for the stay at home and drink tea person. ME!
Did you ever start a comment and realize that you are out of control?
I think I need to sit quietly and meditate and not talk or write for a little while.
:) – sorry for the strangeness of this comment!
Heidi you are a commenter after my own heart. Who are the lunch box group? At least you have people to consume your cakes regularly, I have to be quite creative in getting the cakes out of the house. I’d better calm down and bake some bread soon. xx
My husband and adult son both take lunches to work- and they are very hard to please.
No processed lunchmeat, no packaged desserts- I have to have fried chicken and leftover pizza, ham cut from the bone, soup in thermos containers, Scotch eggs, etcetera. And the cookies have to wrapped individually, the cupcakes protected so they don’t lose their icing, and everything needs to be frozen so it stays nice and fresh. I don’t mind doing this- it is just that sometimes- I want something that meets my standard
of delicious- not theirs! :)
Sounds like a feast box to me :D You definitely deserve pecan pies if you are making that for the chaps every day. I would love to read a post or two about the lunch boxes one day. I suspect there is art involved in getting them all packed up just right.
I sooo don’t need another cookbook, but that one looks good, and if it’s anything like the bread one well…. it would be hard not to make just a little purchase?… Oh, I so don’t need another book.
Cake looks lovely Joanna. I love passionfruit in anything. The smallest portion of them creates such a gorgeous smell. Yep, I can smell your cake from here!
Brydie I am not going to say another word till I start baking from it. :D
Thanks for liking the look of the cake, you’re right it’s a wondrous perfume, citrussy and tropical at the same time.
I love the look of the crumble on the top. And passionfruit in anything is delicious.
Hi Hotlyspiced! Haven’t used it before for baking. My sister makes a mean Eton mess with it as an alternative to strawberries. I think my middle name might be crumble though ;)
Looks so pretty! I’ve never made a passionfruit cake before, thanks for the headsup on this one. Have you bought Dan’s book yet? What do you think of it?
Hi Celia this is the first time I’ve made a cake with it too! think it would be really nice if you like coconut with the crumble the way Dan wrote it – more tropical flavours.
I do have the new book and tt’s full of goodness. I’ll wirte more about it when I have a minute :)
I love a good crumble cake – and this one looks fabulous. It’s definitely calling to me to be made… I quite like passionfruit, but my mum isn’t so keen so she wasn’t enthusiastic when I mentioned the recipe. It’s good to hear a good review about it. Like Suelle it’ll have to wait though – I’ve got Chocolate Week and We Should Cocoa to do first too!
If the fancy for another crumble cake does take you, the chocolate vanilla marble cake with chocolate crumble in Short and Sweet looks amazing in the book and I can vouch for the cake part – it formed the basis of my chocolate and raspberry marble cake recently. Yum yum!
Hi C! I am not doing Chocolate Week – I’ll leave it up to the serious chocolatiers of the world :) When I was playing around with the other crumble cake recipe, the Ottolenghi one, which I made no less than three times (most of which given away I hasten to add) I did make one version which had a chocolate crumble and choc chips in the cake with the pears and apples, but yes, I had eyed up that particular marbley crumble one, it did look good, thanks for the recommendation !
The ‘featured image’ thing is something that is very simple to do with a wordpress blog, it’s just another picture option that they give you. (export your blog to WordPress and you can do it too, hint hint) Thanks for noticing them :)
PS – love, love, love the shot of the cake in the banner when you click onto the post page – I always think it’s so clever that you do that for your posts!
i was just doing a little sortee of my garden yesterday and looking at the flowers on my passionfruit vine and pondering on all the culinary delights i want to make when the many months away fruit is ready..your superlatively good cake is on the list but it won’t make an appearance in my kitchen til later in the year when they ripen..unless i can’t wait that long of course.. i’ve noticed bags of passionfruit in the local green grocer for a measly $3! :)
that chap dan lepard seems to make some seriously good stuff..i think i might just have to get his ‘short and sweet’ book..
How wonderful to have passionfruit growing in the garden – I’ve never seen the fruits only the flowers, I wonder if they grow properly here without a glasshouse.
Dan is a fantastic guy and I am very happy usually baking his recipes and following his advice. I did one of his sourdough teaching days a couple of years ago now in London and have been contributing to his UK based internet forum since then, so I am a little biased. :)
i’ve seen a few of his recipes here and there and i think your bias is deserved..xj
Hi Joanna!
I saw your cake come up on my dashboard and simply had to check it out. Must admit, I haven’t made a passionfruit cake in this way before. Sounds delicious but I think I would have to have some runny custard with it – I find crumbles leave a “dryness” on my palate, which is why some cream or ice cream or custard goes superbly with them.
I laughed my head off reading Heidi’s comment. Looks like I’m not the only nutter trying to please the menfolk around me. Must say though, she sounds way too good – even I don’t go to quite that extent. Lucky fellows.
Hope you’ve been well. Your blog looks different to when I last dropped in. Really, really lovely and inviting too.
Cheers from Mariana
Hi Mariana, I think Dan recommends a little cream with this cake so you are spot on with that thought, though I didn’t put any cream with the slice in the picture because I didn’t have any left. The last bit had gone inside the cake ;) The apple crumble cake I made last month was so moist from the fruit inside that it didn’t need any extra help, but this cake is slightly dryer, which is why I would maybe bake it five minutes less if I make it again, or at any rate keep a close eye on it in the final stages.
Heidi is very good to the fellows isn’t she? I am always impressed by the efforts people put in to feed their families away from the home as well as in it.
The blog had a ‘theme’ change a while back, I was thinking of changing it again as it doesn’t look so good on a mobile reader with this one, but it’s all a bit of a palaver to change. Glad to hear you like it, Thanks!
This looks delightful! I’m a big fan of crumble topped cakes, and passionfruit in baking – together they seem just perfect.
Thanks Kari – Would love to know what other people bake with their passionfruits – hint hint ;)
I love the crumble theme you have going on. It might inspire me to do something with crumble, but I see “fresh” cranberries in the markets now and a cranberry nut bread is still calling my name. We are on the last of the pumpkin bread….
Oh, I could always put a crumble topping on the cran bread….
You could put a nutty crumble topping on the cranberry bread, toast the nuts and grind them up and just rub them in… nom nom :)