Passion Fruit

Of all the petits fours presented at the end of the meal, I always have a soft spot for pâtes de fruits, the little cubes of fruit jelly.  A petite bite of acidic sweetness, it’s always stuck me that it’s the perfect way to combine sweet and sour, and intense fruitiness too.  This acidity is achieved by including citric or tartaric acid into the recipe, and the light mouthfeel is achieved by using pectin, rather than gelatine.  This allows the jelly to melt in your mouth, which releases both the sweet and acidic elements of the jelly at the same time.  Don’t store the finished product in the fridge – the granulated sugar will begin to dissolve.

I’ve adapted this recipe from one on the Sosa website.

Ingredients
1kg fruit pureé (in my case, blackberry, but look below for the fab colour of passion fruit)
1kg sugar
30g pectin jaune (a kind of fruit pectin)
300g glucose
5g citric acid

Method:

• Heat the fruit pureé until boiling point
• Mix 100g of the sugar with the pectin and then add to the pureé stirring constantly
• Boil again and add half sugar
• Boil again and add the sugar remaining
• Heat again until boiling point and add the liquid glucose
• Cook on a low heat until you reach 106ºC
• Add the citric acid and remove from the heat
• Pour in a frame or moulds
• Leave to cool at room temperature for around three hours, or overnight
• Cut into your preferred shape and dredge in sugar