Crumpets with Passionfruit Curd

In spite of the rain, heat and humidity last Friday, I went out to the markets.  I didn't find the tray of late season mangoes I was hoping for but was so happy with the passionfruit.  They were not the purple, wrinkly passionfruit I usually buy but larger, red and smooth skinned.  After extensive research (at least five minutes, thank you google) I am pretty sure they were panamas; super sweet and juicy but not as intensely flavoured nor as tart as the smaller, purplier, wrinklier fruit.  I tested them out in a batch of marshmallows, as you do, and decided to add lime juice to the curd to give it that tart edge.  

I'm not sure why I got it into my head that I wanted to make crumpets, honestly I was looking for something to go with passionfruit curd that wasn't a sponge, meringue tart or pavlova; ironically I'll probably end up making them all given the volume of curd and egg whites in my fridge.  I was almost dissuaded by the idea of posting anything with the word "crumpet" in the title so close to Valentine's Day but my tardiness saved the day and the crumpet post survived.  I am so glad it did! They are not my favourite breakfast indulgence but they are nothing like the rubbery, shop bought, burnt bottomed electrocution risks I remember from my childhood!  They are light and soft, a cake/bread/muffin hybrid; worth trying once for sure but let's be frank anything involving yeast, cooling, proving and standing is quite an effort.  If you're not up for making crumpets definitely try the curd, it's delicious; smooth, thick and creamy, tangy and sweet.  It's so versatile but I'll guiltily eat it straight from the jar...

Passionfruit Curd

5 large egg yolks
100g caster sugar
80ml fresh passionfruit juice, strained
30ml lime juice
125g cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl until light and fluffy • add passionfruit and lime juices • put the bowl over a pan of simmering water and cook until thick, stirring constantly

add a cube of butter, stir to incorporate before added the next (I doubled the recipe and was a bit impatient towards the end, throwing in a few cubes at a time to no ill effect...)

once all the butter has been added remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve • stand in a bowl of ice to cool

store the curd in a sealed container in the fridge

recipe adapted from Christine Manfield's Desserts

Crumpets

800ml milk
40g butter, plus extra for greasing the rings and cooking
2 tsp caster sugar
7g dried yeast
500g plain flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
some sort of metal rings, I used large cookie cutters (not an ingredient but annoyingly essential)

heat the milk and butter over a low heat until the butter melts • remove from heat and cook until lukewarm • combine sugar and yeast in a small bowl, add 200ml of the milk/butter combo and stir until the sugar  dissolves • leave in a warm place until it foams

combine the flour with the pinch of salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture • stir to mix in a little of the flour then add the rest of the milk/butter and stir until smooth (my batter was unbelievably lumpy, I beat out the worst and left the smaller lumps; crumpets must be a bit like muffins, the smaller lumps disappeared when they cooked) • cover and leave in a warm place for an hour to an hour and a half until very foamy, around 20 minutes

dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in 50ml warm water, add to the batter and beat to combine • cover and stand until bubbling (more tedious standing I know but they are honestly worth it)

grease the rings well • heat a frying pan over low to medium heat, add a little butter, put the rings in the pan and fill two thirds full with batter • cook for about 4-5 minutes until the mixture bubbles, forms holes and a skin on the surface • remove rings (please, please, please let them not stick!) turn crumpets and cook until golden • keep warm in a tea towel while you cook the rest

serve immediately with passionfruit curd, salty butter or whatever you like really

I was a bit enthusiastic with the amount of batter in the rings and my crumpets were huge! They were perfect split in half and toasted the next day

recipe from an Australian Gourmet Traveller Masterclass, original can be found here http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/crumpets.htm