Passion Fruit Suspiro de Limeña is one of my favourite versions of this Peruvian Dessert. The acid in the passion fruit makes it less sweet and really complements the other flavours. On top, it’s finished with a delicious and soft Port Italian Meringue and a slight dusting of cinnamon.
Origin of Suspiro de Limeña
The origin of this dessert was the family of Mrs. Amparo Ayarza, who was married to the poet José Galvez. It was he who named this dessert “Suspiro de Limeña” because it was as sweet as the sigh of a woman from Lima. It’s great that we know the origin of this recipe, that’s rare to find nowadays. As this dessert gained popularity, different versions appeared and this Passion Fruit Suspiro de Limeña is one of my favourites.
How to add passion fruit to the base of the Suspiro
Before making the Suspiro, we’re going to take care of the passion fruit. First, we will separate the seeds from the juice so that we can stay only with the juice. This is a personal preference, though, if you like you can keep the seeds in. I prefer to remove them because this is such a silky smooth dessert that the seeds get in the way of the texture. To separate the seeds we blend or process the pulp briefly and then pass that through a sieve or colander. We need to cook down the resulting juice in a small pan or saucepan until it’s half its original volume. Then, you let that cool down to room temperature. Then you add it to the base of the Suspiro to have a delicious Passion Fruit Suspiro de Limeña.
Ingredients for the Passion Fruit Suspiro
The base for the Suspiro de Limeña always has condensed milk, evaporated milk and egg yolks. First, you cook both milks in a large saucepan over low heat until they thicken. It’s like making manjar blanco (Peruvian Dulce de Leche) but you stop at an earlier stage. When the mix can coat the back of a spoon or spatula, it’s ready to remove from the heat. Off the heat is where er add the egg yolks stirring constantly as well as the cooked passion fruit.
Ingredients for the Italian Meringue
This Passion Fruit Suspiro de Limeña has the passion fruit base that we discussed before and on top we add an Italian Meringue with Port wine, just like when we make a classic Suspiro de Limeña. To make this meringue we make a hot syrup with sugar, water and Port wine. Once the syrup reaches 116C to 118C (240F to 245F) you will pour it into the egg whites as they are whipped. This creates a firm, glossy and extremely beautiful meringue. To make it you will need a sugar thermometer.
More Peruvian Desserts
If you feel like venturing into more Peruvian desserts, here are a few of my favourites aside from this Passion Fruit Suspiro de Limeña.
Passion Fruit Suspiro de Limeña (Peruvian Dessert)
Ingredients
For the passion fruit
- 250 g passion fruit pulp with seeds
For the base
- 400 g evaporated milk
- 400 g condensed milk
- 2 egg yolks
For the Italian meringue
- 4 egg whites
- double the weight of the egg whites in sugar
- 150 ml water
- 6 tbsp port wine
To garnish
- ground cinnamon to garnish
Instructions
For the passion fruit
- Blend or process the pulp briefly just to separate the seeds from the juice. Don't let them get pulverized. Pass through a sieve or colander and discard the seeds.
- Place the juice in a small saucepan or pan and let it boil over medium heat until it's half the original volume. Remove from the heat and let it cool down to room temperature while you make the base.
For the base
- Cook the milks on low heat stirring all the time with a spatula until you get coating consistency: you should be able to draw a line across the spatula without it getting covered again.
- Turn off the heat and add the egg yolks, mixing with a whisk really fast. Repeat this procedure with the passion fruit.
- Pass through a sieve and use a piping bag to fill into the individual containers.
- Once cooled to room temperature place in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
For the meringue
- In a saucepan, place the water, sugar and Port wine. On the other hand, have the egg whites ready in the bowl where you'll be whipping the meringue.
- Make the water with the sugar and Port wine boil until it reaches 116-118℃ (240-245℉). You need a sugar thermometer for this.
- When the syrup reaches 110℃ (230℉) start to whip the egg whites at high speed. When the syrup reaches the desired temperature, pour the syrup down the side of the bowl, letting it slide down the side so that it doesn't bounce off the whisk.
- Keep whipping on high until it has completely cooled down.
- Fill a piping bag with the tip of your choosing and top the base with it. Finish by sprinkling with ground cinnamon.
1 comment
Nice post