Mango Passion Fruit Italian Cream Cake with Kiwi Buttercream

Mango Passion fruit Italian Cream Cake with Kiwi Buttercream.  A tropical version of the Italian Cream Cake from Irvin Lin's Cookbook, "Marbled, Swirled and Layered". It is gorgeous, delicious and well worth the effort. Everything in Irvin's book looks incredible. It was hard to choose what to make first.

Irvin is celebrating the 1st anniversary of his gorgeous baking book : Marbled, Swirled and Layered,  and to celebrate I made this cake of his in his book's honor. Irvin sent me a copy a few months ago and when I was flipping through it I landed on the recipe for Meyer Lemon Italian Cream Cake with Lemon Custard and Strawberry Buttercream. I was intrigued and even moreso when I saw his alternative recipe to it with using mango, passion fruit and kiwi. That had my name all over it. Fancy layer cake with tropical flavors? Yes please. Irvin's blog,  Eat The Love, is one of my favorite baking blogs. His recipes are incredible, fabulous photos and he is an amazing writer. He also has the funniest April Fool's recipe on his blog - How to Boil Water. He has a fabulous sense of humor.

When I first told Irvin that this was the cake I was going to make he warned me that it was pretty labor intensive and I could choose something else if I wanted. I was up for the challenge and I chose it since this cake was one of the few recipes in the book that doesn't have a photo. I wanted to show the world his gorgeous recipe. As best as I could make it look that is. Complicated layer cakes don't scare me plus I changed a few steps to make it less daunting of a task. This is a great cake to make over a few days if you don't have many cake pans or time to make all in one day. The custard layers take a while to chill and set, Irvin recommends up to 24 hours to chill it, which is what I did. I spread the cake making out over three days. Cakes first, custard layers next, buttercream and assembly on the last day.

Day 1 bake the cakes and freeze them. My trick to keeping cakes moist is to wrap in cling film when still somewhat warm after baking and placing in a resealable bag then freezing. Freeze on a flat surface such as a baking tray or cardboard cake circle. This keeps a nice flat bottom for layering the cakes later.

Day two make the custard. I made parchment circles for the bottoms of the pans as stated in the instructions. I wish I had it on the sides as well as the bottoms to lift the custard out of the pans a little easier. It took a bit of gentle coaxing to get the custard out of the pans once chilled. I used a small thin metal spatula as well as a wide, thin floppy one. I didn't want the custard to crack at all.

Day three make the buttercream and assemble the cake. Since I was making the kiwi version of the buttercream for this cake I had a little bit of trouble with the kiwi syrup and my first batch didn't come out quite right. I also have a candy thermometer that isn't working correctly and between the two issues I had to scrap my first batch of buttercream. I decided to go with Swiss meringue since I time that instead of using a thermometer ( although I highly recommend using a candy thermometer for either Italian or Swiss meringue buttercreams) and it came together quicker than making Italian again. I was starting to run out of daylight and wanted to get the cake decorated and photographed. I also didn't trust my wonky candy thermometer enough to have a go at a second batch of Italian meringue buttercream. I also added in a thin layer of the buttercream with the custard layers. Irvin doesn't have this step in his book, I did it because my layers fell a little in the middle when baking so I used the buttercream to fill them in so the custard layers would sit evenly on the cakes.

MANGO ITALIAN CREAM CAKE WITH PASSION FRUIT CUSTARD AND KIWI BUTTERCREAM

Shanna

This is the Mango, Passionfruit and Kiwi version of Irvin Lin's Meyer Lemon Strawberry Italian Cream Cake from his book, Marbled, Swirled and Layered. There are quite a few steps to this cake so read the directions several times, have all your ingredients ready to go and make sure you have enough pans to make the cake. You might need to take two days to make it, one for the custard layer, one for the cake and assembly.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Additional Time 3 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Cakes

Cuisine Dessert

Ingredients

  

For the Cake

• ½ cup Pureed Mango
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 large eggs separated
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 3 cups 600 g granulated sugar, divided
• ¾ cup 170 g or 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup 130 g vegetable shortening
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 cups 360 g cake flour

For the Custard

• 2 ¼ cups heavy cream
• 6 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks reserve the whites for the buttercream
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons 225 g granulated sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons passion fruit puree
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch

For the Buttercream

• 6 large egg whites
• ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups 400 g granulated sugar, divided
• 4 fresh ripe Kiwis ( about ¾ lb or 340g)
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 ½ cups 570 g or 5 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

TO ASSEMBLE:

• 2-3 Ripe Kiwis peeled and sliced into half moons

Instructions

 

MAKE THE CAKE BATTER:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Coat three 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and then line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper.
• Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer still on, slowly sprinkle in 3⁄4 cup (150 g) of the sugar and continue to whip until the whites become glossy. Turn the mixer off, scoop the whites out into a large bowl, and set aside.
• Place the butter, shortening, the remaining 21⁄4 cups (450 g) sugar, the vanilla, baking soda, salt, in the mixer bowl (no need to clean it) and switch to the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, waiting for each yolk to incorporate before adding the next. Add in the mango puree and mix. Occasionally stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. The batter should look thick and rich.
• Add one-third of the flour and mix on medium-low speed until incorporated. Add half the cream and beat to incorporate. Repeat, alternating between the flour and the cream, ending with the flour. Remove the bowl from the mixer and scoop about 1 cup of the whipped egg whites into the cake batter. Gently fold it in by hand with a large spatula to lighten the batter. Once the initial egg whites are incorporated, scoop out more egg whites and repeat until all the egg whites are folded in.
• Divide the batter among the prepared pans (about 665 g each) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Check the cakes after 20 minutes and rotate them if they are baking unevenly. Let cool in the pans until just warm to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes, and then un-mold onto wire racks to cool completely. The cake layers will rise impressively while baking and then deflate a bit as they cool.

MAKE THE PASSION FRUIT CUSTARD:

• Lower the oven temperature to 300°F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and then line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper.
• Bring the cream to a boil in a medium pot. While the cream is heating, place the eggs, egg yolks, sugar, passion fruit puree, and cornstarch in a large bowl set on a damp towel (to keep it from shifting). Stir together. Once the cream is boiling, pour it over the mixture in the bowl while constantly stirring the custard with a whisk.
• Divide the custard between the prepared pans (about 700 g each). Bake until the center just barely moves and the edges of the custard have started to brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Immediately run a thin knife around the custard edge to help release it from the pan. Let the custard cool to room temperature in the pans, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

MAKE THE KIWI ITALIAN MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM:

• Place the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a clean bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Slowly sprinkle in 1⁄2 cup (100 g) of the sugar and continue to whip until the egg whites look glossy. Turn off the mixer.
• Peel and chop the kiwis then place in a medium pot along with the remaining 11⁄2 cups (300 g) sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and pour the kiwi sugar syrup through a fine-mesh strainer into another medium pot, catching all the solids. Place the kiwi solids in a food processor or blender and process into a smooth puree.
• Heat the kiwi syrup over medium-high heat until it reaches 225°F (the early thread stage). Once it reaches that point, remove from the heat and turn the stand mixer with the whipped egg whites in it back on to high speed. Drizzle the kiwi sugar syrup carefully into the bowl, making sure it doesn’t hit the whisk attachment or it will send the scalding hot syrup all over the place. Continue to drizzle the syrup until it is fully incorporated, then add the lime juice. Continue to beat for 8 minutes, or until the outside of the bowl is cool to the touch.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and reduce the mixer speed to medium-high. With the mixer running, add the butter 2 or 3 tablespoons at a time, beating until incorporated before each addition. If the frosting looks really loose and thin, the egg whites are probably still too warm. Try placing the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes to cool it down, then continue. Once all the butter is incorporated, reduce the speed to low and add the kiwi puree. Mix until just incorporated.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:

• Place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving platter and peel off the parchment paper if you haven’t already. Un-mold the custard onto the cake; you may need to coax it out with a butter knife. Peel off the parchment paper. Repeat this process with the second cake layer, the second custard layer, and then the final cake layer on top.
• Frost the cake with the kiwi buttercream. Place kiwi half-moons around the edge for decoration. You can place some of the sliced kiwis on top of the cake if you like. Serve immediately.

Notes

This isn't a beginner cake recipe. This does take a little bit of baking knowledge, however, it is very doable as long as you carefully read the instructions and have everything prepared ahead of time. You can make the cakes one day and freeze them until ready to assemble and make the custard another day or vice versa. Make the custard one day, keep chilled until ready for assembly after you bake the cakes and make the buttercream. You can make the buttercream while the cakes are baking. The buttercream can be made ahead of time as well, keep chilled until ready to use. Bring to cool room temperature then whip again until light and creamy in your stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Often cakes such as this one are easier to make in two days. It really is worth the effort, this cake is a stunner both in looks and flavor.

One of the things I love most about this mango passion fruit Italian cream cake is as decadent as it is, it really isn't overly sweet. The flavors really work well together. Keep the cake chilled and slice when chilled. A cold cake slices much easier. Bring the slices to cool room temperature before serving since the frosting is more buttery than sugary and tastes way better at room temp. You can freeze slices wrapped in cling film and in resealable freezer bags for up to 3 months. Just set out and bring to room temp before eating. It is excellent with a cup of coffee or tea. Thank you Irvin for sending me a copy of your gorgeous book and congrats on your book's one year anniversary. Readers can pick up a copy of Marbled, Swirled and Layered from Amazon.