Feijoa Mousse - Recipe by Michael and Pippa James
Ingredients
200 g feijoas
250 g double (heavy) cream
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla paste)
4 egg yolks, at room temperature
90 g caster (superfine) sugar
80 g white chocolate
20 g lemon juice (roughly half a lemon)
3 egg whites, at room temperature
100 g macadamias, lightly toasted, to serve
Method
Peel the feijoas and put the pulp into a food processor. Alternately pulse the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl until you have a smooth puree. You’re aiming for around 150 g of purée.
Heat the cream and vanilla in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring the mixture to a very light simmer, ensuring it doesn’t boil. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and 60 g of the sugar until slightly pale.
Add the yolk mixture to the saucepan, whisking constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling. Continue to cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Alternate between using a whisk and a spatula – the whisk brings everything together and removes any lumps as they appear; the spatula is used to scrape the side and base of the saucepan, to stop any spots catching. Cook until the mixture coats the back of a spoon.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the white chocolate, stirring until it’s melted and incorporated fully. Add the feijoa pulp and mix well.
In a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites and the remaining 30 g sugar to firm peaks. Add a spoonful of this mixture to the feijoa custard and mix it in, then gently fold in the rest. Divide the mousse between six serving glasses or bowls and set in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Just before serving, roughly chop the toasted nuts, then sprinkle them over the top of each mousse for a lovely crunch.
