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Esponjado de curuba
Esponjado de curuba: Bogotá's light, mousse-like dessert of banana passionfruit, condensed milk and gelatin
Grandmothers' kitchens and old cafés of Bogotá and Boyacá have kept the esponjado alive: a pale, airy, sweet-sour mousse made with curuba, the long, soft-skinned banana passionfruit of the cold Andes, set with gelatin and sweetened with condensed milk. It is served chilled in glasses after Sunday lunch, light and tangy, perfumed like passionfruit but softer. Because it contains gelatin, it is not vegetarian; for a vegetarian version, set it with 2 tsp agar powder boiled for 2 minutes in the curuba juice. Older recipes fold in raw whipped egg whites; this one uses whipped cream instead, so there is no raw egg. The common problem is folding cream into gelatin that's too warm or too set: it should be cool and just thickening, like unbeaten egg white. Chef's tip: frozen curuba pulp is sold in Latin shops; if you can't find it, use passionfruit pulp with a squeeze of lime. Allow at least 4 hours for it to set.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
To serve
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Blend 10 ½ oz curuba (banana passionfruit) pulp briefly and press it through a sieve to remove the seeds. You should have about 250 ml of juice.
5 minStep 2: Sprinkle ½ oz powdered gelatin over ¼ cup cold water in a small bowl and leave for 5 minutes, until spongy.
5 minStep 3: Warm half the curuba juice in a small pan over a low heat until steaming but not boiling. Take off the heat, add the soaked gelatin and stir for 1 minute, until completely dissolved.
3 minStep 4: Whisk the warm gelatin juice into 14 oz sweetened condensed milk with the rest of the curuba juice. Leave to cool at room temperature, stirring now and then, for about 15 minutes, until cool and just starting to thicken.
15 minStep 5: Whip 1 cup double cream to soft peaks, then fold it into the curuba mixture in two batches, gently, until no white streaks remain.
5 minStep 6: Pour into 6 glasses or a serving dish, cover and chill for at least 4 hours, until set and spongy. Top with 6 mint leaves to serve.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 410 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does esponjado de curuba take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of double cream?
- Whipping cream, same amount (less rich; whips softer).
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