The Passionfruit-wannabe-chiffon

Passionfruit is impossible to find. I called Whole Foods, and after being transferred to three different departments, I was told that it is out of season. My call to Lucky's was unlucky. I checked all over the sketchy Asian supermarkets. No success, except for one bottle on the bottom shelf of the Pandan extract aisle - I couldn't really decipher the strange characters on the bottle but there was a picture of the elusive little devil on the label! I was tempted to scrawl WANTED under its mug shot, as I used every drop of my nonexistent self-control to stave off an impending heart attack. Upon closer inspection, I noticed some unwanted suspects on the ingredients label: sugar, sodium benzoate, and yellow something. Poisonous!

But wait! Isn't passionfruit just an addictive combination of tropical flavors?? It has the floral buttery aroma of jackfruit, the vanilla notes of a banana, the tangy intoxicating sweetness of pineapple, and the tang of a bright yellow lemon. Okay I know, wishful thinking...But in my humble opinion, this chiffon cake was phenomenal. Take that, passionfruit!

I baked it in a pan too big for the batter, so it didn't rise to such an impressive height. Next time, I'm using the 7-inch tube pan. Oh yes, there will be a next time!

Banana Jackfruit Pineapple Lemon Chiffon (aka Passionfruit-wannabe-chiffon!)
1 cup (120g) Cake flour
1/3 cup (70g) Fine sugar (Grind white sugar in a food processor or Magic Bullet)
1 tsp Baking powder
Scant ½ tsp Salt
¼ cup Oil
¼ cup (4) Yolks
½ cup Magnificent Tropical Mush: (perfectly pureed pineapple, jackfruit, and banana, and the juice of half a lemon – use a food processor)
½ tsp Pure Vanilla extract
¼ tsp Cream of tartar
½ cup (4) Egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, 1/3 of the sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl.
3. Whisk together oil and yolks. Mix in the flour until it forms a smooth paste. Add the mush and whisk until smooth.
4. Add cream of tartar to egg whites in a large mixing bowl.
5. Beat until white, gradually add remaining sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form.
6. In 3 additions, gently fold egg whites into the flour mixture just until no streaks remain.
7. Pour into an ungreased 7-inch tube pan and smooth the top. Bake 27-30 min until a tester comes out clean and dry. No peeking!
8. When cake is completely cool, remove from pan (it’s okay, I couldn’t wait either...who obeys this step anyway?).