I am still trying to use up all the passionfruit that sit on my vine. My sister reminded me of this flummery that our mother would prepare when we were children. It is an old recipe as it was handed down from our Grandmother, Marie Florence Young. Neither of her daughters can remember whether she inherited from her mother, was given it by a friend or found it in a recipe book.

It is a lovely light sweet dessert, quick and easy to make. The ingredients aren’t expensive which is perfect when you are trying to save money and still entertain. Dress it up with a shortbread biscuit and a little passionfruit pulp and it looks as if it has taken all day to prepare.

You can also serve it to guests who are on gluten or dairy free diets which makes it very versatile.

When I first made it, I hadn’t realised what a large mixture it is. I had pulled out 8 of our very old-fashioned champagne glasses which have flowers etched into a pattern on the side. These looked very pretty when filled but I had to keep pulling out the old unused glass and ended up with 11 champagne and parfait glasses filled with the flummery. If you don’t have that many glasses you can always pour the mixture into a large bowl and serve it from that.

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• the juice of one small lemon or lime
• 1 dessert spoon cornflour blended with a little water
• ¾-1 cup passionfruit pulp (about 6-10 passionfruit)
• 1 tablespoon gelatine powder

Method

In a medium sized saucepan, add sugar to water and stir over a gentle heat to dissolve the sugar. Pour in the orange juice and lemon or lime juice and the blended cornflour mixture, stirring continuously to ensure the cornflour is completely blended with the liquids.

Increase heat to a gentle boil and cook for about 3 minutes until the cornflour is cooked and you cannot taste the flour. The mixture will be a viscous (thick) clear liquid.

Scoop out the passionfruit pulp and blend it quickly in a food processor to separate the seeds from the pulp. Strain the passionfruit juice into a bowl and sprinkle the gelatine powder over the top of the juice. Don’t stir, just let the juice absorb the gelatine. If not all the gelatine has dissolved, place the bowl over the top of the saucepan for a minute to warm the passionfruit juice and very gently blend in the powder.

When the gelatine is dissolved, pour the passionfruit juice into the saucepan and stir well.

Now pour a little of the juice mixture into the base of an electric mixing bowl and using the whisk attachment, start to beat the mixture on a slow speed whilst slowly pouring the remainder of the juice into the bowl.

Gradually increase the speed and whisk the mixture for about 20 minutes by which stage as it cools it will become a light creamy colour and very frothy.

Pour the flummery mixture into individual cups or glasses or into a large bowl. Place in the refrigerator to set.