Lilikoi Passionfruit Curd Cake

This is a recipe that I found on the 101 Cookbooks site. It uses Lilikoi Li Hing Mui curd by a company named Planted By the River. Check out their website for awesome (and affordable) exotic fruit curds from Hawai'i!

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Yields: 12 slices

Ingredients

• 1  cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1⁄2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3⁄4 teaspoon  fine-grain sea salt
• 3⁄4 cup  organic unsalted butter
• 1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
• 3  large  organic eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3⁄4 cup  lilikoi  curds (or curd flavor of your preference, lemon, raspberry, etc)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and make sure one of your racks is on the middle level.
2. Choose your cake pan(s) and butter (and flour) generously.
3. Combine your dry ingredients: Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small/medium-sized bowl and set aside.
4. Combine your wet ingredients: In a separate medium-sized bowl (or mixer) beat the butter with the whisk or paddle attachment for about three solid minutes.
5. You want the butter to be smooth and creamy before you add any of the rest of the ingredients.
6. Now add the sugar(s) and beat some more - another three minutes minimum.
7. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl once or twice during the process so you end up with a nice, even, creamy butter/ sugar blend.
8. Add the eggs one at a time: After you add each egg, mix until the egg is fully incorporated and the batter is smooth and creamy - scrape down the sides of the bowl now and then along the way. (If you don't beat well enough at this stage you'll end up with little butter/sugar flecks throughout your batter in the end).
9. After the eggs are well incorporated stir in the vanilla extract.
10. Combine wet and dry ingredients: Dump the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and gently fold in the flour.
11. You don't want to over mix the batter at this point, so continue to fold the flour in until the last of the flour just barely disappears.
12. Get ready to bake: Scoop half of the cake batter into the prepared cake pan.
13. It is pretty thick, so you may need to spread it around a bit with the back of a spoon.
14. Now take about 1/2 of your curd and cover the batter, staying clear of the sides of the pan if possible.
15. Add the rest of the cake batter and smooth out the top until it is level if you need to. Now you are going to finish off the top of the cake with some curd swirls.
16. Plop big spoonfuls of the remaining lilikoi curd and plop them on top of the cake (again staying clear of the sides of the pan if possible).
17. Drag a butter knife through the curd in a loop-de-loop motion so the cake batter swirls with the curd and you get a marble effect.
18. Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on pan
19. shape/size), or until the cake bounces back a bit when you push the top of it with your finger - it will be very moist (see picture), so don't overcook - trust your eyes, nose, and instinct.
20. Let cool and serve at room temperature dusted with a bit of powdered sugar (I bet ginger-kissed, loosely whipped cream would also go well with this).