Tropical Fruit Bowl with Fried Cake Croutons

Name: Tropical Fruit Bowl with Fried Cake Croutons
Yield: A Funster Pud for 6
Ingredients: 150 g/5½ oz/¾ cup brown sugar; 3 cinnamon sticks; 2 star anise; ¼ tsp grated nutmeg; 150 ml/5 fl oz/⅔ cup water; 150 ml/5 fl oz/⅔ cup orange juice; 1 mango, peeled and cut into chunks as best as possible; 3 kiwi fruits, peeled and cubed; ½ medium pineapple, cubed; roughly 250 g/9 oz.cubed melon – any variety will do, including watermelon; juice and grated zest of 2 limes; 75 ml/2½ fl oz/5 tbsp dark rum (optional but mighty fine); 1 papaya, peeled, deseeded and cubed; 1 mango, peeled and cut into chunks as best as possible; 75 g/2¾ oz. scant 1 cup desiccated (dry unsweetened) coconut; 150 g/5½ oz.spongy cake (stale is fine, brioche works well), cubed; 3 fat passion fruit; roughly 250 g/9 oz.cubed melon – any variety will do, including watermelon; big knob of butter plus a little oil to prevent burning; big knob of butter plus a little oil to prevent burning

Preparation info

A Funster Pud for
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Salmagundi

By Sally Butcher

Published 2014

About

Tropical fruit salad used to mean that the dish had been shown a slice of pineapple. This number is a little more exotic than that. If you do happen to live somewhere where the arrival of a mango in the village is a matter of parish-wide wonderment, well, you’ll have to improvise.

Ingredients

For the Syrup

150 ml/5 fl oz/⅔ cup water
150

Vegetarian

Method

First, make the syrup. Place the water, orange juice, sugar, spices and lime zest in a pan, bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for around 10 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lime juice and rum, simmer for a few minutes more, then take off the heat and allow to cool.

Mix the prepared fruit in a bowl. Halve the passion fruits and scoop the contents into the