Meanwhile, in a pot off the heat, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks. Add the passion fruit juice and butter. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom and sides of the pot, just until the mixture thickens and starts to boil.
Transfer the crémeux into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the cream. Let cool. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until completely chilled.
Assembly
In a bowl, whisk the mascarpone and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Strain the basil-cream mixture through a sieve placed over the bowl of mascarpone. Compost the basil. Whisk until semi-stiff peaks form. Transfer the cream into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.
Fill the wells at the centre of the meringues with the passion fruit crémeux. Pipe a ring of the basil whipped cream around the top of the meringues to create a border.
Top the centre of the crémeux with the diced pineapple. Sprinkle with the lime zest. Decorate with coconut shavings and small basil leaves.
Note from Ricardo
To obtain the required amount of passion fruit juice, press the flesh of about 5 passion fruits with the back of a spoon through a sieve placed over a bowl. If fresh passion fruit is not available, you can use store-bought passion fruit juice and simply add a bit of lemon juice to taste.
