This Baked Passion Fruit Cheesecake is deliciously light and creamy, with incredibly fresh flavours. The simple biscuit crust is topped with a fresh passion fruit cheesecake mixture and topped with a crunchy, tangy passion fruit coulis.
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Why we love this recipe
If you love passion fruits as much as I do, you are going to love this passion fruit cheesecake recipe! It is easy to make but looks super impressive with those bright colours and contrast of texture.
This recipe might be for a baked cheesecake, but it has an incredibly light and creamy texture. The slightly tangy passion fruit cheesecake cream topped with crunchy and bright passion fruit coulis creates a delicious dessert that is decadent yet light and fresh!
It is a great make-ahead dessert for a special occasion (or just an everyday dessert - why not!) that can be kept in the fridge until ready to serve.
Ingredients
Scroll down to recipe card below for all quantities.
Cheesecake Base:
- A simple mix of crushed Digestive Biscuits and Melted Butter. Digestive biscuits are already sweetened so no need to add any extra sugar. See FAQs section below to use other cookies or graham crackers.
Passion Fruit Cream Cheese Mixture:
- Cream Cheese + Sour Cream: it is very important for those two ingredients to be at room temperature or they won't mix properly and you will get lumps of unmixed cream cheese in the batter.
- Eggs: medium size and also at room temperature.
- Passion Fruit Pulp: which is both the juice and seeds from inside the passion fruit. You can use fresh or frozen passionfruit pulp (sometimes also called passion fruit puree). Avoid canned passion fruit syrup that contains a lot of added sugar and water.
Vanilla bean will also make a great flavour addition. You can use vanilla paste or about 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
For the topping, I used a homemade Passion Fruit Coulis (made out of passion fruit pulp, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice), some fresh passion fruit, fresh mint leaves and a sprinkle of desiccated coconut.
How to make Passionfruit Cheesecake
Digestive Biscuit Base
The first step is to prepare the cheesecake crust:
- Finely crush the Digestive Biscuits in the food processor, or by placing the biscuits in a freezing bag and crushing them into fine crumbs with a rolling pin.
- Melt the Butter in the microwave and set aside to slightly cool down for a few minutes.
- Photo 1: place both the crushed biscuits and melted in a large mixing bowl.
- Photo 2: mix with a spatula until all the crumbs are evenly covered with the butter and the mixture resembles thick, wet sand.
- Line the bottom of a 22 cm / 9-inch Springform Pan with baking paper and lightly grease the sides.
- Photo 3: Firmly press the crumbs on the bottom of the pan to create the crust. Make sure it is very tightly packed. You can use the bottom of a cup, spoon or a small offset spatula to press the crumbs.
- Place in the fridge to chill while you prepare the cheesecake mixture.
Passion Fruit Cream Cheese Mixture
- Preheat your oven on 140'c / 285'f and place the oven rack on its lowest position.
- Photo 4: place the Cream Cheese and Sour Cream (both at room temperature) in a large bowl. Whisk together with a hand mixer on medium to high speed for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Alternatively, use the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Make sure to keep whisking until you can't see any hard lumps anymore. It will be hard to get to that stage if both ingredients are not at room temperature.
- Photo 5: Add the Sugar and Passion Fruit Pulp. If using frozen passion fruit, make sure it is fully thawed and at room temperature.
- Photo 6: Stir it in on a medium speed, stopping as soon as combined.
- Photo 7: Add the Eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined before adding the next one. Try not to over-mix at this stage as you want to avoid adding too much air into the cheesecake batter.
- Pour the passion fruit cheesecake batter over the chilled crust. Carefully tap the pan over a hard surface a few times to pop any large air bubbles.
- Place in the oven on the lowest rack and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake appear to be set but the centre still jiggles slightly.
- Turn off the oven, slightly open the door and leave the cheesecake to cool down in there for 1 hour. Take it out and leave at room temperature for another hour, then place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours (or overnight).
- Once completely chilled, you can transfer the passionfruit cheesecake from the springform pan onto a serving dish and decorate it with your choice of toppings. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve; it should be completely set before you slice it with a large knife!
Recipe FAQs
If you cannot find Digestive Biscuits where you live, you can substitute it for graham crackers or basically any type of cookie that can be crushed into small crumbs. Speculoos (Biscoff Cookies) will work great with passion fruit too, like I used for my Passion Fruit and Raspberry Cheesecake!
I only recommend using passion fruit pulp that is 100% fruit. Frozen passionfruit pulp will work fine - simply make sure to fully thaw it first. I would avoid canned passion fruit that is usually mixed in a sugar syrup. It is fine to use if the can only contains fruit though!
There are two main principles to follow to avoid cracks in a baked cheesecake. First, avoid over-mixing the batter which will add a lot of air into it. The air bubbles will expand with the heat in the oven, making the cheesecake rise then collapse and crack.
The second rule is to let the cheesecake cool down gradually. First, in the turned off oven (with the door slightly opened), then at room temperature and finally in the fridge.
I used my Passion Fruit Coulis recipe as a topping for this cheesecake. It is simply made from passion fruit pulp, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice cooked in a small saucepan on medium heat until thick. I decorated the cheesecake with fresh passion fruits sliced in 4, some fresh mint and a little bit of desiccated coconut.
You could also use a Passion Fruit Curd as a topping. For a slightly different flavour, top the passionfruit cheesecake with a Tangy lemon curd or Raspberry Compote. Or go all in with this Passion Fruit Ice Cream!
Tips for Success
- It is very important for all of the ingredients to be at room temperature, especially the Cream Cheese, Sour Cream and Eggs. If the cream cheese is too cold, it will remain lumpy when you mix it with the other ingredients.
- Don't over-mix the ingredients, especially the eggs. Over-mixing creates a lot of air in the cheesecake mixture. This air expands in the oven which makes the cheesecake rise. Because there are no ingredients to keep the structure of that rise, the cheesecake then collapses and crack.
- How to know the cheesecake is baked: carefully shake the pan (using oven mitts) and look at the movement on top of the cheesecake. The edges should look set (no movement) but the centre should still jiggles very slightly. It will also continue to set as it cools down.
Storing & Freezing
This cheesecake will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. Individual slices can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge. It is actually best prepared in advance as it will be perfectly set after a night in the fridge!
I do not recommend freezing this baked cheesecake.
Made this recipe? Let us know if you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below! And don't forget to share your creation on Instagram with the hashtag #abakingjourney and tag @a.baking.journey
Recipe
Passion Fruit Cheesecake
Ingredients
Cheesecake Crust
- 200 gr (7 oz) Digestive Biscuits - crushed
- 100 gr (7 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter - melted
Passion Fruit Cheesecake
- 500 gr (18 oz) Cream Cheese - at room temperature
- 180 gr (3/4 cup) Sour Cream - at room temperature
- 100 gr (1/2 cup) Caster Sugar
- 3 Eggs - medium, at room temperature
- 100 gr (3,5 oz) Passion Fruit Pulp - about 5 small passion fruits
Passion Fruit Coulis Topping
- 180 gr (6,5 oz) Passion Fruit Pulp - about 9 small passion fruits
- 60 gr Caster Sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Disclaimer
I highly recommend using the measurements in grams & ml (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
Cheesecake Crust
- Line the bottom of a 22 cm / 9-inch Springform Pan with baking paper and lightly grease the sides.
- Finely crush the Digestive Biscuits and place them in a large mixing bowl. Melt the Butter and pour it over the crushed biscuits. Mix until you get a mixture that resembles thick, wet sand.
- Firmly press the crumbs on the bottom of the pan to create the crust, making sure it is very tightly packed (See note 1). Place in the fridge to chill while you prepare the cheesecake mixture.
Passion Fruit Cheesecake
- Preheat your oven on 140'c / 285'f and place the oven rack on its lowest position.
- Place the Cream Cheese and Sour Cream (both at room temperature) in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix together with a hand mixer or the paddle attachment of your stand mixer on medium to high speed for a few minutes until light and fluffy (see note 2).
- Add the Sugar and Passion Fruit Pulp. Mix on a medium speed, stopping as soon as combined.
- Add the Eggs one at a time, mixing until just combined before adding the next one (see note 3).
- Pour the passion fruit cheesecake batter over the chilled crust. Carefully tap the pan over a hard surface a few times to pop any large air bubbles.
- Place in the oven on the lowest rack and bake for 60 to 70 minutes (see note 4).
- Turn off the oven, slightly open the door and leave the cheesecake to cool down in there for 1 hour. Take it out and leave at room temperature for another hour, then place in the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Passion Fruit Coulis Topping
- Place the Passion Fruit Pulp, Sugar, Cornstarch and Lemon Juice in a small saucepan. Place on the stove on low to medium heat and leave to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved and the juices have thickened.Â
- Leave to cool down completely before pouring it over the chilled cheesecake.
- Optionally, finish with fresh slices of passion fruit, some mint leaves and sprinkle of desiccated coconut.
Notes
- Digestive Biscuits: If you cannot find Digestive Biscuits where you live, you can substitute it for graham crackers (optionally add a little bit of sugar to the crust) or basically any type of cookie that can be crushed into small crumbs like speculoos/biscoff cookies for example.
- Passion Fruit Pulp: both the juice and seeds from inside the passion fruit. You can use fresh or frozen passionfruit pulp (sometimes also called passion fruit puree) - but make sure the frozen passion fruit is fully thawed and at room temperature. Avoid canned passion fruit syrup that contains a lot of added sugar and water.
- You can use the bottom of a cup, spoon or a small offset spatula to press the crumbs.
- It is very important for those two ingredients to be at room temperature or you will get lumps in your batter. Make sure to keep whisking until you can't see any hard lumps anymore.
- Try not to over-mix at this stage as you want to avoid adding too much air into the cheesecake batter.
- How to know the cheesecake is baked: carefully shake the pan (using oven mitts) and look at the movement on top of the cheesecake. The edges should look set (no movement) but the centre should still jiggles very slightly. It will also continue to set as it cools down.Â
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