This baked Passionfruit Cheesecake is perfection, a creamy passionfruit flavored cheesecake center topped with fresh passionfruit pulp. The perfect combination of sweet and tart flavors
I love making this cheesecake when you can get fresh passionfruit in the early summer. It is the perfect make-ahead dessert and the best way to use up these tropical fruits.
If you love baked cheesecakes try out this recipe for a Lemon Cheesecake or this one for an Apple Crumble Cheesecake the next time you are looking for a cheesecake recipe.
Ingredients
To make this passionfruit cheesecake, you will need the ingredients listed below.
- Unsalted butter
- Tennis biscuits
- Extra-large eggs
- Cream cheese
- Salt
- Castor sugar
- Thick Greek yogurt
- Vanilla extract
- Passionfruit, fresh
Tennis biscuits – These are a South African staple. A simple thin tea biscuit flavored with coconut, syrup, and butter. I guess the graham crackers of this part of the world, even if they don’t taste anything alike! If you can’t get hold of these biscuits choose to use plain digestive biscuits instead or make a graham cracker crust.
Cream cheese – Make sure that you choose a plain flavored full fat cream cheese that tastes great. The cream cheese must be at room temperature before you use it otherwise you might have a lumpy cheesecake batter. I use Philadelphia cream cheese when baking.
Extra-large eggs – I usually bake with extra-large eggs, which weigh about 64 grams when out of their shells. If you don’t have extra-large eggs work out the weight of the eggs you have versus the average weight of an extra-large egg, 64 grams. Then increase the number of eggs you will need. This will help make sure you are using the correct weight of eggs.
Passionfruit – or granadilla, is a fruit with a hard purple shell filled with a juicy yellow seeded center. I like using fresh passionfruit because of its tart flavor – passionfruit syrup or store-bought passionfruit puree can be very sweet. These alternatives won't give you the same flavors as using fresh fruit, but if you can’t find fresh, you can use them.
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Follow the steps below to make this baked passionfruit cheesecake recipe.
STEP 1: Make the biscuit base. Crush the biscuits to fine crumbs with a rolling pin or in a food processor and melt the butter in the microwave. Combine the crushed biscuits and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Press this into a loose-bottom cake or pie tin. You can choose to only have a layer of biscuits at the bottom or press them up the sides of the pan using the back of a spoon.
STEP 2: Beat cream cheese and sugar. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sugar, salt, and cream cheese. Beat until well combined.
STEP 3: Add eggs. Add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture, one at a time. Beating well between each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
STEP 4: Add yogurt and vanilla. Add the yogurt and vanilla extract to the cheesecake batter and mix until just combined.
STEP 5: Add passionfruit. Use a rubber spatula to swirl the fresh passionfruit pulp through the cheesecake mixture.
STEP 6: Bake. Pour the cheesecake filling over the cheesecake base and bake it in a preheated oven for 35 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow it to cool in the oven before covering the cheesecake with plastic wrap and placing it in the fridge overnight. Before serving, remove the cheesecake from the tin and place it on a serving plate, top with extra fresh passion fruit pulp over the top of the cheesecake.
Hint: cheesecakes are heat sensitive so make sure that you have tested the true temperature of your oven before baking.
Variations
If you can’t get fresh passionfruit, you can make this cheesecake recipe with ready-made passionfruit puree. Note that the cheesecake will be slightly sweeter.
Equipment
I recommend using a loose bottom or springform pan to bake this cheesecake in. this is to help ensure that the cheesecake is released after cooling. The last thing you want is a stuck cheesecake.
The cheesecake batter can be made by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer or hand mixer. Just use a large mixing bowl and whisk.
Storage
I recommend storing any leftover cheesecake in the fridge in an airtight container. The cheesecake will keep for about 3 days. I do not recommend freezing this cheesecake.
Top tip
- Always use fresh room temperature ingredients.
- Check the true temperature of the oven before baking by using an oven thermometer.
- Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven before refrigerating overnight.
- Before serving allow the cheesecake to stand at room temperature for about 45 minutes.
Cheesecakes are low-fuss bakes when you get them right, and this makes them the perfect dessert to make ahead of a dinner party or celebration.
I would love to hear what you thought of this tangy passion fruit cheesecake recipe so please leave a comment and star review below.
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Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Passionfruit Cheesecake
Equipment
- 1 loose-bottom tin 24cm (9-inch) diameter
Ingredients
- 100 grams unsalted butter, melted
- 200 grams Tennis biscuits, crushed
- 165 grams castor sugar
- 500 grams cream cheese
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 extra-large eggs
- 130 grams thick Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh passionfruit pulp
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
- Combine the crushed biscuits and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Press the biscuit mixture into a loose-bottom cake or pie tin.
- In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sugar, salt, and cream cheese. Beat until well combined.
- Add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture, one at a time. Beating well between each addition, and scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
- Add the yogurt and vanilla extract to the cheesecake batter and mix until just combined.
- Use a rubber spatula to swirl ½ cup of the fresh passionfruit pulp through the cheesecake mixture.
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the cheesecake base and bake it in a preheated oven for 35 minutes, then turn off the oven and allow it to cool in the oven before covering the cheesecake with plastic wrap and placing it in the fridge overnight.
- Before serving, remove the cheesecake from the tin and place it on a serving plate, top with the remaining fresh passionfruit pulp.
FAQ
Yes, you can make this recipe with a standard cake tin, however, you will need to line it with parchment paper. Do this by cutting a large circle of baking paper and pressing this into the tin, securing it with a little oil or butter on the sides of the tin. When the cheesecake has cooled, just lift the entire thing out of the tin by the paper.
I like serving this cheesecake with a little whipped cream or oven a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Passionfruit also goes well with citrus flavors, mangoes, and white chocolate.
Yes, you can. However, the flavor of tinned passionfruit is different from fresh. Fresh passion fruit has a tart flavor while tinned passionfruit can be very sweet.
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