This Passionfruit Cheesecake is out of this world delicious. It's a silky smooth creamy New York Cheesecake base with a topping made of raw passionfruit puree without gelatin. Dig into a slice and find yourself in creamy, tangy heaven!
Passion fruit is delicious year round and is more popular in the warmer months.
This was inspired by our white chocolate cranberry cheesecake, and is the perfect dessert after a light flavorful meal like jerk chicken tacos, cilantro lime chicken enchiladas, or chicken suiza sandwiches (my personal favorite).
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Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- graham crackers
- salted butter
Cheesecake
- PHILADELPHIA cream cheese, only full fat- I've tested many other brands and Philadelphia has superior texture and results! Reduced fat cream cheese does not work.
- granulated sugar
- corn starch
- Pure vanilla- imitation is acceptable, but wow does using pure make a difference!
- eggs
- heavy whipping cream
Passion fruit topping:
- water
- cornstarch
- passion fruit puree or fresh pulp** also called lilikoi and maracuya
- granulated sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
**You can use fresh passionfruit pulp if you're lucky enough to have access to it. I find mine in the frozen section of our Latin grocery store. In Spanish it is called "maracuya". If the puree you pick up is sweetened, skip the sugar in the topping!
Instructions
1.Preheat the oven to 350* F. Place graham crackers in a food processor (or crush with a rolling pin) and process until the biggest pieces are the size of large crumbs. Mix in melted butter and stir to combine. Press into the bottom and up the sides a little bit of a springform pan. Bake for 4 minutes to set crust.
2.Place one brick of cream cheese, ½ cup of sugar, and the cream of tartar in a large bowl. Mix on medium low speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping down every minute. Add the remaining cream cheese, one brick at a time. Mixing for 1 minute and scraping down after each one (see above picture).
3. Add the remaining sugar, ½ cup at a time on medium/ medium high speed. Next add the vanilla and beat. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping down after each one. Add the cream and mix juuuust until combined. Do not over mix. The mixture should be light and cloud-like (see picture above.)
4. Pour batter onto crust. Place cheesecake in a water bath: I use a large turkey roasting pan. Place springform pan in the large roasting pan and fill with water until it reaches halfway up the cake. Make sure you are water tight! I recommend this pan or this pan liner or this method, done twice.
5. Bake at 350*F for 70-80 minutes. The top will be golden tan, the edges might be darker than mine, which is okay (see picture w/ step 4). It will still be a little wobbly when nudged. Remove and let cool for 2 hours on the counter (just walk away, don't touch it or mess with it) then refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
6. After cheesecake has cooled at least 2 hours: Mix corn starch and water together. Place passion fruit puree, sugar and water/ corn starch mixture together in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir. It will be a light opaque color. Bring to a boil, stirring to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom.
7. Stir and let boil a few minutes until the mixture starts to darken and become more translucent and less milky. Remove from heat then allow to cool for about 5-8 minutes. Pour over the cheesecake and smooth if necessary. Chill at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Hint: ******One of the most important steps in making a cheesecake is not cooling it too quickly. Do Not stick your cheesecake immediately in the fridge. Allow it to cool on the counter (walk away, don't touch it) at LEAST 2 hours, preferably 3. Then refrigerate another 4 hours or longer before serving.
Substitutions
- Gluten Free - use gluten free graham crackers instead of regular -we've made it this way for my brother in law and it's great!
Variations
- Extra Tart- for the topping use ¼ cup sugar instead of ⅓ cup and add 1 teaspoon lemon juice in the water.
- Passionfruit swirl - double the passion fruit topping. Take out half and drop spoonfuls of it on top of the cheesecake batter. Use a knife to swirl it in. Pour the remaining half over the cheesecake once cheesecake has baked and cooled.
- Less Tart- add 1 extra Tablespoon sugar in the topping mixture.
- Spicy- Sprinkle Tajin over the top of a slice when serving. The tajin is used as a flavor enhancer with tropical citrus fruits. We recommend trying one bite of this first before adding to an entire slice!
Equipment
* If you love cheesecake and make them on occasion, I highly recommend a leakproof cheesecake pan that has a gasket. It's sooo nice not to worry about water leaking in, and it truly creates the perfect texture.
Storage
Store in the refrigerator up to 3 days. The crust starts to separate and get soggy at about 3 days.
To freeze: Slice first then store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw by the slice for one hour at room temperature before serving or 3 hours in the refrigerator.
Top tip
Use Philadelphia cream cheese. If you're going to spend the time and money to make cheesecake, do it right so the texture is perfect. Use one of our ideas listed in step 4 for a leakproof cheesecake bath as a bonus tip.
Recipe
Passion Fruit Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- 1 sleeve graham crackers plus 2 full strips about 10 strips
- 4 Tablespoons butter
For the Cheesecake:
- 4- 8 oz packages cream cheese at room temperature - only full fat PHILADELPHIA highly recommended. I've tested other brands and they are not as smooth.
- 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract- pure is highly recommended
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
For the passion fruit topping:
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 14 oz passion fruit puree or passion fruit pulp**
- ⅓ cup sugar for more tart, use ¼ cup
- **You can use fresh passionfruit pulp if you're lucky enough to have access to it. I find mine in the frozen section of our Latin grocery store. In Spanish it is called "maracuya". If the puree you pick up is sweetened skip the sugar in the topping!
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350* F.
- Put graham crackers in a food processor and process until crumbly. Ideally you'll have a variety of sizes, from a powdery texture to large crumbs. Be careful not to over process, or the crust will be dense. This can also be done with a rolling pin or glass.
- Melt the butter then add to the crushed graham crackers and mix well. Press into a 9" springform pan. Bake for 4 minutes to set crust.
Cheesecake:
- Place one brick of cream cheese, ½ cup of the sugar and the cornstarch in a mixing bowl with hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat together on medium low for 3-4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl every minute.
- Add the rest of the cream cheese one package at a time, for about one minute each, scraping down the sides after adding each one.
- Next add the sugar, ½ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
- Increase the mixer speed to medium high and add the eggs one at a time, mixing about 30 seconds with each added egg. Scrape the bowl after each additional egg. The mixture should be smooth and beautiful and creamy.
- Finally, add the whipping cream. Mix on medium speed only until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
- Pour the cheesecake filling onto the crust.
- Bake in a preheated oven in a water bath. Place the springform pan in a large pan and fill with water until water goes halfway up the pan.
- Bake for 70-85 minutes until it just starts to turn golden and jiggles slightly but has some stability when gently jiggled.
- ******One of the most important steps in making a cheesecake is not cooling it too quickly. Do Not stick your cheesecake immediately in the fridge. Allow it to cool on the counter at LEAST 2 hours, preferably 3-4. Then refrigerate another 4 hours or longer before serving.
For the Topping:
- After cheesecake has cooled at least 2 hours: Mix together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Combine with puree and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil and stirring constantly, let boil until sauce starts to thicken and becomes less milky looking. It'll become more translucent, darken a little and loose the whiteish hue.
- Allow to cool 5-8 minutes then pour over your already cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours.
Notes
- store in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
- store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
Nutrition
Food safety
- It is not recommended by the USDA to consume raw eggs.
Nicole
Yum yum yum! This was the perfect way to use our passionfruit puree. I just need to move to florida so I can have my own passionfruit farm and make this yummy cheesecake every day! Great directions, easy to follow. A beginner could make this cheesecake if they followed the directions.
Carrie Robinson
This was so creamy and smooth and delicious. Everyone loved it. We loved the tartness of the passionfruit mixed with the creaminess of the cheesecake.
Liza
What a fantastic recipe! Our family absolutely loves cheesecake, and your version topped with passionfruit is amazing. Takes me right back to Australia. Thanks for another winner from Simply Scrumptious Eats!
Tara
Oh yum! Such a beautiful, silky smooth texture on this cheesecake! It tasted incredible paired with the passionfruit topping. We all loved it!
Mahy
It's been a while since I made a cheesecake at home, and this was the perfect one to get me back into it. I can't believe how perfectly smooth and creamy the cheesecake was. WOW. Also the flavor in the passionfruit topping was spot on.
JC
ohhhh this passionfruit cheesecake was so good. I've only ever had it in Australia, and I loved it. This is so smooth and creamy. The cheesecake is the perfect texture and so well complimented by the tart and tangy of the passionfruit.
Kelly Stuart
This was delish but the cheesecake puffed up really high while cooking and it took longer to cook. I also couldn’t tell if it was done. I did the passionfruit swirl- maybe that was the issue? I’m making it again in a couple days. Appreciate any tips!!
Nicole
Hi Kelly! It's always hard to tell when cheesecake is done. In this short youtube video they give a good example of how to tell when cheesecake is done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hadmpW_hASs (also he's British so 160 is Celsius ;)). I like to nudge mine while it is still in the oven. You want it to have a good wobble, but not be sloshing around. You could try reducing the oven temperature to 325 and plan to bake it longer. This is another great short clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvgDo2lvhvI It shows the wobble just right, but you definitely don't want your top to look like hers! Also, the passionfruit swirl shouldn't have affected it, I've made it that way successfully. If it seemed runny though, try adding 1 teaspoon more cornstarch to the passionfruit topping to make it a little thicker (unless you feel like it was already plenty thick). Let us know how it goes!