Passionfruit Cheesecake (No-bake)

Passionfruit cheesecake is tart, tangy, creamy and gorgeously tropical. This no-bake dessert includes a ginger biscuit base, a rich and creamy cheesecake centre and a beautiful passionfruit jelly topping. Get stuck in!

Have you seen my blackcurrant cheesecake? It's equally eye-catching.

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Bright and beautiful. That's the appearance of this no-bake passionfruit cheesecake and it doesn't disappoint on flavour points either. Each bite manages to taste decadently sweet and creamy whilst also delivering an abundance of fresh and zesty tropical fruit flavour.

This homemade passionfruit cheesecake takes a little more effort than some but it's well worth the extra effort.

If you are looking for a quick and easy no-bake cheesecake recipe instead, try my Biscoff cheesecake or my chocolate cheesecake.

What are passion fruits

Passion fruits are the fruits of tropical passionflowers. They are small and spherical, with hard, inedible skin. Inside of this exterior is a yellow, juicy seeded centre that is edible. The seeds are edible but they are quite crunchy.

Boldly flavoured, passion fruit delivers bigtime on tartness with just a hint of sweetness about them. This fruit pairs well with other tropical fruits such as mango, pineapple and coconut. It also plays harmoniously with lime, ginger and white chocolate.

How to make passionfruit puree

This recipe calls for both fresh passion fruit pulp (juice, flesh and seeds) and a large amount of passionfruit puree (juice and flesh but not the seeds). The latter can now be picked up easily online and leftovers can be used for many other bakes, in drinks (such as passion fruit gin & tonic or passion fruit martini) and it also freezes well, so none should go to waste.

I highly recommend picking up a carton of puree as making your own, in the quantity required for this passionfruit cheesecake recipe can be a bit of a fiddly faff. You can always use leftovers to make some passion fruit curd or a passion fruit cake.

If you do decide to make your own, the best way to do this is to scoop the flesh out of the fruits, pop it into a blender and pulse 3-4 times. This helps the pulp fall away from the seeds. At this point, sieve the flesh to separate the seeds. You'll need 12-15 passionfruits to make the quantity of passionfruit puree required for this cheesecake.

Ingredients notes

Passionfruit puree: this recipe calls for 250ml of passionfruit puree, so it's worthwhile buying a carton.

Fresh passionfruit: using a little fresh passionfruit in the cheesecake jelly topping really elevates the appearance of this tropical passionfruit cheesecake. Plus, once the seeds have been spotted it's easy for anybody to identify the flavour.

Gelatine leaves (sheets): I recommend 2 leaves for a soft set (as pictured) and 3 leaves for a slightly firmer set. I use platinum grade gelatine. Gelatine is derived from animals so is not suitable for a vegetarian diet. Please see the dedicated section in the step-by-step instructions if you are looking for details of a vegetarian alternative.

Philadelphia cream cheese: I'm not generally a snob when it comes to own-brand labels, but when it comes to cream cheese and no-bake cheesecake recipes, only Philadelphia will do. It has a firmness about it that own-brand versions often lack. It's this firmness that needs to be relied upon when making a no-bake cheesecake.

Double cream: this is needed to help firm up the cheesecake and provide a good setting consistency. Double cream in the UK has a fat content of 48%. If you are elsewhere in the world look for a cream with similar fat content.

Greek yoghurt: this adds a little extra tangy bite to the flavour. Soured cream makes a fine substitute.

Gingernut biscuits: (aka gingersnaps) add an extra flavour dimension to this no-bake passionfruit cheesecake and the combination works a treat. If, however, you are not keen on ginger it's fine to use Digestives or Graham Crackers instead.

Step by step instructions

Make this no-bake passionfruit cheesecake in an 8-inch (20cm) deep-sided circular baking tin. Springform tins are ideal as it makes removing the cheesecake so much easier.

Tip: It's not essential to line or grease the tin, but if you do decide to line it do not grease with butter as it will harden in the fridge making the cheesecake difficult to remove from the pan. Use cake release spray instead. And if the base of your tin has a lip around the edge, flip it over and secure in place before using so the flat base is facing upwards. This will make unmoulding the cheesecake easier.

Make the base

1. Make the biscuit base: crush the ginger biscuits finely then melt the butter and mix the two ingredients together.
2. Press the crumb mix into the base of the baking tin.

Make the cheesecake filling

3. Put 2 gelatine leaves in a bowl filled with cold water.
4. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.
5. Add the Greek yoghurt and vanilla bean paste and mix in.
6. Next warm the passionfruit juice and lime juice together in a pan until warm (around 50C/ 100F on a food thermometer). Drain the gelatine sheets from the water, add to the pan and mix until dissolved.
7. Beat the fruit juices into the cheesecake batter.
8. Add the cream and beat until thick enough for a spoon to stand up in it.
9. Spoon onto the biscuit base and level. Chill for 3 hours.

Make the passionfruit jelly topping

10. Place the remaining 2gelatine leaves in cold water and leave to soak for 5 minutes.
11. Put the passionfruit puree and fresh passionfruit pulp into a small pan along with the sugar and heat to around 60C/ 120F untl the sugar dissolves.
12. Drain the gelatine, add to the pan and stir to dissolve.
13. Let cool to around 40C/ 80F then pour over the top of the cheesecake.
14. Return to the fridge for a further 3 hours.

How to make a vegetarian passionfruit cheesecake

To make this no-bake passionfruit cheesecake suitable for vegetarian diets it is necessary to remove the gelatine from the recipe. I did this using Vege Gel, a product made by Dr Oetker.

Whilst this substitution worked perfectly in the cheesecake filling itself, I did not have success using Vege Gel to make the passionfruit jelly topping. It was prone to weeping. For this reason, I suggest using passionfruit pulp spooned over the top at the point of serving by way of garnish. It's quick and easy & reliably tart and tasty too.

To achieve the soft set of this cheesecake as pictured ¾ teaspoon of Vege Gel is needed. For a firmer set increase this amount to 1 teaspoon.

Simply add the Vege Gel to the passionfruit and lime juice in step 6, stir until dissolved then heat to almost boiling. Let cool for a few minutes (but keep a close eye on it as you do not want the liquid to start setting. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

More tempting cheesecakes

Have you made this recipe for passion fruit cheesecake? I hope that you enjoyed it. Please let me know by leaving a review.