Newsletter # 35 Passionfruit cheesecake

by · December 12, 2025

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Within our community at our recent pre-Christmas lunch and dinner (where our volunteers served more than 190 persons), naturally we had bits and pieces leftover.  For my philosophy, when catering, is you don’t run out of food for your guests. If you have ever had an event catered for, you may agree that not all caterers follow that rule, with slim pickings for the last couple of tables, leaving guests unhappy. Having said that, you need to show a degree of restraint when both planning a menu and purchasing ingredients.

Christmas time brings the inevitable leftovers where food is concerned, even with careful planning. When we had extra fresh passionfruit donated by a resident – too many for Pavlova – I decided to turn them into a cheesecake. I already had cream, caster sugar, butter, gelatine and vanilla but I still needed to purchase some sweet biscuits and cream cheese.

Passionfruit cheesecake

This recipe is unbaked, for I believe the flavour of passionfruit is retained when not cooked. I also use leaf gelatine instead of powdered. The recipe calls for two sheets, titanium strength –they’re the big ones, of gelatine which will give you a firm set, which is perfect if the cheesecake is destined for an outdoor celebration, but you may prefer to use less.
Print Recipe
Course: Dessert
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 x 250g pkt Arnott's Butternut Snap Cookies or Nice Biscoff or Ginger nut biscuits or a mixture
  • 80 g butter melted
  • 2 leaves gelatine Titanium strength
  • 2 tbsp hot water
  • 300 ml thickened cream
  • 9 passionfruit halved, scooped, excess liquid strained and retained. About 80ml
  • 2 x 250g pkt packets cream cheese at room temperature
  • ¾ cup cup caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

Equipment

  • A standard spring form tin, around 24cm in diameter and some baking (silicon) paper is required for this recipe. I doubled the recipe and used rectangular trays.

Method
 

  1. Assemble your ingredients
  2. Line your spring form tin with baking paper
  3. In your food processor process the biscuits to a medium fine crush
  4. Mix in the butter and press this mix into the base of your lined spring form tin. Chill the crumb base in your fridge for 30 minutes while you prepare the filling
  5. In your stand mixer using your whisk attachment, whip the cream to firm peaks before removing and storing in your fridge
  6. Soften the gelatine in very cold water for about 5 minutes
  7. Meanwhile in your stand mixer, mix on medium speed combine the cream cheese, sugar, passionfruit liquid and vanilla until smooth
  8. Don’t forget to scrape the side of the mixing bowl to avoid any unmixed sugar
  9. While that is mixing, remove the softened gelatine, squeezing out any excess water before adding it to the hot water. It should dissolve almost immediately with a gentle stir
  10. Reduce the speed of your mixer to slow and slowly add the dissolved gelatine. Mix well
  11. On very slow speed or by hand fold in the whipped cream. Mix well but avoid over beating
  12. Pour this mix onto your chilled crumb base and spread evenly
  13. Finally spoon the passionfruit pulp on to the mix and gently swirl the fruit into the cream mix
  14. Cover and chill for four hours.
  15. Serve as a standalone dessert or a sweet slice.

 

 

You may also like...