PASSIONFRUIT CHEESECAKE SLICE

July 20, 2020

This fresh dessert is very simple to prepare and uses of one of the most well-known tropical fruits - passion fruit, which is included not only as a topping but also in the filling of this cheesecake slice.

sliced passion fruit cheesecake on a white plate

Whenever I can find passion fruit at cheaper prices, I let it ripen and then freeze the pulp to be able to use it in future recipes like this.

We all know the concept of cheesecake, and that there are two different types: those cooked in the oven, and those that use gelatin or another type of thickener and aren't baked.

However, there are also variations such as "cheesecakes in a jar" or the so-called "cheesecake slices", that are no more than cheesecakes but with less filling (and so faster to cook), often made in square or rectangular trays and cut into squares.

I decided to prepare this version of mine in a round shape, and as you can see in the photos, by including the pulp in the cream filling, it becomes slightly more creamy, but its structure is not affected because it is not as tall as a regular cheesecake.

passion fruit cheesecake on a plate sided by a white and blue cloth

The ingredients

The base requires the following ingredients:

Egg - to connect all elements.
Milk - when adding milk (which can be of any type - I used almond milk) the texture of the dough will be softer.
Flour - here I used a mix of 2 flours - white wheat + wholemeal, but you can use only white wheat flour or replace whole flour for spelt or oat flour.
Sugar - it's a small quantity just to slightly sweeten the base; I used white sugar but brown or coconut sugar can be used (but it will change a bit the color of the base).
Oil - since one of the ingredients here is desiccated coconut, coconut oil was used, but any other vegetable oil or even extra virgin olive oil can be an alternative.
Coconut - a small portion of desiccated grated coconut is added to this base pasta because it complements the tropical flavor of the passion fruit, but without being too intense.
Vanilla - it is optional, but it's an ingredient that goes into almost all sweet recipes.

Only 4 ingredients are needed for the filling:

Passion fruit - is the main ingredient of this cheesecake, and is used both in the filling cream and in the topping. You can also make this with canned passion fruit, and you can omit the seeds by straining the pulp.
Cream cheese - this cream cheese is of the Philadelphia® type, but I prefer to use other brands without carrageenan (E407) and other additives.
Sugar - this cheesecake is not very sweet, but this amount is enough to counteract the acidity of the fruit.
Eggs - these give firmness to the filling and unite all the other ingredients.

How to make

Start by preparing the base, beating the egg with the vanilla, and then add the oil and milk.
Gradually, the sugar is dissolved and the grated coconut is wrapped and finally the flours.
Grease a removable ring pan (20cm) and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Spread the base preparation, smoothing it with the help of a spoon or spatula.
Bake at 180ºC to bake for about 20 minutes.
While the base is cooking, cut the passion fruit in half and remove the pulp for a bowl.
The pulp of 2 passion fruits is reserved.
The filling is prepared, in which the cream cheese is beaten with the sugar.
Then the eggs are added, one by one, and finally the passion fruit pulp is mixed.
Remove the pan from the oven and pour the mixture over the base.
Put it back in the oven, reducing the temperature to 160ºC, allowing it to cook for 25 to 30 minutes.
After that time, remove from the oven and spread the pulp of 2 passion fruits that had been reserved on top (as it is still hot, the filling will absorb the juice and the seeds will decorate the top of the cheesecake).
Allow to cool to room temperature and then place in the refrigerator (where the filling gains consistency) until serving time.
Anyone who wants can add even more passion fruit pulp as a topping if they wish so.