Baked Passionfruit Cheesecake

Baked Passionfruit Cheesecake

I love those desserts that are born from the “use-up” moments — the ones created from the back-of-the-fridge discoveries. A handful of forgotten fruit… a wedge of cheese that feels like treasure… cream left over from another bake… and suddenly a dessert appears that feels like it was meant to be.

Food media always say that once you know the basics — you can create anything. And yes, I do believe that to be mostly true — but only when the foundational pantry is there. For me it’s olive oil, eggs, zucchini, frozen peas, chickpeas, nuts + seeds and always some form of gluten free flour. Those little building blocks are what turn “use up” into “magic”.

It was exactly one of those clean-out days that led to this Baked Passionfruit Cheesecake. Cream cheese, a little sour cream, eggs… and the most fragrant golden passionfruit from my neighbour’s vine — absolutely enormous and the pulp was unbelievably rich.

The result is velvet — smooth, luscious, light yet full… a cheesecake that barely survived 24 hours in our house. That’s always the sign of a keeper.

why you’ll love this recipe

• silky smooth texture — luxurious, but not heavy

• naturally gluten free base

• fragrant, tangy passionfruit topping

• perfect make-ahead dessert

• beautiful dinner-party centrepiece

• uses accessible ingredients

• real baked cheesecake result — not gelatin / no-bake

• seasonal fruit hero moment

This Baked Passionfruit Cheesecake was born out of one of those back-of-the-fridge, use-what-you-have moments — and yet it turned into something so spectacularly worthy of serving to guests, gifting to neighbours or sitting quietly with a fork in the afternoon sunshine.

It’s silky, it’s bright, it’s fresh — and that tangy golden passionfruit brings such a sunny Australian summer moment to the classic baked cheesecake.

If there’s one thing I love about this recipe most — it’s the ease. Bake it the day before, chill overnight and simply slice when you’re ready. No fuss, no last-minute panic — just creamy velvet, ready to go.

And if your neighbour also has a passionfruit vine… even better.

Because this is the kind of dessert that turns forgotten ingredients into something unforgettable.

Baked Passionfruit Cheesecake – gluten free

Course: Dessert
Keyword: Baked Passionfruit Cheesecake, passionfruit, gluten free cheesecake
Method: baked (slow + gentle)

Ingredients

base

• 1 cup almond meal

• 3/4 cup gluten free plain flour

• 1/2 cup caster sugar

• 1 egg

• 50 g softened butter

cheesecake

• 500 g cream cheese

• 1 cup caster sugar

• 200 g sour cream

• 4 eggs

• zest 1 lemon

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

topping

• 1/2 cup caster sugar

• pulp of 1–2 large passionfruit

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 170°C fan. Line a 23 cm springform tin.

2. Base: blitz almond meal, GF flour + sugar. Add egg + butter, pulse to combine. Press into tin. Chill 15 min. Bake 15–20 min until golden. Cool.

3. Reduce oven to 140°C fan.

4. Cheesecake: beat cream cheese + sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Add zest, vanilla, then sour cream — mix until silky.

5. Pour onto cooled base. Smooth the top.

6. Bake 1 hr — edges set, slight wobble in centre.

7. Turn oven off. Cool inside with door ajar.

8. Chill overnight.

9. Topping: strain pulp (reserve a few seeds). Heat sugar + pulp 5–7 min until thickened. Cool slightly. Pour over cheesecake. Chill briefly to set. Serve.

tips + variations

• if cheesecake cracks → oven temp too high — reduce by 10°C next time

• for plain cheesecake — skip topping

• canned passionfruit pulp works (strain + reduce to thicken)

• base can be swapped to ginger cookie crumbs if gluten isn’t required

• flavour swaps → lemon, blood orange or mango topping works beautifully

serving + storage

• serves 8–10

• store covered (but not directly touching surface) in fridge 3–4 days

• best made the day before serving

• serve cold or lightly softened at room temp

FAQ

Q. Can I freeze baked cheesecake?

yes — freeze slices, wrapped well, up to 2 months (without topping).

Q. Is this cheesecake gluten free?

yes — base is almond + GF flour.

Q. Can I make the topping sweeter?

absolutely — add 1–2 extra teaspoons sugar for a sweeter finish.

Baked Passionfruit Cheese cake

Equipment

• 1 Stand mixer

Ingredients

Base

• 1 cup Almond meal
• 3/4 Cup Gluten free plain flour
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 50 gm Softened butter

Cheesecake

• 500 g cream cheese
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 200 g sour cream
• 4 eggs
• zest 1 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping

• 1/2 cup Caster Sugar
• Passionfruit pulp of 1 or 2 large passionfruit

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 170C Fan forced. Line base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin.
• Base: In the bowl of a food processor combine the Almond meal, gluten free flour and sugar, whiz to combine.
• Add the egg and butter and pulse until the mix has come together.
• Press the mix into the base of the cake tin until evenly covered.
• Chill for 15 minutes.
• Once chilled, bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the base is golden. Remove and cool.
• Cheesecake: Preheat oven to 140C fan forced
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with the beater paddle attached combine the cream cheese and sugar on medium low speed, scraping the sides occasionally until light, fluffy and well combined.
• Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing well in between additions.
• With the mixer on low add the zest and vanilla extract.
• Add the sour cream and mix until thoroughly combined, light and smooth.
• Pour onto the base and lightly wiggle to smooth the top.
• Place in the oven in the middle rack.
• Bake for 1 hour or until the cheesecake is slightly golden around the edges, slightly puffed and is set around the edges with a very slight wobble in the middle.
• Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake to cool with the door held ajar with a tea towel.
• Once at room temperature, place in the fridge in the the cake tin to chill completely preferably overnight.
• Topping:
• Before starting the topping, remove the cheesecake from the fridge.
• Stain the Passionfruit pulp through a fine sieve. Reserve a few seed for decoration.
• Place all the sugar and strained pulp into a non stick frying pan over medium heat.
• Bring the sugar mix to the boil and allow to reduce by 1/3 and thickened for 5 – 7 mins. Stir through the reserved passionfruit seeds.
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes then pour over the cheesecake until the top is evenly coated.
• Place back into the fridge for 5 – 10 minutes to set a little. Serve with cream or yoghurt.

Notes

• If your cheesecake cracks, it’s a sign of either, too hot a cooking temperature or over cooking.Just reduce the temperature by 10C next time.
• For a plain cheesecake simply leave off the topping.
• The cheesecake is best made a day ahead. A slow cool to room temperature is important to reduce a cracking in the cheesecake. Once at room temp chill quickly in the fridge.
• Never cover the cheesecake directly, use a prop to hold the clingwrap off the surface. The wrap has a devious way of clinging to the surface making it impossible to remove without taking half the cake with it.
• If fresh Passionfruit is hard to source, simply, strain and reduce a small can of passionfruit syrup.

Course: Dessert

Keyword: cake, cheese, cheesecake, dessert, gluten free

If you love this try one of these

Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes

Mini Chocolate Meringues

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