Passionfruit Cake
A soft butter cake with passionfruit pulp in the batter, finished with a tangy passionfruit icing.
Make Ahead and Storage
Keeps in an airtight tin for 3 days.
Making Passionfruit Cake
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Heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F and line a 20 cm round tin. Scoop the pulp from the passionfruit and divide it into two halves.
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Beat the butter and caster sugar for 4 minutes until pale. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
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Fold in the flour, milk and half the pulp until just combined. Spoon into the tin.
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Bake for 40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Cool completely.
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Stir the icing sugar with the rest of the pulp to a thick icing and spread over the cake.
Worth Knowing
- Do not strain the seeds out.
- Keep half the pulp for the icing.
- If your oven runs hot, check at 32 minutes.
- Ice the cake only when cold.
Behind the Recipe
Keep the seeds in. That is most of the recipe, and the part people want to strain out.
The black seeds give the cake its look and a slight crunch, and the pulp around them is where the flavour lives. Scoop the pulp from six passionfruit, about 100 g in all, and stir half into the batter. Save the other half for the icing.
Cream the butter and sugar for 4 minutes, add the eggs one at a time and fold in the flour with the milk and pulp. The batter looks curdled for a moment, which is normal and smooths out with the flour.
Bake in a lined 20 cm tin at 170°C for 40 minutes. If your oven runs hot, check at 32 minutes. Cool completely, then spread with icing made from icing sugar and the remaining pulp. If the icing is too stiff to spread, add a few drops of water until it loosens.
Serving Ideas
Whipped cream · Hot tea · Fresh mango · Coffee
Common Substitutions & Variations
- No self-raising flour to hand? Use the same weight of plain flour plus 2 teaspoons of baking powder per 150 g.
Questions About Passionfruit Cake
How long does Passionfruit Cake take to make?
About 1 hour in total — 20 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe serves 10.
What are the key tips for making Passionfruit Cake?
Do not strain the seeds out. Keep half the pulp for the icing. If your oven runs hot, check at 32 minutes. Ice the cake only when cold.
What should I serve with Passionfruit Cake?
Whipped cream; Hot tea; Fresh mango; Coffee.
How should Passionfruit Cake be stored?
Keeps in an airtight tin for 3 days.
Is Passionfruit Cake suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is vegetarian. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
How many calories are in Passionfruit Cake?
About 372 kcal per serving, with 5 g protein, 52 g carbohydrate and 16 g fat. The figures are calculated from the ingredient list and are an estimate.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
Reader Reviews
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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