Passionfruit Cake

A brown butter sponge infused with tangy passionfruit juice and topped with brown butter cream cheese frosting makes this Passionfruit Cake perfect for special occasions or when you need a crowd-pleasing showstopper.

Ingredients and substitutions for Passionfruit Cake

• Butter: The brown butter must be room temperature here to create the nice and fluffy base of the cake which allows more air to be whipped up and help the sugar begin dissolving. As butter loses approximately 30% moisture during the browning process, the weight of regular butter to make the browned butter for the cake was 200 grams / 7 ounces and for the frosting weighed 75 grams / 2.65 ounces.
• Sugar: Superfine or caster sugar gives our cake it’s sweetness without overly flavoring the cake allowing the vanilla to shine and the strawberries in between. You could substitute with raw sugar or half and half with brown sugar, though your cake would have slightly more caramel flavor. Icing or confectioner’s sugar is best here because it dissolves into the butter due to it’s incredibly fine texture.
• Plain flour: You don't need much and don't want to overwork the dough so you don't make these too stiff. However, you can substitute with self-raising flour which is most commonly found in
• Eggs: The eggs need to be room temperature here to bind with the butter and sugar as room temperature eggs allow more air into them giving our sponge that nice and light texture.
• Sour cream: Rich and creamy sour cream adds the necessary fat and moisture into the cake, though you could replace with Greek yogurt in equal measure.
• Passionfruit: Each whole fruit weighed around 40 grams and 2 whole passionfruit pulp with juice removed weighed 30 grams with 10 grams for juice. You could replace the juice in the cake with mango juice and top with slices of mango. Or stew or roast rhubarb and use that juice in the cake and top the frosting with the produce. Alternatively you could add vanilla extract to the cake and top with macerated berries.
• Cream cheese: The core of our creamy frosting is room temperature full fat cream cheese, this helps to ensure the frosting is spreadable.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Passionfruit Cake:

Step 1: Whip: The butter, sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes with an electric beater.

Step 2: Yolks: Add in the egg yolks and whip until combined.

Step 3: Flavor: Add the sour cream and passionfruit juice and whip until combined.

Step 4: Mix the dry ingredients: Combine the flour mixture in a separate bowl.

Step 5: Batter: Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until a cake batter has formed.

Step 6: Whip: The egg whites until soft peaks form.

Step 7: Fold: Gently fold the whites into the batter until fully incorporated.

Step 8: Cake tin and bake: Spoon into your baking tin, smooth out and bake until golden or a skewer comes out clean from the edges of your cake.

Step 9: Frosting: Whip the brown butter until pale before adding in sugar and whipping until smooth.

Step 10: Cream cheese: Add the cream cheese and whip before adding in the vanilla extract and combine.

Step 11: Spoon and swirl: The cream cheese on the top of the cake and spread out. Add spoonfuls of fresh passionfruit on top.

Step 12: Serve: Slice, serve up and dig in!

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Passionfruit Cake

Sylvie Taylor

A tender cake flavored with passionfruit and smothered in a brown butter cream cheese frosting, is a great way to serve up this underrated fruit. This is a great snack cake for anytime or ideal to serve at a late summer gatherings.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 10

Calories 236 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Cake

• 160 grams / 5.6 ounces browned butter room temperature
• 165 grams / ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
• 165 grams / 3 large eggs room temperature and separated
• 81 grams / ⅓ cup sour cream
• 10 grams / 1 tablespoon passionfruit juice (see note)
• 180 grams / 1 cup + 2 tablespoons plain flour sifted
• 6 grams / 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 3 grams / ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Cream cheese frosting

• 60 grams / 4 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon brown butter room temperature
• 82 grams / ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon confectioner/icing sugar sifted
• 187 grams / 6.6 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 30 grams / 2 ½ tablespoons passionfruit

Instructions

 

Cake

• Preheat your oven to 170C/340F and line a 20 cm or 8 inch round cake tin with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together until pale and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes with an electric beater.
• Add in 1 yolk and beat until well combined, approximately 1 minute.
• Repeat with each remaining egg yolk until well combined.
• Stir the flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
• Toss into the butter and egg yolks and whip on low until just combined and no dry portions remain in your bowl.
• Whip the egg whites in a separate clean and dry bowl until stiff peaks form, approximately 9 minutes.
• Fold the egg whites into the batter until smooth.
• Pour evenly into the cake tin and place in the oven until golden, approximately 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the cake is coming away from the edges of the tin.
• Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack.

Cream cheese frosting

• Place the butter into a bowl and whip until pale, approximately 3 minutes.
• Toss in the sugar and whip until it's well combined and smooth, at least 1 minute.
• Add the cream cheese and whip a further 30 seconds before adding in the vanilla extract and combine.
• Spoon on the top and smear out over the entire cake unevenly .
• Add spoonfuls of the passionfruit on top of the frosting
• Slice and serve.
• Dig in!

Notes

• Butter: The brown butter must be room temperature here to create the nice and fluffy base of the cake which allows more air to be whipped up and help the sugar begin dissolving. As butter loses approximately 30% moisture during the browning process, the weight of regular butter to make the browned butter for the cake was 200 grams / 7 ounces and for the frosting weighed 75 grams / 2.65 ounces.
• Sour cream: Rich and creamy sour cream adds the necessary fat and moisture into the cake, though you could replace with Greek yogurt in equal measure.
• Cream cheese: The core of our creamy frosting is room temperature full fat cream cheese, this helps to ensure the frosting is spreadable.
• Passionfruit: Each whole fruit weighed around 40 grams and 2 whole passionfruit pulp with juice removed weighed 30 grams with 10 grams for juice. You could add a whole passionfruit to the cake, if the seeds don’t bother you in baking. You could also replace the juice in the cake with mango juice and top with slices of mango. Or stew or roast rhubarb and use that juice in the cake and top the frosting with the produce. Alternatively you could add vanilla extract to the cake and top with macerated berries.
• Cake tin: A round spring form tin was used, however, a standard cake tin of similar size would also work well.

Recipe by Roamingtaste

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal

Keyword cake, snack cake

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