If you love the tropical sweet and tangy flavour of passionfruit, you’ll love these passionfruit cupcakes. Topped with a creamy coconut buttercream, you’ll love the tropical vibes. And who doesn’t love a cupcake with a surprise centre, in this case my homemade passionfruit curd which is so quick and easy to make and, dare I say, better than lemon curd …. gasp!

The tropical cupcakes have a super tender, light and fluffy cupcake base with a helping of both coconut milk and passionfruit juice. Subtle in it’s flavour, the real flavour punch comes from the curd filling and buttercream.

Fresh, frozen or jarred passionfruit pulp will work here so grab it whichever way you can get it and get baking.

If you love these, you’ll love this passionfruit sponge cake too and this passionfruit tart too.

This post was first published right here on January 10th, 2019. The recipe has been simplified (meringue top omitted) and made even better.

A passionfruit cupcake cut open to show the filling inside.

Table of contents

Ingredients you’ll need

Ingredients for coconut passionfruit cupcakes.

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

  • Passionfruit pulp: Known as passionfruit pulp or passionfruit juice, this is the pure filling from the inside of a passionfruit (or lilikoi / maracuya). Discard the seeds for the cupcake but save some juice with the seeds for topping at the end.
  • Sugar: Caster sugar (my preference) or granulated sugar are all you need here for both the cake and the frosting.
  • Oil and butter: These cupcakes have a combination of both oil and butter. The butter adds richness of flavour while the oil makes these cupcakes moist and tender.
  • Eggs: I use large eggs at room temperature.
  • Flour: For these passion fruit cupcakes, I use cake flour. This is just a mixture of plain flour (all-purpose flour) and cornflour (US cornstarch), so if you can’t get cake flour, the details of how to create it with these two simple ingredients is in the recipe notes at the bottom of the post.
  • Baking powder: Baking powder, not baking soda so don’t get them confused, gives the cakes their lift.
  • Coconut milk: Full fat coconut milk, not coconut cream, is used in both the passionfruit cupcakes and coconut buttercream. Make sure to have the tin at room temperature and give it good shake before using so the solids and liquid combine.
  • Vanilla extract: Stick to a pure vanilla extract for the best flavour. Don’t use vanilla essence (it’s synthetic).

How to make passionfruit cupcakes

I adore this coconut cupcake recipe. There is just enough coconut flavour without it being overpowering but the reason I love it most is these cupcakes turn out perfectly light, fluffy and moist – what every good cupcake should be.

Infact, I made these cupcakes for a new years celebration and one of the comments I got was from someone who doesn’t normally eat cupcakes because they are so dry but he loved these. Another comment was something along the lines of “foodgasm”. Pretty sure that’s a good thing.

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

1. Make the batter

Start by beating together the butter, oil and sugar until light and creamy. I melt my butter 50% for this- so not fully melted, still 50% soft chunks. I do this because it helps everything blend together nicely but still beats together enough to create airiness. I love that I can just use a handheld beater for this too.

The butter, oil and sugar beaten in a bowl.

Next, beat in the eggs, one at a time just until combined.

The batter after the eggs have been beaten in.

Finally, alternate the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl then add a third to the batter bowl and stir through with a spatula. Next, add the passionfruit juice, vanilla and half the coconut milk. Repeat with the rest in 3 instalments – flour, coconut milk, flour.

The batter with everything combined.

2. Portion and bake

That batter comes together in a matter of minutes – so quick. I like to portion it using a large ice cream scoop (⅓ cup volume) which makes the passion fruit cupcakes very evenly sized so they bake evenly. Use up all the batter between 12 cupcake liners in a standard muffin tin then bake them for around 18 minutes.

The batter divided between cupcake papers in a muffin pan.

3. Make the coconut frosting

While the cupcakes bake, you can start immediately on the frosting. This is my absolute favourite style of buttercream to eat. It’s technical name is ermine frosting. It takes just a little (and I mean a little) more effort than a regular buttercream but the payoff is

  • A silky smooth and cream like texture – no graininess like the regular kind
  • A buttercream that is NOT super sweet like the icing / powdered sugar version
  • A more stable buttercream
  • You can just use regular granulated sugar which most everyone has on hand

Start by cooking flour, coconut milk and some sugar in a pan until it becomes a very thick paste. Tip this onto a flat bowl or plate, cover with plastic wrap and cool to room temperature. You can speed up the cooling in the fridge but make sure it’s room temperature when you use it.

The flour paste for the frosting in a pan.

Now, to make the buttercream, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and light. Add the cooled flour paste one dessert spoon at a time and beat until fully combined with each addition. Once it’s all in, give it a good beat until completely smooth and it looks whipped.

Adding the flour paste to the butter and sugar for the buttercream.
The buttercream, ready to pipe.

4. Assembly

Now to assemble these passionfruit cupcakes.

Once they’re cool, cut a little hole in the top of each cupcake. I use a special tool called a cupcake corer for this but you can certainly just use a sharp knife or even the end of a metal piping tip. Fill it with some passionfruit curd

The cupcakes in a muffin pan with the centres filled with passionfruit curd.

Next, pipe a ring of that gorgeous coconut buttercream around the outside of that filling, then just pipe a little dot in the centre – you’re aiming to cover the curd but still have a little dent in the middle of the frosting for more curd to go in.

The cupcakes in a muffin pan with a swirl of frosting on top of each.

Scatter some shredded coconut over the frosting around the edge, then add another little dob of curd in the centre. Spoon over a drizzle of passionfruit pulp and they’re ready!

The finished passionfruit cupcakes in the muffin pan.

Storage and making ahead

You can actually make the passionfruit curd up to 2 weeks in advance, so long as you store it in a sterilised jar in the fridge and leave it sealed right up until you fill the cupcakes.

The cupcakes (cake base) can be made ahead of time too and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. They thaw very well.

The buttercream is best made when you are ready to frost the cupcakes.

Store your assembled passionfruit cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Take out of the fridge ½ an hour before serving time.

The finished passionfruit cupcakes are all kinds of Summer and fun and bright flavours. Tangy, creamy, soft and airy and just the perfect treat.

Top down view of the tops of passionfruit cupcakes.

More recipes you’ll love

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Hungry for more?

6 passionfruit cupcakes with half a passionfruit in front.

Passionfruit Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream

Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time: 53 minutes
5 from 6 ratings
These passionfruit cupcakes are soft and fluffy, coconut and passionfruit spiked cupcakes filled with passionfruit curd and topped with coconut buttercream.
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Ingredients

  • 195 g cake flour 1 ½ cups, see notes
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 57 g unsalted butter 50% melted (notes)
  • ¼ cup neutral flavoured vegetable oil
  • 1 cup caster sugar or white granulated sugar (200g /7oz)
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • ½ cup coconut milk room temp & shaken well (125ml)
  • ¼ cup strained passionfruit pulp seeds removed
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

FOR THE COCONUT BUTTERCREAM

  • ¾ cup caster sugar or white granulated sugar (150g / oz)
  • ¾ cup full fat coconut milk shaken well (180ml)
  • 2 ¼ tablespoons plain flour (all purp flour) (9tsp, notes 1)
  • 170 g unsalted butter softened (½ cup / 4oz / 1 stick)
  • ½ cup passionfruit curd store-bought or homemade (notes)
  • shredded coconut optional

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • FOR THE COCONUT PASSIONFRUIT CUPCAKES:
    Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Line 12 hole muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt to lighten and evenly disperse. Set aside.
  • Using a large mixing bowl and handheld electric beater (or stand mixer with paddle attachment), beat together the butter, oil and sugar on medium speed until well combined
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating each until the mixture is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl from time to time.
  • Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter and egg mix. Stir with a spatula to until just combined. Now, add half the coconut milk, the passionfruit juice and the vanilla. Stir gently to combine. Repeat these additions in three more parts, stirring each time until only just combined – flour, coconut milk, flour.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the muffin pans to about ⅔-¾ full.
  • Bake for around 18-20 minutes. They’re done when the toothpick comes out with just a crumb or two attached.
  • Let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • FOR THE COCONUT BUTTERCREAM:
    In a small saucepan whisk together the milk, flour and half the sugar until smooth. Heat over low heat for 5-6 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens to a very thick paste. It's thick enough when you can see the lines of the whisk in the paste and the smell of uncooked flour has disappeared.
  • Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap making sure the plastic wrap is touching the paste (this will stop the top from forming a skin), then place in the fridge to cool completely.
  • Once the milk paste is completely cool, beat together the butter and remaining sugar until really creamy (about 5 minutes). Make sure to regularly scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the milk / flour paste and salt and beat on medium high for 5-7 minutes. If it looks like it separates at the start, don’t worry, keep on beating and it will beat up into an almost whipped cream consistency.
  • ASSEMBLY:
    Use a knife or cupcake corer to cut roughly a ¾ inch hole in the top centre of the cupcake then fill with just over a teaspoon of passionfruit curd.
  • Pipe a ring of buttercream around the top of each cupcake, then pipe a dot into the centre to cover the curd but still leave a dent. Add a little more curd to the dent.
  • If using, scatter some shredded coconut over the frosting, then finish off with a little drizzle of passionfruit pulp if you have some on hand.
  • Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.

Notes

  1. Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
  2. Cake flour is a combination of plain flour (all purpose flour) and cornflour (US cornstarch). If you can’t find cake flour, use 165g of plain flour and 30g of cornflour.
  3. For the 50% melted butter, just place your butter in a microwave safe bowl and melt in two bursts of 15-20 seconds until about 50% of the butter is melted while the other half is not without mixing it up. See image in post. If you don’t have a microwave, do this in a small bowl set over simmering water. It just helps everything blend together easier while still being able to create some fluffiness in the batter. Regular softened butter is fine too.
  4. This recipe has been altered slightly since it was first posted here. It originally had a little plain meringue sitting on top. If you’d like to add the meringues use this recipe, leaving out the peppermint and chocolate.
  5. This is my Passionfruit Curd recipe
  6. For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales like these are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
  7. Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
MORE CAKES AND CUPCAKES!
Calories: 446kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Tropical, World
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Nutrition information is approximate only and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use and any changes you make may cause variations.

Nutrition Facts
Passionfruit Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream
Amount Per Serving (113 g)
Calories 446 Calories from Fat 243
% Daily Value*
Fat 27g42%
Saturated Fat 16g100%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g
Monounsaturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 95mg4%
Potassium 152mg4%
Carbohydrates 49g16%
Fiber 0.5g2%
Sugar 36g40%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 555IU11%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 38mg4%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.