This passion fruit tart is what tropical dreams are made of. Creamy passionfruit filling, in the most perfect shortcrust pastry tart crust. Beautiful and summery and it can’t help but make you smile. It’s somewhat ironic that I was photographing this gorgeous sunny looking tart in the midst of a solar eclipse.

  • A crisp and slightly sweet tart shell
  • Passion fruit curd turned creamy custard filling
  • Sweet, tangy, tart and tropical
  • It looks gorgeous and is perfect for sharing

Take one bite of this delicious passionfruit tart and you’ll be hooked. I originally created this tart right after my passionfruit curd which I love even more than lemon curd. Passionfruit has that same tart and tangy hit but with a tropical, sweet and fragrant flavour.

You’ll love this gorgeous mango tart and these mini passionfruit tartlets too.

This post was first published on 10th of November, 2018. It has been updated with new images and some minor recipe tweaks.

Top down view of a passionfruit filled tart on a metal tray.

I originally created this recipe in honour of my good friend, Trang from Wild Wild Whisk. She was nominated as one of the top 6 food blogs of 2018 by the Saveur Food Blog Awards out of the thousands and thousands out there. Knowing Trang loves a tropical treat (just check out her site), I made this passionfruit curd tart to celebrate! Now, if only we weren’t 9000 miles apart, I might be able to share some with her.

Ingredients you’ll need

Ingredients for passionfruit tart.

Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

The sweet shortcrust pastry, known as pâte sucrée, is very crisp, slightly sweet, light and buttery. It’s almost like a crisp cookie texture and is made from 4 simple ingredients;

  • Plain flour (all-purpose flour)
  • Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
  • Unsalted butter
  • Egg: I use large free range eggs

The passionfruit curd filling is actually a curd turned custard. It has the creamier texture of a custard or pastry cream, but is rich in passionfruit flavour, sweet and perfectly buttery. It’s made of;

  • Passionfruit pulp: Also known as passionfruit juice, or passionfruit puree, passionfruit pulp is the pure pulp from the inside of a passionfruit, seeds included. You can use fresh passionfruit, jarred passionfruit, frozen passionfruit or tinned passionfruit but please check the ingredients to make sure it’s nothing but passionfruit pulp – no added sweeteners. You’ll get about 2 tablespoons of passionfruit pulp from one passionfruit.
  • White granulated sugar
  • Eggs: I use large free range eggs
  • Lemon zest
  • Unsalted butter
  • Cream: This has different names in different countries. Thickened cream or heavy cream are the most common names I know of – if it’s different where you are, please let me know in the comments below. You want a full fat cream.

So this whole beautiful dessert is made from just 9 ingredients.

How to make passionfruit tart (step-by-step)

This passionfruit tart is fairly simple to make. There is a little time required in chilling the tart shell and letting the finished tart cool but other than that the steps are quite simple. Also, the pastry can be made days in advance and be ready to go when you want to bake.

While you can use store-bought shortcrust pastry, I urge you to give this one a go. It tastes a million times better and isn’t as tricky as you may think.

The filling is super simple being just a 10 minute passionfruit curd, with cream added and then it is baked. The topping is a simple swirl of fresh passionfruit pulp.

A collage showing how to make the tart shell.

.Jump to the recipe for full ingredients and instructions.

The pastry tart crust

Let’s start with how to make tart pastry. You’ll want to start with room temperature butter and eggs for this one.

  1. Beat the butter and sugar: Beat together the butter and sugar for a few minutes until well combined. I use a stand mixer with paddle attachment but technically an electric mixer should do the trick too.
  2. Add egg: Add the egg (photo 1) and beat until it comes together. If you’re finding it difficult to get it to combine properly, just add a good tablespoon of the flour and beat and that should help it all combine nicely.
  3. Add flour: Now add the flour (photo 2) and beat on low until it starts forming larger clumps (photo 3).
  4. Shape the dough: Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and pull it together into a smooth disk. Dust the benchtop with flour and the top of the dough, then roll it out (photo 4) to about 4-5mm (1/5th inch) and about 28cm (11 inches) in diameter.
  5. Line the pan with the pastry: Place the rolling pin the middle of the rolled pastry dough and fold the top half over. Lift it and then transfer to a loose-bottomed 9 inch fluted tart tin (photo 5). Press the sides downwards into the corners and gently press into the grooves all around the edge to shape it. Leave the excess standing upright (photo 6) – you can trim off a little if it’s just hanging over but don’t trim it all off just yet.
  6. Chill: Chill the pastry in the tin for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days in the fridge. You can also freeze it, wrapping it in plastic wrap once solid and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Two images showing how to prep the tart shell for baking.
  1. Blind bake: After the chilling time, prick the base all over with a fork. Use a sharp knife, flat to the top of the pan edge to cut the excess pastry off all the way round (photo 7). Crumple up a large piece of baking paper then flatten it out again and press it into the pastry case. Fill that with baking weights / baking beans or just use rice like I do (photo 8). Bake for 22 minutes removing the paper and weights after 15.

While there looks like a number of steps here and you will have to wait for chilling, it’s actually very easy to make your own shortcrust pastry. And this homemade version is just so perfect for this passion fruit tart.

The passionfruit tart filling

A collage showing how to make the passionfruit curd filling.
  1. Make the passionfruit curd: Simply whisk together passionfruit puree, sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a medium saucepan (photo 9). Heat over low-medium heat stirring until the sugar has dissolved (photo 10). Add the butter a few cubes at a time (photo 11), stirring until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Now cook a little longer until it’s thick and coating the back of a spoon without running.
  2. Turn it into custard: After letting the curd cool for 10 minutes, add another egg and the cream and whisk it all together (photo 12).

This filling takes all of 15 minutes to make in total and you can do this while the tart shell is blind-baking.

Assemble and bake the passion fruit tart

  1. Pour the passionfruit custard into the par-baked tart shell (photo 13).
  2. Bake until the passionfruit custard is just slightly wobbly in the centre.
  3. Right before serving, spoon over a few swirls of extra passionfruit pulp.

Tips and tricks

  • Don’t skip chilling: You must, must, must chill the pastry tart shell before baking for at least 2 hours. This prevents the tart crust from shrinking heavily while baking and losing it’s perfect shape. You can make this days in advance though and have it in the fridge ready for when you want to bake.
  • Passionfruit puree: When measuring the passionfruit pulp for the curd, measure it with the seeds in. You can strain the seeds out later if you don’t want them but the quantities in this recipe are based on measuring it this way.
  • Don’t boil the passionfruit curd: At no time should the passionfruit curd come to a bubble. If you notice even one bubble, remove it from the heat and stir off the heat to cool it a little, then continue.
  • Make ahead: The pastry dough, pastry tart shell and passionfruit curd (before adding the cream and extra egg) can all be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator (3 days, 3 days and 5 days respectively).

Serving suggestions

I love this passion fruit tart served just as it is but you can also add some whipped cream on the side to balance the tangy flavour.

You can make this same tart into a creamy lemon tart using my lemon curd recipe to replace the passion fruit curd. Remember to whisk in the egg and cream before adding it to the tart shell.

A passionfruit curd tart cut into slices.

FAQs

How does passion fruit taste?

Passion fruit is tart, tangy and sweet – a bit like citrus though not as sweet as an orange and not as tart as lemon. It’s flavour is reminiscent of citrus but has a unique tropical and aromatic flavour.

Can you freeze passionfruit tart?

Yes. While best fresh, this tart freezes quite well so you can freeze those leftover portions if you don’t think you’ll get through them in 2-3 days.

Is it OK to eat passion fruit seeds?

Yes. Passion fruit seeds are edible and have a lovely crunch though if you don’t like the texture, you can strain them out.

Yield and storage

Leftovers of this passionfruit curd tart recipe can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, in an airtight container.

The pastry dough can be made and kept chilled for up to 3 days in advance. You can even form it into the tart pan prior to chilling. The dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

The passionfruit curd (before adding the cream and extra egg) can be made 4-5 days in advance and stored in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge. Once you’re ready to bake the tart, whisk in the cream and extra egg and pour it into your par-baked tart shell.

A slice of tart on a small dessert plate.

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A passionfruit tart cut into slices on a metal tray.
4.9 from 12 ratings
This passion fruit tart, with it’s crisp tart shell and easy passionfruit curd custard filling tastes as good as it sounds. It’s all kinds of tropical dessert bliss.

Ingredients

TART SHELL – PATE SUCREE (SHORTCRUST PASTRY)

  • 100 g unsalted butter, softened (7 tablespoons / 3.5oz)
  • 40 g icing sugar (powdered sugar) (⅓ cup / 1.4oz)
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 225 g plain flour (all purpose flour)

FOR THE FILLING

  • 200 g granulated white sugar (1 cup / 7oz)
  • cup passionfruit pulp
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • finely grated zest of ½ a lemon
  • 150 g unsalted butter, cubed and cold
  • cup thickened cream (heavy cream)
  • 1 large egg, extra

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

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • FOR THE TART SHELL:
    In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, add the butter and icing sugar. Beat on medium until fully combined and smooth (1 – 2 minutes). Add the egg and beat on low until smooth – if it’s not combining just add 1 tbsp of the flour in with it and it should come together.
  • Add the remaining flour and beat just until large clumps are forming.
  • Turn the dough out and pull it together into a smooth ball with your hands (making sure not to handle it too much) then press it out into a 1 inch thick disk.
  • Place it onto a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with just a little flour too. Gently and gradually roll the pastry out, turning it often, to about 4-5mm (⅕ inch) thick or about 11 inches in diameter.
  • Place the rolling pin in the middle of the dough and fold one side of the pastry over the top. Lift the rolling pin so the pastry is hanging over it, and lightly dust off any excess flour from underneath. Carefully lay it into a 9 inch round tart pan with removeable base.
  • Press the dough down in to the corners all the way round, then press it into the scalloped sides. Leave the overhang standing upright and place the tart pan into the fridge to chill for a minimum of 2 hours or up to 3 days.
  • PAR BAKE THE TART SHELL:
    Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) / 350F.
  • Use a fork to prick the pastry base all over. Use a small sharp knife to trim off the excess pastry.
  • Line the tart shell with a sheet of baking paper (crumple it up first for an easy fit) and fill with pie weights or rice. Fill it quite full and making sure it’s pressed up tight into the corners and against the edges.
  • Bake for 15 minutes. You can proceed with making the crumble and filling while it bakes.
  • After 15 minutes. Carefully remove the baking paper and rice (or weights) and bake a further 7 minutes then set the tart shell aside.
  • FOR THE FILLING:
    Whisk together the sugar, passionfruit pulp, 2 eggs, egg yolks and zest in a small saucepan. Stir over low-medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
  • Add the cold butter 3-4 pieces at a time, stirring until each addition is melted and incorporated.
  • Turn the heat to low and continue cooking the mixture for 2-3 minutes until it is thickened and coats the back of a spoon or leaves a thick coating on the side of the pan when you tilt it. (Test by drawing a line through the curd on the back of the spoon and the line should not drip).
  • You’ve just made passionfruit curd! Allow the passionfruit curd to cool for about 15 minutes before proceeding.
  • Turn the oven temperature down to 160C (140C fan forced) / 320F.
  • In a bowl, whisk together the passionfruit curd, cream and the extra egg until well combined. Pour the mixture into the tart shell and place back in the oven for a further 30-35 until almost set (there should be a 2 inch ring where it is not wobbly at all and the centre portion should just have a slight wobble – not by runny).
  • Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.

Notes

  1. For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
  2. You can use fresh passionfruit pulp, frozen passionfruit pulp, jarred or tinned just make sure it does not have anything in the ingredients except passionfruit.
  3. Passionfruit seeds are edible but if you don’t want them, strain them out AFTER measuring the cup quantity of passionfruit pulp. This recipe has been developed with the pulp measured with the seeds in.
MORE STUNNING PIES AND TARTS!
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.
Nutrition Facts
Passionfruit Tart
Amount Per Serving
Calories 463 Calories from Fat 261
% Daily Value*
Fat 29g45%
Saturated Fat 18g113%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 8g
Cholesterol 185mg62%
Sodium 42mg2%
Potassium 132mg4%
Carbohydrates 46g15%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 26g29%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 1218IU24%
Vitamin C 5mg6%
Calcium 38mg4%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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