My easy Passionfruit Cake made with fresh passionfruit. This moist and tender loaf cake is filled with passionfruit pulp, orange zest and Greek yogurt. A two-ingredient passionfruit glaze makes this Passionfruit Cake extra moist. It’s quick, easy and sure to be a household staple.
Meet my gorgeous Passionfruit Cake ☀️ This simple loaf cake boasts a soft and super moist crumb and a crisp, sugary crust.
It’s bursting with passionfruit flavour, thanks to oodles of fresh passionfruit pulp and zingy orange zest.
Drizzled with a two-ingredient passionfruit icing while it’s still warm, means this cake is extra moist and extra flavourful. Best of all, it’s super simple to make!
Why you will love this recipe
- Quick and easy: It’s surprisingly quick and easy to make.
- So moist: The cake is surprisingly soft and moist (and stays that way for days).
- Full of flavour: It’s bursting with passionfruit flavour.
- Freezer-friendly: You can freeze the cake to enjoy at a later date.
This is possibly the BEST cake I’ve ever made!! Super light and fluffy. Fresh and tangy with that beautiful passionfruit flavour which I love. Will be definitely making again as it is now one of my favourites.
– Liz
Recipe testing
Oh Passionfruit Cake, you!
I didn’t think this recipe would be hard to craft but it took me six tries to get it just right. I started by altering my popular Butter Cake recipe to include fresh passionfruit pulp in the batter.
The result was a strange cake with an oily crumb and a crumbled crust (picture one below). So I reduced the amount of eggs and milk and found the cake was much better – but a little on the dry side.
I tried a few more times, experimenting with differing amounts of butter, flour, eggs, milk and passionfruit. The cakes weren’t bad – we happily ate them – but I just didn’t think they were amazing.
So after test 5, I decided to shake things up and try a loaf-style cake instead. I took inspiration from my favourite Lemon Drizzle Cake which uses yogurt in the batter for extra moisture.
And volia! This Passionfruit Cake was everything I had wanted and more! It was soft, tender and very, very moist.
While the cake was warm, I added a two-ingredient passionfruit glaze. Bing, bam, boom, it was now also bursting with zesty passionfruit flavour.
Ingredients
You don’t need any hard-to-find ingredients to make this beautiful buttery Passionfruit Cake. Fresh passionfruit is the way to go here (more on that below), but here’s a snapshot of some of the key ingredients:
- Unsalted butter: Butter gives this cake oodles of beautiful buttery flavour.
- Caster sugar: Or granulated sugar.
- Vanilla bean paste: Or vanilla extract will work.
- Fresh passionfruit: I tested this recipe using fresh passionfruit (which works wonderfully well). You can use 100% passionfruit pulp but beware that most canned passion fruit syrup or passion fruit pulp has water and sugar added to it. That’s not ideal for this cake as it will alter the taste and texture. You want pure, fresh passionfruit pulp or lilikoi puree if possible.
- Greek or natural style yogurt: Yogurt is the secret ingredient in this cake that makes it super moist. If you don’t have full fat Greek or natural-style yogurt, full fat sour cream would be the next best thing.
- Orange zest: Fresh orange zest helps to lift the cake and enhance the vibrancy of the passionfruit.
- Icing sugar: Or powdered sugar or confectioners sugar will work here.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Passionfruit Cake
My Passionfruit Cake is wonderfully easy to make. You will need an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar – this ensures your cake has a lovely light and tender texture.
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Here’s how to make my passionfruit loaf in five simple steps. Full detailed instructions are included in the recipe card below:
- Beat together the butter and sugar using an electric mixer until creamy and pale.
- Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Beat until combined.
- In a separate bowl, stir together fresh passionfruit pulp and yogurt.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt and orange zest to creamed butter, followed by passionfruit yogurt.
- Stir using a spatula until combined. Cake batter will be very thick. Pour batter into a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan to bake.
Passionfruit Cake is then baked until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave cake to cool slightly on a wire rack before pouring over the passionfruit glaze.
How to make passionfruit icing
Passionfruit icing is made using just two ingredients: icing sugar (or powdered sugar) and fresh passionfruit. It makes for a perfect drippy glaze that can be poured over a warm cake. Here’s how to make it:
- Add sifted icing sugar to a large bowl.
- Add passionfruit pulp and stir until smooth.
I prefer to leave the seeds of the passionfruit in for ease. If you want to remove them, you can sieve your passionfruit pulp before adding it to your icing sugar.
Just keep in mind you’ll need more passionfruit to make up the volume though!
And don’t forget to sift your icing sugar first for a lump-free icing.
Fresh passionfruit or canned passionfruit?
When I designed this recipe, I wanted to create a flavourful Passionfruit Cake that really popped with passionfruit flavour.
During my research and recipe testing process, I noted that much of the passionfruit pulp sold at supermarkets contained added water and sugar – and was not 100% pulp.
This weakened the passionfruit flavour and also changed the ratio of liquid and sugar in the recipe.
Using only fresh passionfruit ensures both the cake and the icing boast maximum passionfruit flavour every time.
If you can’t get hold of fresh passionfruit, you can use lilikoi puree. Or wait until the next passionfruit season – it’ll be worth the wait!
Recipe tips
Here are my expert tips to ensure your Passionfruit Cake turns out perfect every time:
- Use a baking scale: To ensure accuracy, I recommend using a baking scale to measure your ingredients – particularly your butter and flour. Too much flour will mean your cake will be dry, too much butter, oily and wet.
- Choose the right cake pan: I recommend using a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan for best results. That’s what I’ve used here. If you change the size or shape of the loaf, you will have to adjust the cooking time. For example: a large 8-inch round cake will cook much faster.
- Don’t overmix your cake batter: Once you have added all the ingredients, simply stir the cake batter using a spatula or large metal spoon until no more streaks of flour remain. Your cake batter will be super thick – this is fine. Over-mixing your cake batter will make your cake dry and tough.
- Add icing while cake is warm: The perfect time to add your passionfruit glaze on top of the cake is while it is still warm from the oven. This will ensure the icing sinks down into the cake, helping to create a moist, flavourful crumb, and a lovely crisp crust.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. You can follow this recipe and use a round 8-inch cake pan instead. It will bake much quicker, so I recommend checking the cake around the 30 minute mark. You’ll know it’s ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
You can use canned passionfruit pulp if it’s 100% passionfruit pulp. Many canned passionfruit pulps are actually in syrup with water and and sugar added – they won’t produce the same results. If possible, fresh passionfruit is the way to go.
Yes! You could top this cake with passionfruit curd as well (or instead of) the passionfruit icing or serve it on the side.
This cake is delicious served on its own. Or you could add a dollop of whipped cream and fresh strawberries on the side.
Keep leftover Passionfruit Cake in an airtight container at room temperature. Alternatively, tightly wrap leftover Passionfruit Cake slices in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Then thaw at room temperature or microwave for 20-30 seconds until warm when you want to enjoy a slice.
More loaf cakes we love
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Let’s Bake
Passionfruit Cake recipe
Soft and moist Passionfruit Loaf Cake made with fresh passionfruit.
Ingredients
Passionfruit cake
- 115 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 90 grams (1/3 cup) fresh passionfruit pulp (approximately 3 passionfruits)
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat Greek or natural style yogurt
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour, sifted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Zest of 1 large orange, finely grated
Passionfruit icing
- 90 grams (3/4 cup) icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 65 grams (1/4 cup) fresh passionfruit pulp (approximately 2 passionfruits)
Instructions
- Passionfruit cake
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with baking or parchment paper, ensuring two sides overhang. - In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and creamy – approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Add vanilla, and eggs, one at a time, and beat briefly to combine – don’t worry if the mixture goes a little bit lumpy at this stage – then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In a separate bowl, stir together passionfruit pulp (seeds and all) and yogurt. Then add flour, baking powder, salt and orange zest to creamed butter mixture, along with the passionfruit yogurt.
- Mix by hand using a spatula or large metal spoon until the cake batter is combined (but try not to over-mix). It will be very thick.
- Spoon cake batter into your prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for approximately 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Set cake aside on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.
- Passionfruit icing
Mix together icing sugar and passionfruit pulp. Pour icing all over cake while it is still warm. - Use the parchment or baking paper to carefully remove cake from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Passionfruit: I recommend using fresh passionfruit in this recipe. Alternatively, 100% fresh passionfruit pulp or puree will work but double check the ingredients. Store-bought passionfruit pulp is often actually watered down with sugar added, which is why fresh passionfruit works best.
Greek yogurt: If you do not have access to Greek yogurt, full fat sour cream would be the next best thing.
Storage: This cake is best eaten on the day it’s made, however, it will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze it to maintain maximum freshness. I like to wrap any leftover slices in plastic wrap and freeze them. Then I just warm the slices in the microwave as needed.
Cake pan: You can follow this recipe and use a round 8-inch cake pan instead. It will bake much quicker, so check the cake around the 30 minute mark. You’ll know it’s ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Nutrition Information
Suzanne Noble says
Hi Jessica, Suzanne from AUSTRALIA
I have a large tub of passion fruit yogurt to use up & wondered if I could sub that perhaps adding a little extra homemade passionfruit pulp for flavour. Maybe reducing a small amount of sugar? Many thanks & kind regards.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Suzanne, I haven’t tried but I think you likely could do this! I would only reduce the sugar by a touch (maybe 1 tablespoon) so it doesn’t compromise the moisture. Good luck!
julia says
I am by no means a baker, but I’d love to eat baked goods! My friend gave me a bag full of fresh passionfruit, and I was looking for an easy recipe and found this one. I always look for something without a thousand steps and a million ingredients and this recipe did not disappoint. This was so easy to make and was so delicious. I made 12 cupcakes with a bake time of 30 minutes. I did use less icing just as personal preference. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful! Love that you enjoyed this one Julia! It’s one of my favourite cakes. And that’s exactly what I aim for with my recipes – not too many ingredients, easy methods and delicious results! I hope you get to try another one soon.
Kelly says
This is an excellent cake! I’ve made it three times the past week for various Thanksgiving parties. It’s been fun and simple to bake and I consistently impress at the party and leave with zero leftovers.
Left out the orange zest because I didn’t have any, but I wonder if orange liquor could be a substitute.
Jessica Holmes says
Wow love hearing that Kelly! So glad you enjoyed it. I’m not sure about orange liquor as I wouldn’t want to mess with the wet to try ratio. If you do try, let us know how it goes. You can also use lemon zest if you have on hand.
Catherine says
We have ten vines of passion fruit….I have removed the pulp and juice of several passion fruit, I have 64oz of seed free passion fruit and want to make this recipe and give away the loaves of passion fruit cake away as Holiday gifts.
I have ordered 50 aluminum foil loaf pans with lids 8.5″ x 4″ (very narrow at the bottom. Could I triple the recipe and fill 4our of these loaf pans at a time?
Jessica Holmes says
Wow Catherine, this sounds amazing! And using fresh passionfruit would be so delicious. It’s hard to say exactly without working out the volume of the pans. You might just have to give it a go and see?
Catherine says
Tripling the recipe made four cake loaves easily, they all looked and tasted moist, delicious and the four loaves in the oven at one time took 50 minutes to bake. Thank you for this amazing recipe, I will be making this passion fruit cake and giving them away to friends and family for the Holidays.
Jessica Holmes says
How wonderful Catherine!
Winnie says
I was surprised by the amount of sugar stated in the cake recipe but decided to trust the process. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The cake was very crispy on the outside which is always a sign of too much sugar. I’ll try it again but this time reduce the sugar.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Winnie, the crisp crust is by design in this recipe. You could omit the sugar glaze next time.
Winnie says
Hi Jessica, the taste of the cake was very nice. More pudding texture than cake but very moist and tasty. It didn’t taste as sweet as I thought it might. It was just right. Thank you.
Lisa says
This cake is fresh, moist and hard to resist. I’m making a double next time.
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! Love hearing that Lisa!
Jen says
This recipe BLEW MY MIND! SO tasty and delicious. Will 100% make again. Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Thank you Jen! I love that you loved this one like I do!
Eva S. says
This cake is so delicious! I usually make passionfruit curd when I have a bounty of passionfruit but this is the first time I baked with it. It was very moist, fragrant and not overly sweet. My family polished it off in a day so the 2nd loaf this week is in the oven and I suspect it will go just as quickly. I left out the orange zest since I don’t have any fresh oranges but it was still delicious and I have saved it to my recipe box. I made a small tweak because we don’t like super sweet desserts so reduced the sugar by about 2T and for the glaze, I just used 1/2 large passionfruit and a few tablespoons of powdered sugar for the glaze and it was perfect for our taste. It sounds like an easily adaptable recipe based on some of the other adjustments I saw in the reviews. I’m so glad I discovered this recipe! Thank you for your multiple rounds of testing! It’s perfect!
Jessica Holmes says
That’s wonderful to hear Eva! So pleased you loved this one!
Eva S. says
Update: This is already my favorite cake! Due to an abundant crop of passion fruits, I have made this recipe 5 times in the past 2 weeks. Everyone who has tried it loves it! Here’s what I’ve discovered: Increasing recipe 1.5 times yielded 19 muffins for a party (12 muffins with the recipe as is). I baked muffins for 25 minutes and have also made mini loaves and baked those for 35 minutes. I’ve subbed salted butter when I didn’t have unsalted and just left out the additional salt. I’ve also used regular yogurt instead of greek yogurt and it’s just as good. One time I added 1/2 cup of shredded coconut that I had for fun and it creates a slightly different texture but also good. As in my original post, I use a little less sugar in the cake and just a small amount of glaze that is perfect for our taste. I appreciate that this recipe is very flexible to minor substitutions. I’m so glad I found your website Jessica!
Jessica Holmes says
How amazing is that Eva! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and expertise with us. I love that you’ve enjoyed this cake so many times, in many different forms!
Bridget Rymer says
This is the second time in a week that I’ve made your cake; this is a lovely recipe! The addition of orange zest lifts the passion fruit flavor in the best way. I used 100% fruit puree with no seeds because that was what I had – turned out just fine. First time I had no full fat yogurt so I replaced it with 1/2 sour cream/1/2 whole milk buttermilk, which worked splendidly. This time I used full fat greek – also delicious. I poked holes in the top of the cake before glazing to help it absorb the glaze. Thank you for a really good recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you love this cake as much as I do Bridget! And buttermilk and sour cream would be the perfect sub. So pleased it worked out well for you!
Melinda says
Hi was wondering how sweet the cake is? and if I lessoned the sugar amount to 1/2 or 3/4 cup if it be still good
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Melinda, I think the cake is perfect as is. But you could reduce the sugar in the cake by 25% without compromising on the texture.
Iulia Simtion says
Perfection!
Jessica Holmes says
Love that!
Frederike says
Could you also make this with oil instead of butter?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Frederike, you could have a play around and try an oil based cake. I haven’t tried myself so I can’t say. Personally, I love the flavour that butter brings to this cake.
Nadji says
Hiii thank you for sharing the recipe first of all !!
I would like to find out if I can bake this in a loaf bundt pan?
Can’t wait to try out the recipe.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Nadji, yes that would be fine! I hope you love it!
Emilie says
Loved the recipe and the taste : oh my god. So easy, really delicious and moist and not too sweet. I really love passion fruit and turning it into cake is magic. The crunch of the seeds is surprising but I liked it. Thanks for the recipe, I recommand !
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So happy to hear that Emilie! Thank you for the lovely feedback!
Amy says
Fabulous recipe. The cake is absolutely delicious & has such a lovely texture & crumb. Very easy to make & I actually had everything on hand. I’ll definitely make it again & again
Jessica Holmes says
Hooray! I’m so happy to hear Amy!
Layla says
If I want to make a 2 layer 8 inch round cake, would I need to double to recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Layla, yes I would for two large layers, or even 1.5x the recipe!