If you love tropical flavors this vegan passion fruit tart is perfect for you! The sweet passion fruit curd filling is vibrant, refreshing, and smooth - made with orange juice and passion fruit pulp for a deliciously fresh and tropical flavor!
Passion fruits are a species of passionflower and are native to Brazil and other South American countries. Passion fruit is probably one of my favorite flavors out there, I can never get enough of those delicious little fruits (note to self: create more passion fruit desserts!).
If you're here for the passion fruit-packed recipes why not also try out my Passionfruit Ice Cream. This Mango Passionfruit Tart is also popular.
What to expect from this recipe
- Fresh and light
- Tropical and sweet
- Bursting with flavor
- Easy to make
- Vegan-friendly
- Easily adapted as gluten-free
- Perfect for summer
Ingredients needed
- All-purpose flour: Use a GF all-purpose flour to make this tart gluten-free.
- Ground almonds: almonds will add flavor to the shortbread crust. Feel free to substitute them with more all-purpose flour.
- Coconut sugar: this adds a beautiful slight caramelized flavor to the tart crust.
- Sea salt: where would we be going without a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness and enhance the overall flavor of a dessert? But seriously, a touch of salt goes a long way in taking your desserts to the next level.
- Vegan butter: you can also use coconut oil if vegan butter isn't available to you. If you're not fond of the coconut flavor, go for refined coconut oil.
- Ground flaxseeds: the flaxseeds act as a binding agent and help the tart to keep its shape and be less crumbly when you cut through it.
- Passionfruit pulp: passion fruit pulp is the juice that's found inside passion fruit. The pulp and seeds are inside little sacks, I find the best way to separate the pulp is to use a fine-mesh sieve and the back of a spoon to push the moisture through.
- Freshly squeezed orange juice: make sure it's from fresh oranges and not the bottled/carton type. The orange flavor is very subtle as those punchy passion fruits outshine it by far. Orange juice helps to add color, sweetness, and an additional layer of flavor to the curd.
- Light brown sugar: You can use regular white sugar here too if you'd prefer. Just make sure it's organic if you're based in America otherwise it may not be vegan-friendly!
- Plant-based milk: coconut, oat or soya milk all work well depending on what you have to hand!
- Cornflour or cornstarch (yes they are the same thing!). This is the thickening agent which will give us a nice rich passion fruit curd for the filling.
- Agar-agar powder: this is the setting agent which will jellify the filling making sure it doesn't ooze out everywhere once you cut into the tart.
- Coconut cream: a touch of coconut cream helps to add richness to the passion fruit curd.
How to make passion fruit tart
(Full recipe and instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post)
Shortbread crust
Make a "flax egg" by mixing together the ground flaxseed with 2½ tablespoons of water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes and then add it to your food processor along with the other ingredients to make the crust. In your food processor, blend for a couple of minutes until the ingredients stick together to form a dough. If needed, you add the tablespoon of water and blend again to bring the mixture together.
Lightly grease the base and sides of a 9.5" tart tin with some oil or vegan butter. The easiest way to get the crust into the pan is to split the dough in half and press one half evenly around the edges first. Then press the remaining dough into the base of the pan, and use a flat-bottomed glass or spatula to smooth it out. Use a fork to gently prick several holes into the dough and place it in the oven to bake for about 12-15 minutes, until slightly browned. Once baked, allow the tart to cool to room temperature.
Passion fruit curd
If you are using fresh passion fruit, scoop the flesh and pass it through a sieve to separate out the seeds. Use the back of a spoon to press and squeeze out all of the pulp, this can take a little bit of elbow grease to make sure you don't waste any of that precious juice! You can also opt for store-bought passionfruit pulp or puree if it's available to you.
To make the curd add the passionfruit pulp, orange juice, and light brown sugar to a saucepan and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. The mixture will start to reduce slightly. Meanwhile, in a bowl make a paste with the plant-based milk, cornflour, and agar-agar powder. Whisk really well to remove any lumps before adding the mixture to the saucepan. Now you'll need to keep a close eye on the pan, whisking vigorously while the cornflour cooks out, to ensure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan and burns.
Lastly, add the coconut cream and continue to simmer for another minute while whisking vigorously. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly for 10 minutes before pouring the filling into the tart shell.
Refrigerate for 3-4 hours, or leave it in the fridge overnight if preferred. Just before serving, garnish the tart with a little whipped coconut cream and some additional passionfruit pulp or passionfruit coulis.
Recommended tools
More vegan passion fruit desserts
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Description
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, use gluten-free if GF
- ½ cup (55 g) ground almonds
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon (1.25 g) sea salt
- 4 tablespoons (60 g) vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) ground flaxseeds
Filling
- ½ cup (60 g) passionfruit pulp, approx 7-8 small passion fruits
- 1 cup (240 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
- ¼ cup (55 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (118 ml) plant-based milk, such as oat or coconut (use gluten-free if GF)
- 4 tablespoons (32 g) cornflour, (cornstarch)
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) agar-agar powder
- 2 tablespoons (30 g) coconut cream
Toppings
- ½ cup (120 g) vegan whipped cream
- fresh passionfruit pulp , or passionfruit coulis
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Lightly grease the base and sides of a 9.5" tart tin with some oil or vegan butter.
- Make a "flax egg" by mixing together the ground flaxseed with 2½ tablespoons of water. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
- In your food processor, combine the flax egg, gluten-free flour, ground almonds, coconut sugar, salt, and vegan butter and blend until the ingredients stick together to form a dough. If needed, add the tablespoon of water and blend again to bring the mixture together.
- Evenly press the dough half of the dough into the sides of the tart tin first, then press the remaining dough into the base of the tin. With a fork, gently prick the dough several times.
- Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes until slightly browned, then allow to cool to room temperature (do not remove the tart from the tin). Once at room temperature, place the tart in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling.
Filling
- If using fresh passion fruit, scoop the flesh and pass it through a sieve to separate out the seeds. Use the back of a spoon to press and squeeze out all of the pulp.
- Add the passionfruit pulp, orange juice, and light brown sugar to a saucepan and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk together the plant-based milk, cornflour, and agar-agar to remove any lumps. Add the cornflour mix to the saucepan and simmer for another 3 minutes, whilst whisking vigorously. Add the coconut cream and continue to simmer for another minute while whisking vigorously. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly for 10 minutes before pouring the filling into the tart shell.
- Place in the fridge to set for 3-4 hours (or overnight if preferred).
- Garnish with whipped coconut cream and passionfruit pulp or passionfruit coulis.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days.
Nutrition
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