These tempting Passionfruit Muffins have a combo of white chocolate & passionfruit, finished with luxe passionfruit cream cheese topping
Help! We’ve got passionfruit fever!
The wonders of mother nature’s creations are nothing short of magical and fruits are one of them. The amazing variety of fruits we have is truly mind-blowing, isn’t it? Passionfruit is one of my favourites.
My husband, Tomi, would argue that I simply love passionfruit because they’re expensive. I mean, his right, they’re not cheap, but it’s a pure coincidence that I also love expensive cherries, mangoes and all the exotic fruits such as lychee, logan and jackfruit! 😁 I also love affordable fruits like oranges, apples, and pears, but prefer to juice or cook with them.
Gorgeous summery passionfruits are the star of this show and they’re affordable this time of year. I always pick Panama passionfruits as they’re huge and heavily filled with pulp. Unlike most fruits, I like to pick the wrinkled ones rather than the beautiful smooth ones for eating. The wrinkly ones are overly ripe, meaning their pulp is more sweeter than tart.
During our recent strata meeting, our neighbours revealed they are growing passionfruits along our shared fence. Upon hearing this, my eyes immediately lit up. I promptly reminded them that if the passionfruits grow on our SHARED property means that we have to share them. My joke had everyone chuckling, oblivious to the fact that I was partially serious 😂
Experience the heavenly combination of white chocolate and passionfruit in these one-of-a-kind muffins. But that’s not all because they have a lavish serving of creamy passionfruit and cream cheese frosting.
These muffins are as indulgent and fulfilling as cake, but with the simplicity of baking a batch of muffins. So why not indulge in these muffins because they’ve been whispering your name?
Passionfruit Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
How do you pick good passionfruit?
When picking passionfruit, choose those that are purple or yellow with minimal green on their skin, as the green suggests they may not be ripe. For eating, I prefer fruits that are a little wrinkly as they’re sweeter than the ones with smooth skin. However, for baking, I do like a little tartness to balance the sweet so the smooth ones are good for this recipe.
Will canned or frozen passionfruit work?
The best flavour comes from using fresh passionfruit pulp. However, frozen or canned pulp would work. If the pulp comes with added sugar like most canned ones do, ensure to adjust the sugar and chocolate to prevent overly sweet muffins.
Can I change the sweetness of these muffins?
You could change the level of sweetness of these muffins to your liking. There’s only 1/2 cup of sugar for the entire batch of muffins, so the sweetness is mostly from the chocolate chips. During my first attempt at this recipe, I threw in 1 cup (200gm / 7oz) of chocolate chips. Personally, I found it a tad sweet, but it was well-received by others. So adjust the amount of chocolate to suit your taste.
If you prefer your muffins with no frosting, add more chocolate chips or sugar, because the muffins lack sweetness without the frosting.
More amazing muffin recipes to try:
Ingredients for Passionfruit Muffins
Plain flour (All-purpose flour) doesn’t have salt or leavening agents like baking powder.
Caster sugar (superfine sugar or baker’s sugar) is a type of granulated white sugar that has a very fine texture. Many baking or dessert recipes call for caster sugar as it dissolves faster and better into mixtures. If you can’t find caster sugar, you can make your own by placing regular white sugar in a food processor or blender. Pulse the sugar a few times until it looks finer, but don’t over-blitz it to a powdery consistency. Alternatively, you could just use equal amounts of regular white sugar.
White chocolate chips – During my first attempt at this recipe, I threw in 1 cup (200gm / 7oz) of chocolate chips. Personally, I found it a tad sweet, but it was well-received by others. So adjust the amount of chocolate to suit your taste. If you’re not a fan of white chocolate, swap with dark or milk chocolate.
Passionfruit pulp – The best flavour comes from using fresh passionfruit pulp. However, frozen or canned pulp would work. If the pulp comes with added sugar, ensure to adjust the sugar and chocolate to prevent overly sweet muffins.
Icing sugar (powdered sugar, confectionary sugar) – Icing sugar usually comes in two forms: icing sugar mixture and pure icing sugar. Icing sugar mixture is softer than pure icing sugar because there’s starch or flour added to it. For this recipe, you could use either.
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How to make Passionfruit Muffins
Step-by-step guide with photos
Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Line a standard 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners. Alternatively, use 10 mini loaf tins, grease and line them with baking / parchment paper.
For the dry ingredients – Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl to get rid of any lumps. Mix the chocolate chips into the flour mixture.
For the wet ingredients – In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, milk, passionfruit pulp and vanilla extract.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ingredients. Fold to combine just until there are no dry bits of flour showing. Don’t over-mix the batter as this will make tough muffins. Divide the batter evenly in each muffin case, then bake for 16 to 20 minutes. The muffins are done when a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle (take care, as it could be melted chocolate stuck to the skewer and not raw batter). Allow muffins to sit in the tin for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
For the frosting – Before frosting, make sure the muffins have cooled completely. Using a hand or stand mixer to beat together the cream cheese and butter. Beat on medium-high speed for around 2 minutes. Add in half of the icing sugar and continue to beat until combined, then beat in the remaining sugar until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and passionfruit pulp, then beat until well combined.
The frosting should be thick enough to spread with a butter knife, but not too runny that it drips down the muffin. Increase the thickness of the frosting by adding more icing sugar gradually, using one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. To make the frosting thinner, add a small amount of passionfruit pulp or milk. Optional – place a few teaspoons of passionfruit pulp over the frosting.
How to store Passionfruit Muffins
Leftovers – Place unfrosted muffins in an airtight container and store them in a cool area at room temperature for up to 3 days. If frosted, store the muffins in the fridge for up to 4 days. Allow the muffins to come to room temperature before serving.
I’ve used a third-party application to calculate the calories and nutritional information, so please use this as an approximate guide only.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements. For specific details and conversions, visit our Australian Cooking Measurements page.
I would love your feedback and support if you made this recipe. To do this, please rate this recipe and provide a comment by scrolling down this page or by clicking that green circle on the bottom left. An email address is required (for spam), but it won’t be published. I would also love to see your dish, so don’t forget to tag me on my Instagram account ‘3catsfoodie’
Cheers – Cat T
Passionfruit Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting
Video
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups (295gm / 10oz) plain or All purpose flour (NOTE 1)
- ½ cup (115gm / 4oz) caster sugar (NOTE 2)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 140gm / 5oz white chocolate chips (NOTE 3)
WET INGREDIENTS
- 2 large eggs (room temperature, lightly whisked)
- 125gm / 4.4oz unsalted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup (160ml / 5.5 floz) full cream or whole milk, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (70gm / 2.5oz) passionfruit pulp (NOTE 4)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
PASSIONFRUIT CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 150gm / 5.5oz softened cream cheese
- 40gm / 1.5 oz softened butter
- 1 cup (150gm / 5.5oz) icing or powdered sugar (might need more) (NOTE 5)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp (50gm / 1.8oz) passionfruit pulp
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Line a standard 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners. Alternatively, use 10 mini loaf tins, grease and line them with baking / parchment paper.
- For the dry ingredients – Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl to get rid of any lumps. Mix the chocolate chips into the flour mixture.
- For the wet ingredients – In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, milk, passionfruit pulp and vanilla extract.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ingredients. Fold to combine just until there are no dry bits of flour showing. Don't over-mix the batter as this will make tough muffins. Divide the batter evenly in each muffin case, then bake for 16 to 20 minutes. The muffins are done when a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle (take care as it could be melted chocolate on the skewer and not raw batter) Allow muffins to sit in the tin for 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
- For the frosting – Before frosting, make sure the muffins have cooled completely. Using a hand or stand mixer to beat together the cream cheese and butter. Beat on medium-high speed for around 2 minutes. Add in half of the icing sugar and continue to beat until combined, then beat in the remaining sugar until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract and passionfruit pulp, then beat until well combined.
- The frosting should be thick enough to spread with a butter knife, but not too runny that it drips down the muffin. Increase the thickness of the frosting by adding more icing sugar gradually, using one tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency. To make the frosting thinner, add a small amount of passionfruit pulp or milk. Optional – place a few teaspoons of passionfruit pulp over the frosting.
