Ever since I made passion fruit and white chocolate donuts, I haven't been able to get that flavor combination out of my head. I knew I had to make at least one more dessert using those flavors before the fruit went out of season. And what could be more perfect than to make passion fruit white chocolate cheesecake? Paired with a coconut digestive cookie crust, this cheesecake has a tropical flair from head to toe. Plus, look at that gorgeous color! Another great passion fruit and white chocolate dessert if you ask me!

Recipe

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Passion Fruit White Chocolate Cheesecake

1 cheesecake

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake

Servings: 8

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Coconut digestive cookie crust

• 1 ¼ cup digestive cookie crumbs
• ½ cup coconut grated, sweetened
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 6 tablespoon butter melted

Cheesecake filling

• 1 lb cream cheese softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 6 ounces white chocolate chips
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• ¼ cup passion fruit juice
• 2 passion fruits

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Make the cheesecake crust. Process enough digestive cookies to make 1 ¼ cup crumbs. Combine the crumbs with ½ cup grated coconut, 2 tablespoon brown sugar, and 6 tablespoon melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a cheesecake pan to form the crust. Bake the crust for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely.
• Place the cheesecake pan on a sheet of aluminum foil and gently fold up the sides of the foil around the pan to cover the bottom. Repeat with another sheet of foil and set aside.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat 1 lb softened cream cheese until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add ½ cup sugar and beat for another 2-3 minutes or until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, fully incorporating them before adding the next.
• Combine 6 ounces white chocolate chips with ½ cup of heavy cream in a bowl. Microwave the mixture at 20-second intervals until the white chocolate is melted, stirring after every 20 seconds. Add the white chocolate mixture, sour cream, vanilla, and passion fruit juice to the cream cheese mixture, beating until combined. Pour the cheesecake filling into the prepared crust.
• Place the cheesecake in a baking dish and fill the pan with enough boiling water to reach halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour or until the center is only slightly wobbly but the edges have set. Turn off the oven, crack open the oven door and cool for 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool completely, preferably overnight.
• Scoop the pulp from 2 passion fruits and drizzle on top of the cheesecake. Serve.

**Helpful tips and common mistakes

There are so many cheesecake recipes but this version is an adaptation of what I found best works for me. Cheesecakes usually have a graham cracker crust but I decided to venture out and use digestive cookies. Digestive cookies are basically semi-sweet biscuits. I personally love them and think their subtle sweetness is the perfect balance to the white chocolate. Add a little grated coconut to the mix and press the crumb into the cheesecake pan. Bake the crust for about 10 minutes or until golden brown and let it cool completely.

To make the filling, beat the softened cream cheese until completely smooth. This is a crucial step because if the cream cheese is not smooth before you add the other ingredients, it will result in a lumpy filling. Add the sugar and beat until well combined, then add the eggs one at a time. If you add all the eggs at once, the cream cheese will have a hard time incorporating them.

Melt white chocolate chips with some heavy cream until the chocolate is melted and add that to the cream cheese mixture along with sour cream, vanilla, and passion fruit juice. I've made cheesecake with just cream cheese but I found that by adding sour cream, the flavor is not as "eggy." Plus the texture is just a touch creamier.

For the passion fruit juice, simply cut the fruit in half and scoop out the pulp into a strainer. If you can't find fresh passion fruit, bottled juice will work just as well. If you want to decorate the cheesecake with lovely swirls, set aside about 2-3 tablespoon of the juices. Pour the filling into the crust and swirl in the remaining juice on top.

There are several key steps in baking a successful cheesecake. First, make sure to wrap the cheesecake pan with aluminum foil to prevent any water from the water bath from seeping in. You can even triple layer it with the aluminum foil just to be safe. Second, use boiling water for your water bath and make sure you have enough water to reach halfway up the sides of the cheesecake. Third, cook the cheesecake until the center is only slightly wobbly, then turn off the oven and crack open the door. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for at least 1 hour. This slow cooling method helps prevents any cracks from forming.

Remove the passion fruit white chocolate cheesecake from the oven and let it cool completely in the fridge overnight. When you're ready to serve, drizzle some fresh passion fruit on top.

Can I just say, YUM! I knew passion fruit and white chocolate was going to be a great combination but this cheesecake was still a lovely surprise. Now, this is what I call a tropical dessert!

For more cheesecake inspiration check out these strawberry cheesecake swirl brownies!