Passionfruit Curd Cupcakes

I have been contemplating on working with passion fruit because I really love the unique aroma and the slight sour tang passion fruit provides to anything it is added to. So instead of Vanilla Cupcake with Lemon Curd Core done in previous bake, I went with passion fruit curd instead. So here's the recipe.

(Makes 12 standard muffin size)

To make the vanilla cupcakes

125g self-raising flour

125g caster sugar

125g unsalted butter at room temperature

2 eggs

0.5 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp plain yogurt

Zest of 1 lemon

a pinch of salt

To make the passion fruit curd

3 large eggs

125g caster sugar

125g passion fruit puree

200g unsalted butter

To make the frosting

125g cream cheese

75ml whipping cream

50g icing sugar

For the cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees and line the muffin tin.

2. Sift together the flour and the baking powder and set aside.



3. Beat the sugar and butter till light and fluffy.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to combine before adding the next.

5. Add the yogurt and mix till fully incorporated.

6. Add the sifted flour and baking powder mix as well as the zest and mix to combine.

7. Spoon the batter into the lined tray, filling to three quarter of each cup.

8. Bake in preheated oven of 180 degrees for about 20 minutes. Insert a skewer into the center of a cake and if the skewer comes out clean, the cake is cooked. (Mine was a bit dark because I left it in the oven for about 24 minutes, so 20 minutes should be adequate.) Remove the cakes from the tray and leave the cupcakes to cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the passion fruit curd

*This can be made a few days in advance.*

9. Mix all the ingredients except the butter in a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

10. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water and whisk continuously till the mixture thickens. To do a quick test, coat the back of a wooden spoon with the thickened mixture and run your finger across the spoon. If the 'finger path' remains, your mixture is ready.

11. Take the mixture off the heat and add in the butter (cut into cubes) and whisk to incorporate.

12. Pour into a container, cling wrap the mixture, with the cling wrap touching the surface of the curd, and chill in the fridge to set and until ready to use.

For the cream cheese frosting

13. Cream the cheese and icing sugar till soft and smooth. 

14. Whisk the whipping cream till soft peak. 

15. Fold the whipped cream into the cheese mixture till smooth. 

To assemble

16. Core the cupcakes to fill with the passion fruit curd.

17. Fill the core with passion fruit curd. I used a piping bag to make it neater and easier.

18. Use a star nozzle tip to pipe the cream cheese on top and decorate as desired.

This was really good and I love how the tangy passion fruit curd balances the sweetness from the cupcakes. This was also well received by the group I specially baked for.