Passion Fruit Lemon No-Bake Cheesecake

Easy summer dessert: a lemon no-bake cheesecake with swirls of passion fruit curd. Wonderfully fresh and festive, you can use purchased curd and save yourself a step. This dessert originally has no gelatin, so it's meant to be eaten cold and kept in the freezer. But, I added how to add gelatin in case you want to.

This was an experiment I made for a family gathering and it was such a success that I'm posting it as is. When you are in charge of dessert for a relatively large celebration the flavors should be kept among the usual suspects: lemon, chocolate, strawberry, dulce de leche (this is Buenos Aires after all), seasonal fruits and not many more.

I always chose dessert recipes that can be multiplied so I don't have to worry if they eat more than usual. Fruit crumbles are always at the top, followed by something with dulce de leche and cream or a chocolate recipe.

But then, I decided to improvise and use a jar of homemade passion fruit curd I had and make a no-bake cheesecake for the first time.

What is no-bake cheesecake?

Just in case you're only familiar with the traditional baked cheesecake, the no-bake variation is what the name implies: it's never baked so it's perfect for summer or when you don't want to turn on the oven.

I made a Complete Guide to No-Bake Cheesecake that you absolutely must read if you like this type of dessert.

Ingredients in a no-bake cheesecake include cream cheese and sugar or condensed milk (as I did with this recipe), whipped cream, maybe sour cream and flavorings. What it doesn't include is egg because we should not eat raw eggs and all that. This is why some use gelatin, to give it structure, something that happens when you add eggs and bake a cheesecake.

I marbled the top of mine with the passion fruit curd (image above) and flavored it with lemon because these two flavors bring out the best in each other.

Homemade curd

The most common citrus curd is lemon, but I made mine with fresh passion fruit pulp and seeds. The process is similar to making pastry cream, sort of.

It is an extra step, but you can easily make this no-bake cheesecake with purchased curd or even a good raspberry jam. It pairs wonderfully with the lemon in the cheesecake.

The process is easy: you mix the pulp with the rest of the ingredients except butter, which you will melt in a saucepan and then add the fruit mixture. After that you simply stir and watch closely until it appears like it will start to boil. But you don't let it boil. At that point the mixture will have thicken somewhat and it will continue to do so after it cools down and it's refrigerated.

Remember to marble the top of the cheese filling but not overdo it. You want to bite into pools of curd separated from the cheese.

Storing curd

If you are in the habit of sterilizing jars it's always the best choice because the curd will keep longer. I hardly ever do it because I use it in a week or so, and it lasts well in the refrigerator, always with a tight fitting lid.

Here is a link for sterilizing jars for canning, in case you're going that route.

Top tips

• Cookie base: you can use a regular graham cracker base and it will save you time (not browning the butter and all that).
• Curd: you can use purchased curd (lemon is easily available) or use a good raspberry jam.
• Freezing: you have to freeze and then take it out when you're ready to serve. You can also add gelatin so you can keep it in the fridge. Instructions are in the recipe below.
• Pan: you can use a regular 9-inch cake pan with a removable bottom and make half the recipe.

Other recipes you might like:

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Passion Fruit Lemon No-bake Cheesecake

★★★ 3 from 1 reviews

• Author: Paula Montenegro
• Prep Time: 45
• Freezing time: 120
• Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
• Yield: 24 medium servings 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Mixing + Freezing
• Cuisine: International

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Description

A wonderful and easy recipe for no-bake lemon cheesecake, marbled with passion fruit curd and with shortbread base. A crowd pleaser!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the passion fruit curd: 

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 ½ cups passionfruit pulp with seeds and juice
• ½ cup lemon juice
• 7 oz (200g) unsalted butter
• ½ cup sugar

For the no-bake lemon cheesecake:

• 2 cups graham crackers or vanilla wafers crumbs
• ½ cup (115g) butter, browned and cooled (find step-by-step instructions here)
• 1 pound + 5oz (600g) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups (500g) whipping or heavy cream, room temperature
• 1 can (14oz or 400g) condensed milk
• Zest of 2 lemons
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup passionfruit curd

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Instructions

For the curd:

This makes a lot of curd, and you can use it for other thinks like cakes, pavlovas or waflles, or make half the recipe which is more than enough. 

1. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar for 1 minute. Add passion fruit pulp, lemon juice, mix well and reserve.
2. In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, melt the butter without letting it boil. Add the yolk mixture, and cook over low/medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Don’t let it boil.
3. Transfer to sterilized jars or a container and keep refrigerated. Makes about 2 ½ cups.

For the no-bake lemon cheesecake:

1. Prepare a crumb base mixing crumbs with the brown butter until it resembles wet sand. Line a 9x13-inch (23x33cm) pan with 2-inch sides with aluminum foil, letting it hang over the two long sides (the short sides won’t have foil). Pat the crumb mixture evenly over bottom. Refrigerate while making the filling.
2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add cream and beat for 2 or 3 minutes, until beginning to thicken. Add condensed milk, lemon zest and vanilla and mix well.
3. Pour over prepared base. Add dollops of passionfruit curd all over the batter, and with a knife, swirl it lightly.
4. Refrigerate for 2 hours and then freeze until ready to serve.
5. Take out of the freeze about 15 minutes before serving. Cut into squares and serve.

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Notes

• Gelatin: if you want to add gelatin to it, use 1 teaspoon unflavored powder dissolved in 5 teaspoons cold water. Melt it over a stove, the bowl barely touching the flame, or in a skillet with an inch of simmering water. Let it cool to lukewarm and add it to the cream cheese mixture before pouring it into the mold. If you’re not used to working with this ingredient, but want to, here’s a 'How to Use Gelatin' tutorial.
• Passion fruit pulp: I simply mash it with a fork as much as I can. It ends with some thicker parts, but I like that. And it’s much simpler. If you want a very smooth pulp, strain it to extract as much juice as you can, separate the seeds, and process the pulp. Add it to the juice with the seeds. I don’t see the point in doing this.
• Cookie base: you can use a regular graham cracker base and it will save you time (not browning the butter and all that).
• Curd: you can use purchased curd (lemon is easily available) or use a good raspberry jam.
• Freezing: you have to freeze and then take it out when you're ready to serve. You can also add gelatin so you can keep it in the fridge. Instructions are in the recipe below.
• Pan: you can use a regular 9-inch cake pan with a removable bottom and make half the recipe.

Keywords: passion fruit curd, passion fruit cheesecake

Curd recipe adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess, by Nigella Lawson

Paula Montenegro

I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.