Passion Fruit Mousse Cake (Vegan)

Passion fruit mousse cake - light, creamy, rich white chocolate passion fruit mousse and tangy passion fruit curd paired with moist, fluffy coconut cake; and it's all vegan!

This indulgent dessert is the perfect celebratory showstopper and is sure to be a real crowd pleaser.

This vegan passion fruit mousse cake is based on the raspberry mousse from my chocolate raspberry mousse cake, one of my favourite things I have ever baked!

It is light, soft and creamy with a nice tang from the passion fruit to cut through the richness. I also topped it with some of my incredible vegan passion fruit curd to really amp up the tropical passion fruit flavour.

Passion fruit pairs beautifully with coconut, so for the base I made a soft, fluffy vegan coconut cake. You can of course not bother with the cake and just make the mousse and spoon it in glasses before refrigerating it. It would be delicious with some coconut cookies to dip in it!

While this passion fruit mousse cake looks very impressive, it is actually a lot easier to make than it may seem!

Ingredient Details:

For the mousse:

Vegan whipping cream: I use Elmlea plant double cream and I recommend using that if possible, Oatly whippable is also good.

If you aren't in the UK then you need to use a cream that can be whipped to stiff peaks, not a pouring cream, ideally unsweetened. It may work with coconut cream but please note that I haven't tested it.

Agar agar: This is neccessary to help the white chocolate passion fruit mousse set. You need agar agar powder, not flakes.

Passion fruit puree: I use seedless passion fruit puree from a carton as it is so much easier than having to extract all the seeds yourself. You can of course use fresh passion fruit instead but you will need a lot of them - around 13 medium-large ones.

If using puree from a carton (frozen is also fine), make sure that it is 100% passion fruit with no added sugar, I use this one which I order online.

Vegan white chocolate: This not only flavours and sweetens the mousse but also helps it to set. I use this one which is perfect for melting and baking with.

Icing sugar: The white chocolate provides most of the sweetness but I add a teeny bit of extra icing (powdered) sugar which also helps to stabilise the cream when you whip it.

Lime juice: A little bit of fresh lime juice enhances the tang from the passion fruit.

For the coconut cake:

Desiccated coconut: This should be the unsweetened kind, sweetened will make the cake too sweet.

Coconut drinking milk: This is the kind of thin coconut milk from a carton designed for drinking. Do not use tinned coconut milk, it will make the cake too dense.

Oil: Use a neutral oil that is liquid at room temperature such as light olive, sunflower or vegetable. It may be tempting to use coconut oil but don't! As the cake must be stored in the refrigerator, if you use a solid fat like coconut oil or butter it will solidify and make the cake unpleasantly dense and heavy.

Coconut extract: This is optional but can be added to bolster the coconut flavour if you like. There are a couple of different types of extract, I use this one by Sugarflair which is very concentrated so you only need to use a few drops. If you are using a different brand you may need to add more.

Sugar: Caster or granulated sugar is best. Do not use sweeteners, brown sugar or liquid sugars instead.

Baking powder and soda: Make sure that you use both, they are not interchangeable.

Plain flour and cornflour: Regular plain (all-purpose) flour with a bit of cornflour (cornstarch) added gives the crumb a nice texture. You can swap the cornflour for an equal weight of plain flour if you don't have any, but I do recommend using it if you can.

Vinegar: This reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to help the cake rise and give it a light texture. I use either apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar. You can also use lemon juice instead.

It is optional, but I top the mousse cake with some of my vegan passion fruit curd to enhance the passion fruit flavour. You could just drizzle the pulp of a couple of fresh passion fruits on top instead.

How To Make Passion Fruit Mousse Cake:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Start by making the coconut cake. Whisk together the coconut milk, oil, sugar, vinegar and vanilla and coconut extracts in a large bowl. Whisk in the desiccated coconut, cornflour, baking powder and soda, salt and plain flour.

Step 2: Pour the batter into a lined 20 cm/8 in round cake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Step 3: Once the cake has cooled, place it in an acetate lined 20 cm/8 in round springform cake tin.

Step 4: To make the mousse, whisk together the agar agar and lime juice in a saucepan then whisk in the passion fruit pulp. Bring to a boil while whisking and boil for 2 minutes. Pour the hot mixture over the chopped white chocolate and stir until melted.

Step 5: Whisk the cream and icing sugar with an electric mixer until it forms stiff peaks.

Step 6: Whisk ⅓ rd of the cream into the passion fruit mixture then gently stir in the rest of the cream.

Step 7: Spoon the mousse on top of the cake in the tin and spread it level. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours until set. Top with passion fruit curd before unmoulding.

Top Tips:

This is a fairly complex cake so make sure that you read through the recipe fully before starting.

As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for standard measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml.

For the best results follow the recipe closely and make it exactly as written. Changing any of the ingredients could affect the outcome of the mousse cake. I cannot comment on how well any substitutions will work, and any changes to the recipe must be done at your own risk.

You ideally need to use a 20 cm/8 in springform cake tin to make this passion fruit mousse cake so that it is easy to remove from the tin. A loose bottomed one would be second choice.

To assemble the mousse cake, I line the sides of the tin with acetate as it peels off easily, a double layer of baking paper will also work though.

The mousse cake will need at least 4 hours in the fridge to set, ideally longer, and the cake must be completely cold before adding the mousse so make sure that you factor this in and give yourself enough time.

If you are topping the mousse cake with the passion fruit curd, make it before you start making the mousse cake as it needs to be cold when you add it to the top. It can be made several days in advance if needed.

FAQ's:

More Vegan Passion Fruit Recipes:

If you are a fan of passion fruit then you will also love my vegan passion fruit curd, passion fruit cheesecake and passion fruit tart recipes!

If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess

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