One bite of this Passion Fruit & Mango Cheesecake and you’ll think you’re on a tropical island! Sweet Mango and Tart Passion Fruit combine forces to create a tropical styled cheesecake. The addition of the Gingersnap Crust completes a flavor profile your tastebuds won’t forget anytime soon! This is definitely a Cheesecake that you’ll want to add to your Summertime dessert baking!
Cheesecake is one of my all time favorite desserts. Whether it’s wrapped up in it’s own handheld wrapper like my Lemon Cheesecake Cupcakes with Blueberry Sauce and Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes or my Fluffy Strawberry Cheesecake. There’s no better creamy and delicious treat!
Today I’m sharing a Cheesecake with a tropical flare. This Passion Fruit & Mango Cheesecake is perfect for Summertime entertaining. The sweet and tangy flavor combination along with the spicy Gingersnap Crust will have your tastebuds doing a happy dance!
Making the perfect Cheesecake
Making a delicious cheesecake is not a difficult task. However making the perfect Cheesecake is another story. What do I consider the perfect cheesecake? I guess it’s all a matter of opinion but here are a couple of my requirements for the perfect cheesecake:
- Creamy and fluffy texture. I don’t like a cheesecake that’s too dense. It needs to have the perfect combination of creaminess and fluffiness.
- No cracking…or at least minimal cracking. This is always the trickiest part of making the perfect cheesecake. Cheesecake batter is delicate and it can be tricky to bake a perfectly crack free cake. However I do have a few tips that can help.
Tips for making a Cheesecake with “No Cracks”
There are a few important things that you need to keep in mind when baking a cheesecake. The batter is delicate. It’s similar to baking a soufflé. So here is a list of things you want to do to help prevent cracking…or at least keep the cracks a minimum.
I did have a few slight cracks in my cheesecake but they were easily covered with the Mango Passion Fruit Topping. If you want a truly “crack free” cheesecake then I recommend following the 2nd baking method in the instructions.
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. Your eggs, sour cream and cream cheese should all be at room temperature. This will ensure all of your ingredients blend well and helps your cheesecake bake more uniformly.
- Bake on a low temperature. Cheesecakes need to bake slowly so that the outside doesn’t bake more quickly than the inside. Otherwise your cheesecake may cave in or cracks will appear as it cools.
- Add a bit of flour or cornstarch. This will slightly thicken your cheesecake batter and give it a little more structure. Giving your cheesecake structure will also help prevent sinking and cracking.
- Beat your batter on a lower setting. This will eliminate the amount of air that is incorporated into the batter. Too many air bubbles create an instability and can cause sinking and cracking. You may also want to lightly tap your filled cheesecake pan on the counter to pop any air bubbles produced during the mixing process.
- Bake in a water bath. This method of baking will add to your bake time however it’s usually a sure fire way to eliminate cracking. I don’t always use this method but when I do I don’t usually have any cracks at all in my cheesecake. Just be sure to line the outside of your springform pan with aluminum foil to prevent water from leaking into your pan. Then place your cheesecake pan in another larger lipped pan filled with enough water to come up about a quarter inch of the springform pan base.
- Leave Cheesecake in the oven after turning the oven off. Letting your cheesecake gradually cool in the oven creates less of a shock to the cheesecake. Also helping to prevent cracking on the surface of the cake.
How to make the Gingersnap Crust
This Gingersnap Crust Recipe is the perfect flavor to compliment the Passion Fruit & Mango Cheesecake. An added bonus is how quick and easy it is to make.
First you want to make sure you use a good quality gingersnap cookie. I love Trader Joe’s Triple Ginger Snaps. They contain bits of crystalized ginger that give them an even bigger ginger flavor boost.
Make sure you grind them up well in your blender or food processor. Finer crumbs tend to hold together better that big chunks.
Lastly, I recommend pre-baking the crust for a few minutes. This will help produce a crispier crust.
Passion Fruit & Mango Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Gingersnap Crust
- 1 1/2 Cups Gingersnap Cookie Crumbs
- 6 Tablespoons Unsalted butter ,melted
For the Passion Fruit Mango Cheesecake
- 4 ,8 ounce packages Cream Cheese ,softened and at room temperature
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons All purpose flour
- 4 Large Eggs ,room temperature
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1/2 Cup Pureed fresh mango (about 2 small mangos)
- Pulp from 2 passion fruit
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
Mango Passion Fruit Topping
- 1 Cup Mango or Passion Fruit Juice
- Juice from half of a lime
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Powdered unflavored gelatin
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- Pulp from 1 fresh passion fruit
Instructions
For the Gingersnap Crust
- Grind gingersnap cookies in a food processor to produce fine crumbs. (You want about 1 1/2 cups of crumbs.)
- In a medium bowl melt 6 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.
- Add gingersnap crumbs to melted butter and mix to moisten all of the crumbs.
- Press mixture into the base of a 9 or 10 inch springform pan.
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F and bake crust for 5-7 minutes.
- Remove and let cool.
For the Passion Fruit & Mango Cheesecake
- Preheat oven to 325 Degrees F.
- In a small bowl whisk together flour and sugar. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl mix softened cream cheese on low speed. Add sugar/flour mixture and mix to combine until smooth.
- Mix eggs into the cream cheese mixture one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition.
- Blend fresh mango in a blender or food processor to get about 1/2 cup of puree. Add the pulp from passion fruit and bled with mango to incorporate. Add mixture along with sour cream and lime juice to cream cheese mixture and mix to incorporate.
- Pour batter into spring form pan and tap on the counter to release any air bubbles produced.
- BAKING METHOD NUMBER 1: Bake for 45 minutes then turn off oven and let cheesecake slowly cool in the oven for about 1 hour Remove cheesecake to cooling rack once cooled to room temperature. Add the topping and place in fridge to chill overnight or at least 2 hours to set.
- BAKING METHOD NUMBER 2:Wrap the outside of your springform pan in aluminum foil that comes up to the top of the pan.Place your springform pan in another larger pan with a lip that's filled with warm water. (Even a large baking sheet will work.)Place in oven and bake for about 70-90 minutes. Your cheesecake is done when it has risen and the surface is firm. It may still be slightly jiggly though. Turn off the oven and let your cheesecake sit in oven for about 60 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Add topping and place in fridge overnight or at least 2 hours to set.
For the Mango Passion Fruit Topping
- Place half of your mango juice or passion fruit juice along with all of the lime juice in a bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin. (Don't Stir) Set aside to allow gelatin to bloom (about 1 minute).
- In a small sauce pan boil the remaining juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Whisk into the gelatin mixture.
- Place in the fridge and let cool for about 15-20 minutes. Check occasionally and stir to make sure it's not setting. Remove and stir in the fresh passion fruit pulp.
- Pour over cheesecake and spread to cover the top. Place in the fridge to chill overnight or at least 2 hours to set.
- Run a knife carefully around the edge of the cheese cake to loosen before releasing the pan.
Nutrition
Topping adapted from food network
Are you crazy for Mango’s?
Try some of these Mango recipes!
Perfect Summertime dessert!
Can’t wait to make the passionfruit/mango cheesecake – have to buy a couple of things.
4 – 8oz. Cream cheese?? 32 Oz. Total??
Correct, a total of 32 ounces of cream cheese.