This Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Carrot recipe yields a creamy carrot passion fruit cheesecake with a buttery salted graham cracker crust. It may sound like a strange pairing, but carrot and passion fruit are magical together! Earthy sweet carrot is the perfect balance for tart tropical passion fruit.
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This creamy baked cheesecake has quickly moved to the top of my favorite desserts list. I discovered this flavor pairing last fall when I made carrot passion fruit pie. After that I wanted to carrot passion fruit-ify every dessert, but it made sense to wait for Easter. While, I love carrot cake for Easter, I think there's much more to explore with this vegetable in the dessert space. I piped an easter egg motif on this cheesecake, but you could leave that off and just top it with the two sauces.
You'll see some fresh passionfruit in the photos, but I mostly use thawed from frozen passionfruit pulp, because it is much more affordable than fresh and it tastes just as good to me. For this recipe, you'll need to cook down the passion fruit and carrot juice to get rid of excess moisture. Don't skip this step or you risk breaking the emulsion of your cheesecake batter and/or you'd need to bake it for a very long time to get it to set.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- This unexpected flavor combo tastes like tropical candy!
- The graham cracker crust stays crunchy, not soggy.
- This cheesecake is flavored with real passion fruit!
Ingredients
- Passion fruit pulp flavors the cheesecake and passion fruit sauce. I used thawed from frozen, but you could use fresh.
- Carrot flavors the cheesecake and carrot sauce. I made my own this time, but I've also used store-bought carrot juice and it works just the same.
- Cream cheese is the base of the batter. Be sure to use full-fat cream cheese and let it sit out until it is room temperature for easier mixing.
- Large eggs provide structure to the cheesecake. Use room temperature eggs so they mix in easier.
- Sour cream gives a nice tang and more richness to the cheesecake batter.
- Granulated sugar sweetens the cheesecake batter, sauces and crust.
- Vanilla extract and kosher salt balances the overall flavor profile. Vanilla bean paste also works here.
- Graham crackers are the base of the crust.
- Light brown sugar adds flavor and sweetness to the crust.
- Unsalted butter adds moisture and richness to the graham cracker crust.
- Heavy whipping cream is whipped with powdered sugar to create whipped cream for garnish.
- Corn starch thickens the sauces for garnishing the top of the cheesecake.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here's how to customize this passion fruit cheesecake recipe to your liking:
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- Cheesecake crust variations — use a store-bought crust (you might need two if they're smaller). This could also be delicious with an oreo crust. Coconut or chopped nuts would be a great mix in for the crust, I recommend 2-3 tablespoons.
- Different pan — I use a springform pan for cheesecakes, but if you are going to serve it out of the pan, you could use a ceramic or metal 9x9 square pan.
- Passion fruit curd — make the passion fruit curd from this passion fruit cake recipe to top the cheesecake instead of the sauce.
- No carrot — swap the carrot juice for ½ cup more of passionfruit juice. Be sure to still cook down the extra juice by half.
- No brown sugar — swap for more granulated sugar in the crust.
- No powdered sugar — swap for granulated sugar, brown sugar or honey to sweeten the whipped cream.
- Other garnishes — garnish with fresh fruit, coconut, candied carrots or chocolate ganache.
This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to make Passion Fruit Cheesecake With Carrot Step-By-Step
Step 1: Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add both sugars and salt to the graham cracker crumbs, and pulse until combined. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is like wet sand. Pour this mixture into the prepared springform pan and either pat down tightly completely into the bottom or pat tightly up the sides too, if desired. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to let cool.
Step 2: In a medium saucepan, add the passion fruit and carrot juice. Cook over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the juice is reduced by half (¾ cup liquid should remain). Then set aside to cool completely.
Step 3: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Mix the softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on low or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low for 1-2 minutes, just until smooth and no lumps remain. Do not over whip. Add the sugar and mix on low until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Add the vanilla, salt and cooled reduced passion fruit and carrot juice. Mix just until fully incorporated.
Step 4: Bake cheesecake in a bain-marie, or water bath, (see recipe card for aluminum foil method or notes for two pan method) for 50 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes. You’ll know it is ready when it looks firm, but there is still a slight jiggle in the center. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake inside while the oven cools down. The key here is letting the cheesecake cool very gradually to prevent cracks. After about 30 minutes, crack the oven door with a wooden spoon or just open it slightly. Let cool in there another 30 minutes before removing to the counter to cool down to room temperature. Finally, place the cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill completely overnight.
Step 5: In a small saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar and corn starch to remove lumps. Add the passion fruit juice and cook for 2-3 mins over medium heat until bubbling and thicker (coats the back of a spoon). Remove to a heatproof small to medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and refrigerate until completely chilled. In a small saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar and corn starch to remove lumps. Add the carrot juice and cook for 3-5 mins over medium heat until bubbling and thicker (coats the back of a spoon). Remove to a heatproof small to medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface and refrigerate until completely chilled.
Step 6: In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or with hand beaters in a large bowl, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together until stiff peaks. Spoon or pipe onto the cheesecake. I smoothed some on with an offset spatula, and piped some on with a small french star tip. Top and/or serve with the passion fruit and carrot sauces. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Top tips
- For best results, don’t skip out on the gradual cooling! If you cool it too quickly, the cheesecake could crack.
- If you don't have a food processor to make the crust, you can pulverize the graham crackers into fine crumbs using a rolling pin and a zip top plastic bag.
- If you don’t have foil, an alternative for the bain-marie step is to place the cheesecake into a 10-inch cake tin and place that pan into a larger baking dish and fill the larger pan with water until halfway up the side of the cake tin.
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Lastly, if you make this Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Carrot recipe be sure to leave a comment or give it a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Carrot
Equipment
- Hand beaters
Ingredients
Carrot passion fruit cheesecake batter
- ½ cup passion fruit pulp I used thawed from frozen (119g, 4.2oz)
- 1 cup carrot juice (230g, 8oz) store bought or *homemade
- 3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened, cut into small pieces (678g)
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup sour cream room temperature (171g, 6 oz)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Graham cracker crust
- 18 graham cracker sheets (two packs from a 14.4 ounce box, 270g)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar (28g)
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar (30g)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoon unsalted butter (140g) melted
Whipped cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (470g)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (47g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Passion fruit sauce
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar (40g)
- ½ tablespoon corn starch (5g)
- ½ cup passion fruit pulp (124g) I used thawed from frozen
Carrot sauce
- ½ cup carrot juice* (or ~1 large carrot blended with ½ cup water and strained)
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
Warning
- This is a multi-day baking project. Day 1: Bake the cheesecake and chill overnight. Day 2: Garnish and enjoy.
- The juices can be cooked down a day or two ahead of time. The sauces for garnish can be made a day or two ahead of time.
Do ahead
- Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with a circle of parchment on the bottom and a ring of parchment for the sides (optional).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Make the crust
- Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Add both sugars and salt, and pulse until combined.
- Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture is like wet sand. Pour this mixture into the prepared springform pan and either pat down tightly completely into the bottom or pat tightly up the sides too, if desired.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to let cool.
Reduce the juice
- In a medium saucepan, add the passion fruit and carrot juice. Cook over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the juice is reduced by half (¾ cup liquid should remain). Then set aside to cool completely.
Make the cheesecake batter
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Mix the cream cheese in a medium bowl with beaters on low or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on low for 1-2 minutes, just until smooth and no lumps remain. Do not over whip. Add the sugar and mix on low until combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in between each. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated.
- Add the vanilla, salt and cooled reduced passion fruit and carrot juice. Mix just until fully incorporated.
Bake
- Create a bain-marie: Cut large pieces of foil. Stack them on top of each other in opposite directions. Place the cheesecake on top of the foil stack and bring the foil up around the edges. You basically want to make it so that no water can get to the cheesecake pan. This is important otherwise your cheesecake could get waterlogged and ruined.
- Place the foiled cheesecake pan inside of a larger baking dish. Pour boiling (or very hot) water into the larger baking dish so that it reaches at least halfway up the sides of the foiled cheesecake pan (but not so much that you risk getting water into the cheesecake pan). See notes for alternative options.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes. You’ll know it is ready when it looks firm, but there is still a slight jiggle in the center.
- Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake inside while the oven cools down. The key here is letting the cheesecake cool very gradually to prevent cracks. After about 30 minutes, crack the oven door with a wooden spoon or just open it slightly. Let cool in there another 30 minutes before removing to the counter to cool down to room temperature.
- Finally, place the cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill completely, at least 8 hours or overnight.
Make the sauces
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar and corn starch to remove lumps. Add the passion fruit juice and cook for 2-3 mins over medium heat until bubbling and thicker. Remove to a heatproof container and refrigerate until completely chilled.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar and corn starch to remove lumps. Add the carrot juice and cook for 3-5 mins over medium heat until bubbling and thicker. Remove to a heatproof container and refrigerate until completely chilled.
Make the whipped cream
- In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or with hand beaters in a large bowl, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together until stiff peaks.
Garnish
- Spoon or pipe the whipped cream onto the cheesecake. I smoothed some on with an offset spatula, and piped some on with a small french star tip.
- Top and/or serve with the passion fruit and carrot sauces.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published 3/26/2026.
