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Classic passion fruit mousse {Mousse de maracuya}

Recipe for a classic style passion fruit mousse, also known as mousse de maracuya. This tropical fruity mousse dessert is made with passion fruit pulp, whipping cream or condensed milk, gelatin, egg whites and sugar.

Passion fruit mousse or mousse de maracuya recipe

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Mousse de maracuya or passion fruit mousse is a delicious dessert and it is relatively easy to make. This is a classic style mousse made with passion fruit pulp (fresh or frozen will work), heavy cream or condensed milk (or a mix of both), unflavored gelatin, egg whites and sugar. If you want a simplified and easier variation that does not include egg whites or gelatin you can try my simple version that only uses fruit, cream, condensed milk and sugar to taste. However that creamy variation must be served in a glass, if you want to be able to unmold it and have it hold its shape then proceed to the classic recipe below. This classic style maracuya mousse has that light airy texture you expect from a mousse.

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Homemade passion fruit mousse recipe

This South American dessert is very popular with my friends who have tried it. The first time I made was when one of my friends requested that I make it for dessert, she had tried passion fruit mousse in Brazil and loved it. The easiest way and most typical way to make this dessert (and many others in South America) is to use condensed milk.  I used condensed milk that first time and was not too crazy about, however when I added a spoonful of fresh passion fruit pulp on top of the mousse and some whipped cream on the side the taste improved dramatically.

The combination of the freshly whipped cream and the mousse reminded of these amazing passion fruit and cream popsicles that I used to eat in Ecuador, and that was exactly the flavor that I wanted to obtain in the passion fruit mousse.  The second attempt was much more successful: I eliminated the condensed milk and replaced it with heavy whipping cream. I also added some fresh passion fruit pulp into the mix; it worked out very well. 

Classic passion fruit mousse recipe with gelatin

It’s really just a question of preferences, I have a lot of friends who are crazy about condensed milk and they might have preferred the taste of the mousse with condensed milk. You can also use a mix of half condensed milk/half whipping cream  if you want the best of both worlds. Another reason that I prefer using whipping cream is that it made the texture of the mousse a lot more fluffy and spongy.

In Ecuador (and many places in Latin America) maracuyas or passion fruits grow like weeds. Seriously in the town where my parents live there are passion fruit vines everywhere; in addition if you go to the market or grocery store you can buy several huge passion fruits for less than $1. Here in the US it’s the opposite: it’s almost impossible to find passion fruits anywhere and when you are lucky enough to find them they are tiny and cost $3-$5 per fruit.  However,  most Latin grocery stores will carry frozen  and unsweetened passion fruit concentrate or pulp, which is what I use most of the time that make anything that calls for passion fruit. Yes, there is no comparison the taste of using fresh fruit, but it still works well.

Passion fruit mousse recipe

For this passion fruit mousse I used the concentrate to make the mousse and then used fresh passion fruits that I found at Uwajimaya (a local Asian grocery store, which also sells plantains, yuca starch, and many other ingredients used in Latin American dishes)  to garnish the mousses. I also added some fresh passion fruit pulp in the mousse mixture to give it extra flavor; however it will be fine if you just use the fresh fruit pulp to top off each serving.

Mousse de maracuya

You can either just put the entire passion fruit mousse mix into a large dessert bowl and keep it simple, or be very creative about serving and presenting them. I used a combination of small dessert molds, ramekins, and mini-glasses.  In addition to using the fresh fruit as a garnish, I also served each mousse with some extra whipped cream and some passion fruit sorbet, this last one was just an extra that I happened to have leftover from a different occasion, but it really added a nice touch to the mousse.  The quantities in this recipe are for about 15-20 small servings.

Classic passion fruit mousse recipe with gelatin

Classic passion fruit mousse {Mousse de maracuya}

Recipe for a classic style mousse de maracuya or passion fruit mousse, a delicious and easy to make South American dessert. This tropical mousse is made with passion fruit pulp, whipping cream or condensed milk, egg whites and sugar.
4.83 from 215 votes
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Course: Dessert, Sweets
Cuisine: Brazil, Latin, South American
Keyword: Maracuya, Mousse, Passion fruit, Passion fruit mousse
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Refrigeration time: 6 hours
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 15 to 20 small servings, or about 10 medium sized servings

Ingredients

  • 2 envelopes unsweetened gelatin 1.8 grs or 0.25 oz per envelope
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 ½ cups passion fruit concentrate or frozen pulp unsweetened
  • 1 tbs lime juice
  • 1 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream or 14 oz can of condensed milk
  • 6 egg whites
  • ½ tsp tartar cream
  • 2 cups sugar use only 1 cup of sugar if using condensed milk instead of cream
  • 2-3 passion fruits pulp and seeds – optional

Garnishes:

  • Fresh passion fruit pulp from ~ 6 passion fruits
  • Whipped cream
  • Passion fruit sorbet

Instructions

  • Combine the passion fruit juice, sugar (use only 1 cup of sugar if using condensed milk instead of cream or 1 ½ cup if using half condensed milk and half cream), and lime juice in a sauce pan and heat until the sugar dissolves, remove and let it cool down completely.
  • Sprinkle the unsweetened gelatin over ¼ cup water in glass heatproof bowl, let soften for about 5 minutes.
  • Place the heatproof bowl over a simmering pot of water and stir until it dissolves, then stir in the passion fruit juice.
  • Place the passion fruit and gelatin mixture in a bowl of cold water and let it cool down for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Use an electric mixer to whip the cream until peaks form, and then use a spoon to mix in the passion fruit juice mixture – (if using condensed milk just mix it with the passion fruit juice or if using half condensed milk and half cream then whip the cream and then stir in the passion fruit juice and condensed milk).
  • Combine the egg whites and tartar cream in a large whipping bowl and mix until stiff peaks form.
  • Whisk 1/3 of the egg whites with the passion fruit and whipped cream mix.
  • Next use a spatula to gently fold in the remaining stiff egg whites.
  • Gently mix in the fresh passion fruit pulp and seeds if using.
  • Place the mousse in a large dessert mold or small individual ones, cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours, overnight is ideal.
  • To remove the mousse from the small molds place them in a bowl with room temperature water before serving to loosen them, then slide a knife along the edges of the mold to help release the individual mousses.
  • Serve with a spoon of fresh passion fruit pulp on top, other optional garnishes include whipped cream and/or passion fruit sorbet.
Passion fruit mousse in dessert glasses
Passion fruit mousse

Step by step preparation photos for passion fruit mousse

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Mousse de maracuya or passion fruit mousse recipe
Maracuya or passion fruit mousse
Mousse de maracuya or passion fruit mousse
Passion fruit mousse or mousse de maracuya
Maracuya or passion fruit mousse

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32 Comments

  1. ay dios mio – i have dreams of maracuya here in the states! = definitely one of the highlights of my few months in ecuador. even just a smidge north (costa rica, panama), the maracuya is seriously lacking. some of my favorite memories include climbing over and under fences to snag a few maracuya off the local plantations. and it’s also great in mixed drinks! i love your blog; it keeps me reminiscing until i can plan my next trip. and since plantains are pretty prolific in CA, and i’m always cooking with them, i’m looking forward to trying out your recipes. thanks so much!

  2. I think this recipe looks AMAZING! I can’t wait to try it! I just have one question: the recipe says “2 envelopes unsweetened gelatin”. I’ve seen unsweetened gelatin in many sizes… I already had this problem with a cheese cake recipe and it was too hard because of the gelatin. Could you tell me how much weight those envelopes? I would truly appreciate it.

    Oh, by the way, I saw the yellow passion fruits in Venezuela and they do get all wrinkly as the purple ones. Apparently world-wide the purple variety is more common but I think in South America the yellow ones are more common.

    Hi Andry – Each envelope has 1.8 grs or 0.25 oz

  3. I have a different recepie for the passion fruit mosse.. I use cream chesse condense milk and heavy cream intead of the eggs whites.. nevertheless I will try this recepie.. it lighter.. in sugar.. and everybody loves it..!!

  4. My great aunt used to make this and your recipe tastes the same as I remember from my childhood. No one had this recipe in the family and she passed many years ago. Thank you.

  5. oh i love maracuya, my favourite fruit next to guayabas and mango – i have tried a passion fruit panna cotta, not too successfully, my passion fruit creme brulee is getting better… but this looks absolutely amazing – will try it as soon as i am settled in my new home!

  6. Hey everybody – you can grow your own passion fruit in California. I live in Berkeley, nice weather but not the most tropical. I grew up in Africa where we grew up on “granadillas” small v. wrinkled brownish/purple balls which you open up – and behold the passion fruit.

    When I came to live here I started planting my old faves – avocadoes, citrus. Then I saw in our local “Osh” store passion fruit vines. I did a little research on line and found that some of them do produce fruit – mostly the banana fruit kind – sort of looks like testicles growing on a vine, green until they turn yellow when they are ripe.

    So I have grown my own, and right now I’m harvesting and trying out this new recipe. Last year I improvised with orange gelatin and cream and it turned out delicious and v. delicate in color. Then I picked a flower off the one vine to docorate – it is the most beautiful deep rasberry color flower. The vines growrapidly and are v. beautiful – I have 4 different kinds each with distinctive color and shaped flowers.

  7. I’m in California and I’ve seen passion fruit at the local Safeway. There’s usually only a few of them, but they’re usually always there.

  8. I prepared this mousse over the weekend and it was a big success, I used an already prepared cookie pie crust as a mold/frozen fruit……what a big hit, thanks

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