An easy recipe for a tangy passionfruit tart with a sweet brown-butter coconut shortbread base . . . with an option to add a delicious meringue topping!
The idea for a way to make an easy passionfruit curd tart dawned on me one day following a weeks-long obsession with making the perfect key lime tart. I was drifting off to sleep, thinking about how surprisingly simple the key lime tart recipe turned out to be in the end, and then how much I’d always loved passionfruit desserts and then, WHAM. IDEA. Why couldn’t I use the same principle that worked for the key lime tart filling to make a passionfruit curd tart that didn’t require slow stovetop cooking of the curd? Condensed milk and egg yolks and some light baking in the oven made for a perfect curd filling there, so why not try it with passionfruit?
As it turns out, this was one of my better pre-sleep inspirations (the peach, honey, and mascarpone puff pastry bites I dreamed up the night before my birthday did not turn out so well on the first try). The recipe needed a few tweaks to address some differences in the flavor profile between the lime and the passionfruit, and it needed a topping (although this is technically optional) to showcase the beautiful passionfruit seeds on top of the passionfruit curd.
Our family loves a tart dessert (no pun intended), so this one was very popular with our kids.
Topping Options
You can have a wonderful dessert with 0, 1, or 2 toppings for the passionfruit curd. Your choice. Obviously if you have limitless time, you could do 2 toppings. Both is delicious and beautiful, but the meringue does add a layer of complexity and require more time. But 0 still makes a killer tart. So truly, your call. I wouldn’t make a big deal over the toppings. If you do 0, just serve the tart with some whipped cream and it will be absolutely delightful.
But I personally love meringue, and the look of passionfruit seeds, so I’m giving you the option to go bonanza on the toppings should you so desire. Who doesn’t love a good meringue?!
Passionfruit Pulp / Juice Options
The optimal choice for this recipe is of course fresh passionfruit juice, taken out of a passionfruit. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult to find fresh passionfruit. Not to mention expensive.
Fortunately, there are some very good frozen options. I typically use a combination of frozen passionfruit pulp and a handful of fresh passionfruit for the topping. There are a couple of brands I’ve personally tried that make good frozen passionfruit pulp:
- Pitaya Foods frozen passionfruit bite-sized pieces (some Whole Foods carry this in the frozen smoothie pack section!); or
- Boiron Passionfruit Puree.
The downside is that these frozen purees don’t have seeds, so if you want to do a classic passionfruit topping, you will need a couple (at least 2-3) fresh passionfruit.
Tart Pan Options
You can make this tart in a variety of tart pans.
If you’re serving a large group, my favorite option is a 14 inch x 4.5 inch tart pan because the shape makes it so very easy to cut out slices. Alternatively, a standard 9″ round tart pan has approximately the same capacity will work perfectly for this recipe.
If you prefer individual tartlets, I like these 3-inch tartlet molds, which are perfect size for two people to share. Or one person. The recipe below makes about nine 3-inch tarts.
Leftover Tart Dough?
If you have leftover tart dough, I recommend rolling the remaining dough into a log (about 1.5 inches in diameter), wrapping it in plastic wrap, chilling it for about an hour, and then slicing it into 3/4 inch slices. Bake it at 350F for 8-10 minutes until very lightly browned. You now have delicious coconut brown butter shortbread cookies! The dough will keep in the refrigerator for about a week (or you can freeze it).
Now, on to the tart recipe!
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Passionfruit Tart with Brown Butter Coconut Shortbread Crust
Tangy passionfruit curd in a brown butter coconut shortbread crust and an optional meringue topping makes for a perfect passionfruit tart.
The active time on the basic components (the crust and the passionfruit curd filling) is pretty minimal – maybe 30 minutes of active work time, but make sure to plan ahead. I recommend reserving at least 4 hours of time between starting the recipe and your intended serving time.
Equipment: 9 3-inch tart molds or 1 14 inch x 4.5 inch tart mold
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 large tart or 9 3-inch tarts 1x
Ingredients
Crust
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
Passionfruit Curd Filling
1/2 cup unsweetened real passionfruit juice without seeds – see note above if you don’t have fresh passionfruit
3 egg yolks
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
Passionfruit Seed Topping (Optional)
1/4 cup passionfruit pulp or juice (with seeds)
1/4 tsp gelatin
Italian Meringue Topping (Optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Brown the butter for the tart crust.
Place the butter in a skillet with a lighter bottom (not nonstick) so that you can see the color of the butter change color. Heat over medium heat, stirring at frequent intervals for 5-8 minutes until the butter froths and then becomes fragrant and turns a golden brown. Turn off the heat immediately and set it aside to cool.
3. Toast the coconut for the tart crust.
Once the oven has preheated, place the shredded coconut on a sheet pan and bake for 3-5 minutes until it is lightly toasted and a very light golden brown (see below). Check on the coconut regularly and err on the side of taking it out early because it burns easily. Once finished, take out the coconut and increase the oven temperature to 350F.
4. Begin making passionfruit curd.
Separate eggs (make sure to save the whites if you’re making meringue) and whisk together the egg yolks. Whisk in the sweetened condensed milk until thoroughly combined. Then whisk in the passionfruit juice. Set aside for 30 minutes. The mixture will thicken during this period.
5. Make the tart dough.
The brown butter should have cooled down to close to room temperature by now. If not, pop it in the freezer for a few minutes to get it close to room temperature. Using an electric mixer or stand mixer, whip the browned butter for 2-3 minutes until it gets creamy. Slowly add the sugar to the butter mixture, beating in each addition thoroughly. Slowly add in the flour. Once combined, stop the mixer. Fold in the toasted coconut with a spatula.
6. Bake the tart crust.
Press the crust into the tart mold(s), trying to keep the crust as thin as you can (ideally 1/8 of an inch, but I often end up closer to 1/4 of an inch). Place the mold(s) onto a sheet tray before baking. The sheet tray will make it much, much easier to take the tart pan(s) in and out of the oven without damaging the tart shell. Bake for 8-12 minutes at 350F (depending on thickness of your crust). Check on the crust at 7 minutes and then in 2 minute intervals thereafter. It should be very fragrant and slightly golden (not brown) when ready. Err on the side of underbaking. Once baked, remove the tart shell and reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Let the crust cool for 5-10 minutes.
7. Bake the passionfruit tart at 325F.
Once the crust has cooled a bit but is still warm, pour the curd into the still-warm crust. Bake for about 10 minutes for tartlets, about 15 minutes for a large tart. Take the tart out of the oven once the curd has firmed up but jiggles slightly when moved.
8. Prepare passionfruit seed topping, if using.
Place the passionfruit pulp in a saucepan and place over low-medium heat. Sprinkle the gelatin powder over the top and whisk constantly to incorporate the gelatin as the passionfruit pulp heats up, until it begins to boil. At that point, turn off the heat and set aside to cool.
Once the tart and the passionfruit seed topping have cooled so that both are room temperature, gently spoon some of the passionfruit seed topping over the top of the tart. Spread it gently over the curd using the back of a metal spoon so that you don’t damage the surface of the passionfruit curd.
9. Set the tart inside the refrigerator, uncovered, to chill for 2-3 hours.
10. Prepare Italian meringue, if using.
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar using a stand mixer (I do not recommend using a hand mixer for this part because you will be working with very hot sugar syrup). Pause when the egg whites reach soft peaks (if lifted with a spoon or whisk, the egg whites will form a peak which will slowly flop over).
While you beat the eggs, heat the water and sugar in a saucepan and heat over high heat, stirring until the mixture boils. Continue to heat until the syrup mixture reaches 240F on a thermometer.
Restart the stand mixer with the egg whites, mixing at a low speed, and very slowly and very carefully pour the hot syrup into the eggs. Be very careful as this heated sugar syrup is HOT and sticky!! I would definitely send any kids out of the kitchen while you do this. Once all the sugar syrup has been added to the egg whites, turn the mixer back up to high speed and beat until you reach stiff peaks (if lifted with a spoon or whisk, the mixture will form a peak which will not flop over). The hot sugar syrup will cook the eggs, so you will have a fully cooked meringue at this point. For more detailed Italian meringue instructions, this is a great article.
Place the meringue into a piping bag and decorate the tart as you like. You can decorate the tart as soon as it has reached room temperature or colder. Immediately after decorating with the meringue, I used a torch to gently torch the meringue on the tarts (this looks pretty, tastes delicious, and helps the meringue keep its shape over time).
10. Once the tarts have finished chilling, gently bust your tart out of the tart pan by pressing up on the bottom insert one side at a time. There is lots of butter in that crust, so sticking should not be a problem. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Category: Dessert
