Brazilian Passion Fruit Mousse Recipe

Looking for more passion fruit recipes? I recommend you also check out my Passion Fruit Ice Cream, Passion Fruit Mimosa and Grilled Salmon with Passion Fruit Sauce (coming soon).

An easy summer dessert

The recipe y’all have been waiting for is finally here! Possibly my favorite dessert in the whole world, the one and only: passion fruit mousse. Cue for audience clapping enthusiastically. If you’ve been to Brazil, or even a Brazilian restaurant here in the United States (or in other countries), chances are you’ve seen it on the menu. And, if you happen to have tried it, I would bet serious money that you loved it! Or you wouldn’t be here, reading a post on how to make it, amirite? You see, it’s really hard to mess up passion fruit mousse. Yep, the recipe is that easy! A handful of simple ingredients and a blender are all that is between you and this tropical dessert. This recipe serves 4, but is easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled, making it perfect for feeding a crowd!

Ingredients

To make passion fruit mousse, you will need: PASSION FRUIT PULP – Since finding fresh passion fruit here in the US can be difficult, you can use thawed frozen pulp or unsweetened passion fruit juice concentrate. However, if you can find the fresh fruit, I recommend you buy at least a few to make the topping, as the seeds give this dessert all its charm! SWEET CONDENSED MILK – A must-have for all Brazilian desserts! My favorite brand is La Lechera (not sponsored). HEAVY CREAM – The ingredient that gives this dessert its creaminess. I use fresh heavy cream, but some Brazilians use canned table cream instead! UNFLAVORED GELATIN – Just a little bit to help thicken the mousse. Can be omitted and I’ll explain that down below! WATER – A few tablespoons to dissolve the gelatin. SUGAR – To make the sauce topping.

Do you need gelatin for passion fruit mousse?

There isn’t a lot of variation in passion fruit mousse recipes in Brazil. They all call for similar ingredients: passion fruit pulp (or juice), heavy or table cream and sweetened condensed milk. There is just one ingredient that seems to cause debate: gelatin. Some people like their mousse gelatin free, which results in a looser – almost pourable – consistency. And others like it to have more stability, especially when using the mousse as an ingredient in other desserts, like cake for example. After making passion fruit mousse a bazillion times, with and without gelatin, I came to the conclusion that I like a little bit of gelatin in my mousse. Just enough to give it a bit of body and air bubbles, without hardening it too much! That being said, if you don’t have unflavored gelatin on hand – or if you prefer your mousse without it – you can omit it. Your passion fruit mousse will be delicious regardless!

How to make Passion Fruit Mousse

I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is the easiest dessert you will ever make! All you need to do is blend everything together, chill it and voila: passion fruit mousse ready to be devoured. Making the topping sauce is optional but highly recommended! As I mentioned earlier, I use both frozen passion fruit, thawed, to make the mousse, and fresh passion fruit (with seeds) to make the topping. You can also find the pulp with seeds at Brazilian and hispanic supermarkets, or online! If you happen to live somewhere where there’s an abundance of fresh passion fruit, you can use only that. To extract the juice from the fruits, slice them in half and scoop the pulp from the skin. Then blend the pulp for a few minutes to liquify – add a splash of water if needed – and separate from the seeds, before straining through a fine mesh sieve. Recommended tools: blender, saucepan. Here’s how I make this passion fruit mousse recipe. As always, you will find the printable (and more complete) version of the recipe at the end of this post!

Step 1: Dissolve the gelatin (if using)

Combine the water and powdered gelatin in a small bowl, mixing until the gelatin is hydrated. (Photo 1)Microwave for a few seconds for the gelatin to liquify. (Photo 2) You can also do this on a double boiler. Let it cool slightly before using.

Step 2: Blend all the mousse ingredients

Blend the passion fruit pulp, sweet condensed milk, heavy cream and liquid gelatin for 5 minutes. (Photo 3)Pour the mousse into a large serving bowl or individual serving glasses. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Step 3: Make the topping sauce

Combine the fresh passion fruit pulp (with seeds) and the sugar in a saucepan. (Photo 4) Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook briefly, until it thickens slightly. (Photo 5)Let it cool to room temperature. You can then serve or refrigerate until ready to use.

Step 4: Serve!

Top the mousse with the passion fruit sauce and serve! (Photo 6)

How to serve passion fruit mousse

Passion fruit mousse is supposed to be served cold, topped with the passion fruit sauce. You can serve it in a big bowl or in individual portions. Small dessert bowls, martini glasses, cute mason jars or even shot glasses, which are perfect for parties. Did you make this recipe? I love hearing from you! Please comment and leave a 5-star rating below. You can also take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #oliviascuisine.