Hello, dearies!!!! I am very happy to be sharing with you today these luscious Passion Fruit Mousse Cupcakes or Cupcakes Mousse de Maracujá… Soon we will be celebrating two important dates: The Two-Year Birthday of From Brazil To You on February 6th, and Valentine’s Day on the 14th!!!
I cannot believe that almost two years have already passed by…. It seems like only yesterday when I first debuted this blog– my baby!!! Well, the baby is a toddler now, that has changed and grown in many ways, although its essence has remained the same: sharing the one-of-a-kind cuisine of Brazil with the world. I am both happy and proud to be its Mom, but I could not have done without you, dear readers, who have supported FBTY over these years. Thank you very much for your interest in the wonderful cuisine of my beloved Brazil, for following the blog on social media, and for putting a smile on my face with your questions and comments. It means all the world to me! Since last year we celebrated FBTY’s first birthday with a Crazy Gal Cake (Bolo Nega Maluca) made with chocolate, this year we will be celebrating it with these passion fruit mousse cupcakes.
For FBTY’s birthday, we just had to celebrate with cake — decorated with roses… especially for you! These passion fruit cupcakes are dense yet fluffy, filled with a creamy passion fruit mousse (a staple in Brazilian cuisine), and frosted with vanilla butter cream… Yummmm!!! They are also great for baby showers, weddings, Mother’s Day, and of course, V-day!
I hope that you make these romantic passion fruit mousse cupcakes and share them with your Valentine … In fact, I hope you don’t mind if I consider you as one of my valentines!!!
If you would also like to add a decadent chocolate treat to your list, try our Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Stacks or Beer Brigadeiros.
For now, deliciousness and roses are waiting entirely just for you…
Happy Birthday, From Brazil To You!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all!!!
Passion Fruit Mousse Cupcakes
Ingredients
- For the Passion Fruit Cupcake Batter:
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup coconut milk or whole milk
- 7 ounces fluidconcentrated passion fruit juice (If you are making with frozen passion fruit pulp -- which is available at local supermarkets, let thaw completely and then measure)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- For the Passion Fruit Mousse:
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup concentrated passion fruit juice (If you are making with frozen passion fruit pulp -- which is available at local supermarkets, let thaw completely and then measure)
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- For the Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting:
- 2 cups unsalted butter softened, or 4 sticks
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons heavy whipping cream or whole milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 6-8 drops red gel coloring
- 1 drop blue gel food coloring
Instructions
- To make the passion fruit cupcake batter, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (178 degrees C). Line a cupcake tin and reserve.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir in together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the liquid ingredients: coconut milk or whole milk, passion fruit juice, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Then add the sugar, beating at low speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, to the sugar mixture, beating well on low speed after each addition. Alternately, add the dry ingredients or flour mixture and the reserved liquid ingredients or passion fruit mixture to the egg mixture, beating well after each addition.
- Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with the batter. Bake for 15 minutes or until cupcakes are puffy and bounce back when lightly touched. Let cool completely on a rack before filling with passion fruit mousse and frosting.
- To make the passion fruit mousse, whisk all the 3 ingredients together until obtaining a homogeneous mixture. Fill cupcakes with passion fruit mousse by first cutting out a small plug in the center of each cupcake using a paring knife. The plug should be to about one half of the vertical depth of the cupcake. Reserve the cupcake plug. Pipe passion fruit mousse into each hole. Close the hole with the reserved plug -- this will require trimming off most of the bottom part of the plug so that when replaced in the hole the plug will be level with the rest of the top of the cupcake, and will not squeeze out the mousse. Place filled cupcakes in the refrigerator.
- For the vanilla butter cream frosting: In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, combine softened unsalted butter, sugar, and salt, beating well until mixture is homogeneous. Add the cream/milk and vanilla. Beat for an additional 3-5 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Beat in both gel food colorings.
- Using a Wilton 2D closed Star tip, pipe a rose on top of each cupcake, starting from the center and making 2 steady circles around the center (This video explains well how to do it). I also used cupcake gems (white pearls) to decorate the cupcakes. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Store frosted cupcakes in a clean airtight container (single layer) and let come to room temperature 15-20 minutes before serving.
Passion fruit mousse cupcakes are aphrodisiac and great for valentine’s day, baby showers, and mother’s day… I love these passion fruit mousse cupcakes. I hope you make these delicious passion fruit mousse cupcakes! Passion fruit mousse cupcakes….
Passion fruit mousse cupcakes are super delicious! Enjoy our passion fruit mousse cupcakes.
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Happy Birthday Balloon Image credit: daboost / 123RF Stock Photo
Valentine’s Day Image credit: wawritto / 123RF Stock Photo
Mi Vida en un Dulce
2 years Denise…happy birthday!!!
The cupcakes look fantastic, I love passion fruit.
Denise Browning
Thanks a ton, Nydia! Enjoy and have a great weekend…
Deb
Happy Second Birthday Denise! The Passion Fruit Mousse Cupcakes are just enchanting! I adore their ethereal pink color!
Denise Browning
Thanks a lot, Deb! I do appreciate it…
Sue/the view from great island
I discovered passion fruit this year, and now I’m addicted to that sensual aroma — great idea for Valentines’ Day!
Denise Browning
Thanks a lot, Sue! It’s one of my all-time fave fruits…I grew up eating all types of treats made from it and also drinking its juice. I hope you can make these cupcakes…You won’t regret it! You can also make more of the mousse, place in ramekins, and refrigerate. It is also a family favorite (although it is technically a cream, this is the way we make passion fruit mousse in Brazil. It’s super easy, creamy, and very addictive).
Anne@FromMySweetHeart
Oh such beautiful cupcakes, Denise! Your photos are so lovely and enticing! Happy blogiversary! I’ve enjoyed your wonderful posts, recipes and fabulous photography and look forward to many more years to come! : )
Denise Browning
You are always so nice and sweet, Anne! Thank you so much for the blogiversary wishes and your kind words. Wishing you a wonderful week!!! xx
Raymund
Happy Advanced Valentines to you too!
Denise Browning
Thanks, Raymund! For you as well..
Aurica
mmmm, lovely pink delicious and excellent cupcakes 😀
Denise Browning
Thank you! Those are super delish indeed.
Diane
Could I substitute the passion fruit with another juice??? I’m thinking strawberry . . . would I need to change the recipe in anyway?
Denise Browning
Hi, Diane!
Absolutely! For the cupcake batter, you can certainly use concentrated strawberry juice instead of the passion fruit juice. But for the mousse filling, you better blend about 1/3 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries with sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream until obtaining a thick, creamy mixture. The reason why you should avoid to use strawberry juice for the mousse filling is because strawberry juice is not as acidic as passion fruit juice, resulting in a thin mixture. Have a great Sunday and thanks for stopping by.
Kem
I tried these today with 7-minute frosting rather than the buttercream but used the cupcake & passion fruit mousse recipes here. My cupcake turned out very “wet” and not like a fluffy cake. And not a lot of rise, either… actually still had a slight indent in the center.I Wasn’t expecting this and didn’t love it. The passion fruit flavor was great though! I would’ve preferred for the mousse to be a bit thicker/more set, too. Even after refrigerating it was still looser than I would’ve preferred. I’ve experienced this when making regular passion fruit mousse, too, though, so maybe that’s just the way it is – haven’t figured out how to make it thick like I’ve had it at some Brazilian places. (I blend concentrate, creme de leche & condensed milk per other family (in-law) suggestions.)
Does your cake turn out fluffy? If so – any tips on what I could’ve done wrong? I’m a pretty experienced baker but obviously I could’ve screwed up something! 🙂
Denise Browning
Hi, Kem!
I am so sorry you did not have a good experience with this recipe.
Mine turned out slightly fluffy (not puffy). In addition, I had no problem at all with the consistency of the passion fruit mousse. I don’t like to use creme de leche at all. It is not the same as Brazilian creme de leite. And even if I had to use Brazilian creme de leite, I would use the one that comes in a box rather than in a can (it contains whey). I used heavy whipping cream in mine, a good quality of sweetened condensed milk (some are thinner than others), and a good passion fruit concentrate. I blended them very, very well in the blender — until thick and creamy, and then refrigerated.
When did you prepare the cupacake batter, did you use room temp eggs or cold ones? This can certainly make a difference. This is just me trying to figure what went wrong with your cupcakes.
I hope this helps. Wishing you a delicious week! Take care.
Madisen
I’m also a very experienced baker & had the exact same problem with the batter. They all deflated & are undercooked & dense in the center. I’m just going to have to deliver them to the party & hope the coconut buttercream frosting I’m making distracts!
Denise Browning
Hi again, Madisen! In the post article I stated these cupcakes are dense so they’re not supposed to be light/too puffy like average cupcakes. Part of the center will need to be removed to be filled with the passion fruit mousse and then topped with buttercream.