Easy Vegan Passionfruit Coconut Cake which only takes 10 minutes to prepare. The cake is fluffy, tastes like a tropical holiday and is super versatile!
Ingredients you'll need
This vegan passion fruit cake uses only common ingredients including:
Notes about the ingredients
Plain or all-purpose flour is best for this recipe. Whole wheat or spelt flour will also work but will make your cake less fluffy.
Granulated sugar (regular sugar). Coconut sugar can be used but will make the cake slightly darker.
Desiccated coconut for flavor and texture! A high amount of passionfruit in the cake makes it a little chewy and dense but adding coconut helps keep the cake fluffy and moist.
Passionfruit pulp and seeds. If you don't like eating the seeds of passionfruit, you can remove them using a strainer. However, I kept the seeds for texture and I think they're a key characteristic of anything flavored with passionfruit!
Lemon juice enhances the tartness of the passionfruit and the crumb of the cake.
Baking powder to help the vegan passionfruit cake rise. I added a little more than usual to counteract the high amount of passionfruit (a high amount of fruit in cakes makes the crumb denser, just like banana bread).
A surprising egg replacer!
Did you know that passionfruit pulp can be used as an egg substitute in vegan baking?! The viscous texture of passionfruit is similar to eggs and helps ingredients 'stick together' in baking.
Understandably, this is not common vegan baking 101 fact because passionfruit has a strong taste and is full of seeds!
I discovered this when trialing recipes for my first cookbook, which includes a recipe for a vegan passionfruit banana cake. The more passionfruit in a cake, the chewier it is! That means this vegan passionfruit cake doesn't need an egg replacer.
How to make vegan passionfruit cake
This is a really easy cake to make! Simply add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until there are no lumps apart from the coconut.
Add all the wet ingredients including the passionfruit pulp and mix until combined.
I recommend using a 20 cm (8 inches) loaf tin to bake the passion fruit cake. As there's a lot of fruit in it, it takes a little longer to bake than other cakes. So we need a long tin so it doesn't take toooo long to bake.
If you don't have a cake tin of that size, I'd recommend using a larger tin.
Decorating and serving the cake
This vegan passionfruit coconut cake is excellent with an easy simple icing. It makes the cake very pretty and presentable!
I made the icing using powdered sugar, passionfruit pulp and a little vegan butter (or coconut oil). The ratios in the recipe make a thick frosting so it won't run/melt everywhere. However, you can add more passionfruit pulp (or dairy-free milk) for a runnier frosting.
Alternatively, you can also top the cake with:
- Coconut or dairy free yogurt and passionfruit puree (pictured below is the passionfruit banana cake from my cookbook.)
- Vegan buttercream such as the one in my vegan pina colada cake recipe. I'd recommend using only half of the buttercream recipe
- Vegan cream cheese frosting such as in my carrot cake cupcake recipe.
Or skip the icing or frosting and serve the slices warm with dairy-free ice cream or vegan custard!
Other delicious quick bread recipes
Follow Rainbow Nourishments on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and subscribe via email to receive all of our latest recipes!
Vegan Passionfruit Cake
Ingredients
Dry cake ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose plain flour, (note 1 for gluten free option)
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, or coconut sugar
- 1 cup (80g) dessicated coconut
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
Wet cake ingredients
- ¾ cup (190g) passionfruit pulp, (~6 medium size passionfruit, note 2)
- ⅔ cup (165g) dairy-free milk
- ⅓ cup (85g) light-tasting vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (30g) lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar
Passionfruit icing
- 1 ½ cups (150g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons passionfruit pulp, (~1 passionfruit)
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter or margarine, optional for a firmer frosting
Instructions
- Note: For the best results, I'd recommend using a scale to weigh your ingredients rather than using cups. Adding too much dry or wet ingredients to this cake will make the cake overly dry or moist.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20 cm (8 inch) or larger loaf tin with baking paper. The larger your tin, the shorter amount of time it'll take to bake the passionfruit cake.
To make the cake:
- Add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix until combined and there are no lumps.
- Add all wet ingredients including the passionfruit pulp to the bowl and mix until just combined. The batter should be thick. Some lumps are fine, as long as they aren't lumps of flour. Overmixing the batter will result in an unpleasant cake.
- Pour the cake batter into the lined baking tin.
- Bake the cake for around 50 minutes or until a skewer can be inserted into the cake and it comes out clean.
To make the icing:
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Add more powdered sugar for a firmer frosting or more passionfruit pulp for a runnier frosting
- When the cake has fully cooled, spread the icing on top of the cake allowing it to drip down the sides.
- The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the fridge for 3 days.
Notes
- To make the cake gluten free, substiute the plain flour with 125g almond flour (blanched almond meal) and 125g all-purpose gluten free flour. For the wet ingredients, start with only 65g of milk and add more (if needed) until the cake batter is thick and just pourable (like the pictures above).
- Fresh, frozen or canned passionfruit pulp will work. If there are any 'strands' of fibre in your pulp, break them up using a spoon. If you don't like eating the passionfruit seeds, seive them using a small strainer.
Nutrition
This recipe and post was first published in 2019 and updated in 2021. This recipe is also on the Harris Farm Market website.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Hiya, I'm looking to make a layered cake. Do u think this recipe can be used for this?
Yes, I think so! I'd recommend increasing the recipe by 150% for a 2-layered 8-inch cake to serve 12 to 16 people. I hope that helps!
Hi can you omit the dessicated cocount all together and still achieve a good result?
I haven't tried omitting the coconut but I imagine it would be possible. Try substituting the coconut with flour, by grams. The cake may also be slightly chewier. Let me know how you go if you do!
I made this cake on Wednesday morning for Thursday evening birthday. The only I changes I made was to use a small springform round pan and avocado oil. I watched the timing very carefully and made sure I didn’t overcook the cake. I made it because I have my own passionfruit as a gift for my vegan gluten free granddaughter.
I was very disappointed in the heavy dryness of the cake which for those of us not vegan we added cream and extra passionfruit pulp to make it edible. The one vegan didn’t finish her slice! I wouldn’t make the cake again. I felt it was a waste of a cup of my treasured passionfruit! Sorry. I tried.I hope this may be helpful.
I'm sorry this cake didn't work for you, Helen! The cake is definitely not meant to be dry and heavy but rather the opposite!
Did you use the almond flour and gluten free flour combination? Also, I notice you said you used a cup of passionfruit. The recipe asks for just 3/4 cup (190g) - I tried more passionfruit once and it made the cake heavier. I'd also recommend weighing the ingredients for the best results. Nevertherless, thanks for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Absolutely delicious! I used canned passionfruit and some apple sauce in the cake, as the tin wasn't enough. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out moist and flavourful.
I'm so happy you enjoyed this cake Anuja! And glad that you were able to substitute some applesauce. Thanks so much for your comment 🙂
I made this cake with wholemeal self-raising flour and when I sliced the cake, it crumbled everywhere. Would the flour I used would of affected this?
Oh no! Wholemeal flour should be fine but self-raising flour isn't. 1 cup of self-raising flour has 2 teaspoons of baking powder so that means you would've added an extra 4 teaspoons to the cake. I hope that helps!
This cake was so easy to make and was a hit with my vegan and non-vegan friends!
The cake was moist and was a great balance between sweet and tangy. Thanks for this recipe!
I'm so glad you enjoyed this cake Lucy! Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂
Hi Anthea, thinking of making this in a round tin instead with 2 layers, what size tin do you suggest? Also will the frosting work in between the layers or can you recommend a cake filling recipe? Thanks!
Hi Elaine! I think this would work as a double layered cake in 2 x 6 inch (15 cm) cake pans. Alternatively, you can multiply the recipe by 1.5 and bake it in 2 x 8 inch (20 cm) cake pans.
The frosting in this recipe is better for drizzling but for a layered cake filling, I'd recommend my cream cheese frosting from my mango cake recipe (just make a little less for a 6 inch cake) or the buttercream frosting from my pina colada cake. Let me know how you go and I hope that helps!
Hi Anthea, this looks really lovely!! Wanna try it but cant find dessicated coconut nearby, do you know if coconut flour would work instead?
Thanks! And happy new year!
Happy new year! Coconut flour acts a bit differently to dessicated coconut so I don't think it'll work. However, substituting the coconut with almond flour (or just regular flour) by grams will work :). Hope that helps!
Hi Anthea! What do you mean to substitute "by grams." Would I just use an equal amount of almond flour (1 cup)? Thanks!
Hi Tiffany, no it'd be 80g of almond flour. 1 cup of dessicated coconut weighs differently to 1 cup of coconut. Hope that helps!
Hey Anthea,
This is my go to recipe for eggless version. so far, have already made it thrice. Now for new year my kids have demanded a cupcake version of the cake. Can you please advise the baking time and any changes to the recipe if i have to make cupcakes??
Tk Cr and have a happy new year 2022.
Ragini
So glad you've made and enjoyed this recipe so many times! Yes, you can definitely make these as cupcakes! I'm not sure how many it'd make but try baking them for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
This cake sounds perfect for my son’s birthday as he loves passion fruit! I want to make it without any sugar. Do you think I can use honey or maple syrup in place of sugar?
That sounds lovely! I don't think this cake will work with a liquid sweetener as they often make cakes heavier and the amount of passionfruit already weighs down this cake. Perhaps try a granulated monk fruit sweetener!
What an amazing recipe! I get a box full of (rescued) veg & fruit every week and lately I am getting 8-10 passion fruits in each! There's only so many I can eat with a spoon so today I tried your recipe and I am amazed - easy to make & delicious! Thank you!
Ýour rescued veg/fruit box sounds like an absolute dream (not to mention, such a great way to reduce food waste)!! And I'm so glad you enjoyed this cake x
I made this yday and very happy with the texture of the cake. I loved the crunchiness of the seeds in the cake. I didnt have enough passion fruits to go for the frosting, will try that next time. I am so thrilled with your blogging. Great work here! I love healthy cooking/baking and glad to see your creations.
I'm so happy that you enjoyed this cake with the seeds! Thanks so much for your support and let me know if I can ever help with any of my other recipes 🙂