Passion Fruit Recipes

Tropical fruit is the centerpiece of most Brazilian breakfasts. These smoothies combine passion fruit juice and coconut water with fresh mango and yogurt. They're similar to a lassi ,but with extra tang to offset the sweetness of the mango. Add some fresh mint for an extra element of brightness.

In the dead of winter, even the humblest grocery stores on St. Bart's stock fresh tropical fruits of astonishing sweetness. Jean-Georges Vongerichten selected a few of his favorites for this salad.

This isn't the kind of ice cream pie you'd make for a kiddie birthday party. Instead of a plain cookie crust, Grace Parisi creates a crispy, chewy one with crumbled gingersnaps, dried pineapple and candied ginger. And instead of the usual caramel or chocolate sauce on top, she prepares a delectable mix of dulce de leche and passion fruit nectar from the supermarket.

Pastry chef Koa Duncan of Los Angeles's Water Grill is incredibly creative. She's also remarkably persistent: Working as a pastry chef in a town that loves to diet is an uphill battle. Her fantastic passion fruit and creamy coconut parfait, layered with crunchy bits of cashew praline, is good enough for Angelenos to forgive themselves the indulgence.

This towering dessert is made up of layers of super-moist, almost puddinglike coconut cake spread with tangy passion fruit curd, then topped with whipped cream and crispy flakes of toasted coconut. The recipe is from Cynthia Wong, pastry chef in Decatur, Georgia. The cake may look intimidating, but it's easy to make: "Just pop the layers out of the baking pans and slap them together," Wong says.

This tart is extremely easy to make and superdelicious. The mascarpone-and-passion-fruit cream finishes it off perfectly.

This recipe is similar to a lemon chiffon pie, which was popular in the early 1900s and called "sissy pie" or "fairy tart." Classic chiffon is made with uncooked egg whites, whereas our version is prepared with cooked egg whites.

To make these layered, free-form sundaes quickly, use store-bought caramel or butterscotch sauce. As a variation, substitute ginger cookies for the chocolate wafers.

Farmstead eggs are at their best in late summer, when the chickens are "on pasture," eating grass. Here, egg whites form a sweet meringue holding passion fruit curd.

Jean-Georges Vongerichten planned to punch up his shrimp with a simple mustard sauce, but the spectacular passion fruits on Bora Bora gave his sauce a tangy kick. Store-bought passion fruit juice also works well.

Filled with generous chunks of golden peach and zingy passion fruit, these gluten- and dairy-free muffins make the perfect mid-morning snack. If peaches and passion fruit are out of season, feel free to substitute with a handful of any seasonal fruit you have on hand, increasing the coconut milk to 1/2 cup.

Jumbo shrimp are a fine substitute for the beautiful, bright red Spanish shrimp chef Adolfo Munoz adds to this salad.

Brazil is famous for the caipirinha, but less well known for the classic caipiroska cocktail that combines vodka, lime juice and sugar. Michelle Bernstein doesn't love the taste of alcohol so she throws passion fruit puree into the mix, creating a deliciously fruity sweet-tart drink.

"Who doesn't like coconut?" asks Ivy Mix of Leyenda in Brooklyn. "I mean, come on, I love pina coladas, but I always want a little more." She gives her version an extra flavor boost with passion fruit syrup, spices and the sugarcane spirit cachaca.