Since all eyes are on Brazil these days, I thought it would be fun to share one of my all-time favorite Brazilian desserts.  Here in the US, things labeled with the flavor of passion fruit very, very rarely actually taste like passion fruit.  It tends to be used as a generalized term for anything remotely tropical, which totally bugs me.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve bought things expecting to taste that unique flavor and end up with something so entirely…off.  Just recently we were at a really nice local restaurant.  My eyes lit up when I saw they had passion fruit creme brûlée on the dessert menu.  You bet I ordered one of those bad boys.  The waiter brought out a gorgeous place, with a big, creamy dish of creme brûlée and that signature toasted sugar on top.  It was decorated with a fresh orchid and some chopped mango.  I took that first bite, closing my eyes to savor it, and guess what?  It had no passion fruit flavor whatsoever.  None.  It was plain ol’ regular creme brûlée.  They called it “Passion Fruit” because it was served with diced mango and a fancy tropical flower.  And the majority of Americans don’t even know what real passion fruit tastes like, so most don’t know the difference.   Fresh passion fruit has a very unique flavor, and when I lived in Brazil, it was very common to use the fresh fruit in every day cooking.  It has a rather strange, pulpy center with big, crunchy black seeds (photo cred: shutterstock) One of the most popular desserts there is Mousse de Maracuja, Passion Fruit Mousse.  There are lots of ways to make it, but the majority of home cooks use a super easy recipe that only involves 3 ingredients, and results in something so completely decadent, it’s ridiculous.

These ingredients shouldn’t be too hard to come by, but depending on where you live, you might have to look around for a couple of them.  The first thing is passion fruit concentrate.  Sometimes you can find this in the frozen juice aisle of the grocery store, but make sure you’re getting 100% passion fruit concentrate, not some sort of frozen tropical juice mix.  You can also check the Latin foods aisle of the grocery store, where it is sometimes sold in bottles or cans.  Again, make sure you’re getting concentrate, not juice.  I buy mine from a Latin foods market, which is something just about every city should have.  If all else fails, just order this from Amazon in a bottle.

You’ll also need both sweetened condensed milk (I’m showing the Latin cans, but regular sweetened condensed milk that we use in the US is the exact same thing) and something Brazilians call “Creme de Leite.”

In the US, creme de leite is sold as “Media Crema” or “Table Cream” and should be easily found in the Latin foods aisle of the grocery store.  Again, if for some reason you can’t find it, you can buy it at a Latin foods market, or on Amazon.  But I’ve always been able to find it at my regular grocery store.  It’s kind of like canned cream; a mix between heavy cream and evaporated milk.

The actual process couldn’t get any easier.  Just put the canned ingredients in your blender (and I always put in the sweetened condensed milk in last so it doesn’t get stuck on the bottom of the blender.)

And then use either of those cans to measure out the passion fruit concentrate.  Use at least one can, and up to 2.  For me, 1 1/2 cans is the perfect amount.  More is a little strong for some people, less is pretty mild.

Then pour the mixture into serving dishes, or one big bowl, and chill it to set.

That’s it.  A few hours later and you have amazing, creamy, tropical, mousse.

And it took you like, 45 seconds to make.

I’ve found you don’t have to have any connection to Brazil to love this.  I served it recently at a dinner party and everyone raved and licked their bowls clean!  That being said, anyone who has any connection to Brazil at ALL, will die of happiness with a single bite.

Since this is rich and sweet, I suggest serving it in small dishes.  You really don’t need a big ol’ bowl, a little goes a long way!

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Brazilian Mousse de Maracuja {Passion Fruit Mousse}Recipe by Our Best Bites (and Brazilians everywhere)

Ingredients2 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk2 7.5 oz cans media crema/table cream {creme de leite}, found in the Latin foods aisle*1 1/2 cans (use either of the previous cans to measure) passion fruit concentrate**

*Brazilian “Creme de Leite” is sold as “Media Crema” or “Table Cream” in the US, and can generally easily be found in the Latin foods aisle of the grocery store, often near the Latin sweetened condensed milk.  If for some reason you are unable to find it at your grocery store, a Latin foods store should have it, or you can order it on Amazon.

**you may be able to find 100% passion fruit concentrate in the frozen juice section of the grocery store, or in the Latin foods aisle.  If you have a Latin market nearby, that’s where I usually find it.  Otherwise, you may also order it on Amazon.

***don’t be confused by the size listed for the cans, one is measured by weight, and the other by volume.  the 2 cans are about the same size.

InstructionsPlace all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth (make sure to scrape down sides and bottom of blender to make sure sweetened condensed milk doesn’t get stuck on the bottom.)  Pour into a bowl, or small individual serving dishes and chill for at least 4-6 hours, but preferably overnight.

Makes about 5 cups mousse.  Feel free to half the recipe for a small batch.