Not only can you get passionfruit all year round, but the fruit is also currently seeing an unprecedented amount ready to be eaten in the middle of winter.

"We have had some really unusual growing patterns in all of the growing regions in the last 12-18 months and have put the vines out of wack," passionfruit grower, Jane Richter says.

"They have all decided to have a very large amount of fruit coming off all at the same time, in winter, which is absolutely unheard of. Nobody that I have spoken to within the industry has ever seen this situation occur before."

Richter says when looking for the perfect passionfruit at affordable prices, the best deals are usually with the independent grocers.

As for picking out a great tasting fruit with a lot of pulp, she says to stay away from the passionfruit with wrinkled skin as it usually means that more moisture has escaped the fruit, leaving little pulp.

"I think because the way that passionfruit is always is presented there is this real feeling out there that you have to wait until the skin has wrinkled on a passionfruit before it is ready and that's actually a total myth," she says.

"What you want to look for when buying a passionfruit is that you want to look for skin that is firm and smooth. Don't worry about whether if there are marks or splodges or anything on the skin. You don't eat the skin of a passionfruit and I hate to say it but the more perfect the skin is on a passionfruit, the more things it has been sprayed with.

"You want a piece of fruit that feels really heavy for its size and one thing I like to do is shake it a bit. If you can hear that it is very full, that's what you want because ultimately you want the most pulp for the money."

So what can you make with the current abundance of passionfruit?

Serves 6-8

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour (205g)

1/4 cup almond meal (25g)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)

1/2 cup milk (125ml)

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled (60g)

1 egg, lightly whisked

For sauce

1/2 cup passionfruit pulp (7 to 8 fresh passionfruit)

1/2 cup orange juice (125ml)

1 cup boiling water (250ml)

1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed (60g)

To serve

Extra passionfruit

Cream, ice cream or custard

Step one: Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Lightly coat a 2L baking dish with cooking oil spray and place on a rimmed oven tray.

Step two: Stir flour, almond meal, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre, add milk, butter, and egg, and stir to combine. Spoon batter into prepared dish and spread into a thin layer.

Step three: Stir passionfruit pulp, orange juice, boiling water and brown sugar in a jug. Pour liquid over a large spoon so the liquid floats on top of the batter. Do not stir.

Step four: Bake for 30-35 minutes until pudding is golden on top and firm to the touch in the centre. Serve warm with extra passionfruit, and cream, custard or ice cream if desired.

Makes 3/4 cup

1/4 cup passionfruit pulp (3 to 4 fresh passionfruit)

2 tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp honey

1-2 tsp wasabi paste

pinch sea salt

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Step one: Place passionfruit pulp, lime juice, oil, honey, 1 teaspoon wasabi paste, and a pinch of salt in a jar. Cover and shake well.

Step two: Taste dressing, adjust seasoning and add additional wasabi if desired. Stir through sesame seeds.

Step three: Serve dressing spooned over a fresh green salad, steamed veggies, barbecued prawns, or blackened salmon. Can also be used as a marinade for chicken.

Makes 12

200 g butter, softened

90g icing sugar

60ml (1/4 cup) lime juice

1 tsp vanilla paste or extract

225g plain flour

100g cornflour

1 cup passionfruit curd

Lime butter

225g icing sugar

75g unsalted butter, room temperature

30ml (1 1/2 tbsp) lime juice

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Step one: To make the biscuits, beat butter, icing sugar, lime juice and vanilla paste with an electric mixer for three minutes, until pale and creamy.

Step two: Sift flour and cornflour over the butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Refrigerate 10 minutes to firm up slightly.

Step three: Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line two oven trays with baking paper.

Step four: Roll a heaped tablespoonful of dough into a ball, place on lined tray and press lightly with the tines of a fork to form a cross-hatch pattern on the top. Repeat with remaining dough to make 24 biscuits (for 12 sandwich biscuits).

Step five: Bake approximately 14 minutes until just golden. Cool briefly on trays, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step six: To make lime butter, beat all ingredients with an electric mixer for three minutes until pale and creamy.

Step seven: Top half the biscuits with lime butter and refrigerate 15 minutes to firm up. Top lime butter with a spoonful of cooled passionfruit curd and sandwich with remaining biscuits. Store sandwiched biscuits in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Recipes courtesy of Australian Passionfruit - aussiepassionfruit.com.au