the details

This passion fruit curd is the nectar of the gods! In fact, it’s so good, I think it deserves its own post. Passion fruit is an amazingly delicious tropical fruit that you can find pretty much year round in certain grocery stores. It’s heady, fragrant, and the perfect mix of tart and sweet. You’ll find I am very obsessed with it and will use any excuse to use passion fruit in my desserts. This curd is my fine-tuned, to-go for all things passion fruit. It is so versatile and palate-pleasing. Not only that, it’s far easier to make than you mighty think. Give it a try, and never look back!

The process

This video walks you through the whole curd-making process! The bonus is you can use this same recipe + process with any other fruit you want to make a curd of–lemon, key lime, pomegranate, the possibilities are endless!

Where to find passion fruit

When you buy fresh passion fruits, look for fruits that are dark purple in color, shriveled, and very fragrant. You want to be picky and find ripe passionfruit as unripe ones tend to be pretty sour and bitter. To use your fresh passionfruit, cut in half with a serrated knife and scoop out the pulp and seeds. To separate the seeds from pulp, you can pulse your mixture in a food processor several times and strain. But the seeds are absolutely edible and provide a nice texture. You can make passion fruit curd with the seeds in there! Another option (and honestly the one I utilize more, as it is cost effective and easy), is using frozen passion fruit puree. It already has the seeds remove and is basically plug-and-chug. I’m able to find it at a few grocery stores in my area in the frozen fruit section.

Gear

It will help to make sure you have the basic kitchen gear required for making curd. Here’s what I recommend:

Medium saucepan
Medium heatproof mixing bowl
Whisk
Silicone spatula
fine mesh sieve
glass jar for storage

How to enjoy passion fruit curd

ON EVERYTHING!!! Just kidding, but it does have so many uses and elevates just about any dessert. I can always find a use for passion fruit curd around the house, from mixing it into my yogurt to eating it with a spoon (no shame). I love to put it between cake layers in my Perfect Vanilla Layer Cake–this is a popular flavor combo for cake orders! Passion fruit curd is also featured in my Passion Fruit Vanilla Bean Meringue Clouds. Next on my list is developing a passion fruit tart with this curd recipe. All SO good.

Bake to this music

The Best Passionfruit Curd

Print Recipe

This is my fine-tuned absolute best passion fruit curd! Tart, fragrant, tropical, and silky, it’s amazing in tarts, mixed into yogurt, between cake layers, and atop meringue cookies.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups of curd 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

2/3 cup passionfruit puree (from fresh passionfruits or frozen puree/pulp defrosted)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 tsp kosher salt
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Instructions

Put several inches of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Place a medium heatproof mixing bowl on top of the saucepan, creating a double boiler.
In the top bowl of the double boiler, add your passion fruit puree and granulated sugar. Heat, mixing consistently with a whisk, until the sugar dissolves, 3-5 minutes.
Reduce stovetop heat to low and add your whisked egg yolks and salt. Whisking constantly, continue to heat the curd mixture until it thickens and lightens in color, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove the curd from heat and add cold butter, a few chunks at a time, Continue whisking until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a another mixing bowl or jar.
Allow curd to cool for 5-10 minutes at room temp, then chill in the fridge until set, about 1-2 hours. The curd is ready to use, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Notes

Passion fruit curd freezes well– it can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and mix together before use.
You can place a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap on top of the surface of the curd before storage to prevent a “skin” from forming.

Author: Caroline Crockett
Category: desserts, sauce

Keywords: passion fruit, passion fruit curd, sauce