Sweet, tart, luscious, and creamy. This easy to make passion fruit curd comes together in minutes. Spread it on toast, swirl it in yogurt, or use it to fill a layer cake!
Disclaimer: The fresh passion fruit used in this recipe were gifted by Rincon Tropics. They are a 6th generation family farm located in Carpinteria, California.
Last week, we explored how to make passion fruit juice.
Today, let’s learn to extend the life of this delicious fruit by cooking it into passion fruit curd!
What is curd?
Curd is a rich and creamy filling made from citrus juice, sugar, eggs or egg yolks, and butter.
It is typically made with tart citrus juices, lemon curd being the the most popular.
Fruit curd is used to fill pastries, tarts, and cakes.
It is spread on biscuits, scones, toasts, pancakes, and other breakfast goods.
While it is easy to purchase a jar of curd, it is very satisfying to make it yourself!
Fresh versus Frozen Passion Fruit
This recipe works well with either fresh or frozen passion fruit puree.
When using fresh passion fruit, seeds may be included into the curd, if desired.
The frozen version may be labeled as passion fruit pulp.
Pay attention to the ingredient list. It should be unsweetened and be 100% pure passion fruit.
The Problem with Eggs
Acid from lemon and other fruits speeds up egg coagulation.
Acids lowers the temperature at which eggs coagulate.
When the eggs are not properly monitored, this may lead to curdled fruit curd.
To maximize the thickening of the curd, cook mixture over a low heat while stirring constantly.
How to Cook Passion Fruit Curd
There are two ways to cook passion fruit curd: direct heat and indirect heat.
I recommend the direct heat method because it is faster.
However, this method requires use of a heavy bottomed nonreactive sauce pot.
Nonreactive cookware includes stainless steel, glass, and ceramic ware. This is essential when cooking acidic foods.
Use of a reactive pan made out of aluminum or cast iron will alter the flavor of acidic foods, causing them to taste iron or metallic flavored.
In either method, the mixture needs to be heated to nappé consistency or at least 160°F.
Direct Heat Method
- Use a nonreactive sauce pot to cook the ingredients directly over the heat source.
Indirect Heat Method
- Set up a double boiler (or bain-marie) by placing a glass bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Ensure the bowl does not touch the water.
- The steam from the simmering water will gently heat the mixture.
Straining Curd
Straining is not required, but highly recommended.
It will remove any egg bits that may have curdled during cooking.
Straining ensures a smoother textured passion fruit curd. Use a stainless steel fine mesh strainer (fine mesh sieve).
Cooling the Fruit Curd
Place the strained passion fruit curd in a medium bowl. Place plastic wrap directly over the surface of the curd.
This will protect the surface from forming a skin as it cools.
The passion fruit curd may be used immediately after cooking. However, it will be slightly runny and warm.
Chill the plastic wrap covered curd in the fridge for at least two hours to thicken and cool.
At this point, the curd will be much more stable and easier to spread.
What to do with passion fruit curd
There are many uses for passion fruit curd. Similar to lemon curd, you may:
- Spread it over biscuits, scones, English muffins, or toast
- Swirl it into yogurt or oatmeal
- Top meringues or pavlovas
- Add a dollop to ice cream sundae or banana split
- Use it to fill a layer cake
What flavors pair well with passion fruit
Passion fruit is tangy and sweet.
It pairs well with other tropical fruits such as mango, coconut, and banana.
Passion fruit is also classically paired with raspberries in meringues and pavlovas.
The photo above shows passion fruit paired with blueberry compote.
This is another excellent pairing. The sweetness of the blueberries balances out the tartness of the passion fruit.
Passion fruit curd is paired with vanilla cake and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream in this cake!
Storage & Leftovers
Keep passion fruit curd in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Passion Fruit Curd
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup passion fruit puree, or pulp*
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113 g)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Direct Heat Method:
- Whisk together sugar, yolks, and egg. Set aside.
- In a heavy bottomed nonreactive medium sauce pot, gently heat passion fruit puree, butter, and salt over low heat until butter has melted.
- Remove pot from heat and whisk a few tablespoons of the melted mixture into the egg mixture. Continually whisking, continue to add a few tablespoons of hot mixture into eggs at a time.
- Pour all the mixture back into the pot. Set over medium heat. Use a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula to continually stir mixture, making sure to scrape the bottom and edges of the pot to prevent eggs from curdling or scrambling. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until mixture has thickened to nappé* consistency and has reached a temperature of 160°F.
- Remove from heat and strain curd through a fine mesh sieve/strainer into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, allowing the wrap to lay directly on the surface of curd. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to thicken and cool.
Indirect Heat/ Double Boiler Method:
- Fill a medium sauce pot with about 2-inches of water. Bring to a simmer. Set a glass bowl over the pot, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.
- Add sugar, yolks, egg, and passion fruit to bowl. Whisk until eggs are incorporated. Add butter and salt. Continue to gently heat until butter has melted, stirring occasionally.
- Once butter has melted, change to a wooden spoon or spatula. Continually stir mixture for about 8-10 minutes, until it has thickened to nappé* consistency and has reached a temperature of 160°F.
- Remove from heat and strain curd through a fine mesh sieve/strainer into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, allowing the wrap to lay directly on the surface of curd. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to thicken and cool.
Notes
- Use a heavy bottomed nonreactive sauce pot when cooking acidic foods, such as passion fruit. Nonreactive cookware include stainless steel, glass, and ceramic ware.
- Reactive pans such as aluminum and cast iron will alter the flavor of the passion fruit curd. This will result in an iron or metallic flavored curd.
- If you are unsure whether your sauce pot is nonreactive, use the double boiler method (indirect heat method) to cook the passion fruit curd.
- Straining the curd will ensure a smoother texture. It will remove any egg bits that may have curdled.
- Recipe works with fresh or frozen passion fruit. Passion fruit seeds may also be included, if desired.
- If using frozen passion fruit pulp/puree, make sure the puree is unsweetened. It should be 100% pure passion fruit pulp/puree.
- This recipe was created using Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. Diamond Crystal is less salty than Morton Kosher Salt.
- Nappé consistency is achieved when mixture is thick enough that when it coats a spoon or spatula, you can draw your finger through the mixture and it holds a line. This is achieved when mixture reaches 160-180 degrees F.
- Cooking mixture to 160°F will pasteurize the eggs, making them safe to eat.
- Straining is not required. However, it will remove any egg bits that may have curdled during cooking.
- Store passion fruit curd in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
I love curd and have made a lot of curd in my 30 years of life… BUT THIS RECIPE HAS YIELDED ME THE BEST RESULTS. Thank you so much for this recipe/technique of making curd. For the first time, my curd did not curdle into little egg bit. My mind is blown.
Hello,
If I use frozen passionfruit purée, do I need to defrost it before combining with the other ingredients or can I just add it in frozen? Also, how sweet is the passionfruit curd? Could I reduce the sugar and if so, by how much? Thank you.
One of the nicest fruit curds I have tasted. I made the passion fruit pulp up to 2/3 cup using clementine juice, I also added the rind (finely grated) of the clementine. Will definitely make again.
One of the nicest fruit curds I have tasted. I made the passion fruit pulp up to 2/3 cup using clementine juice, I also added the rind (finely grated) of the clementine. Will definitely make again.
First of all….I LOVE Passionfruit….& 2nd of all….OMGOODNESS 😋This was quick, easy & the BEST curd hands down! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! I love passionfruit, too!
I made meringue for pavlova and remembered that I had some frozen passionfruit pulp in the freezer so I decided to make some curd to go with it. This recipe appealed to me b/c it called for four egg yolks, which is what I had on hand after using the egg whites for meringue. I am not always good at following recipes exactly as written, but I did this time -including taking my time when tempering the egg/sugar with the warm passionfruit mixture, and actually running the curd through a sieve. It turned out beautifully – and made a generous amount! I appreciated learning the name for the “back of the spoon” test (along with temperature guidelines). In future, I might experiment with using a little bit less sugar – maybe decreasing it by 25g to start and see how that tastes. I made cream cheese on the same day, so this morning I had a piece of toast with cream cheese and a spoonful of passionfruit curd – it tasted like sunshine.
Thank you for trying the recipe! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. I’d love to hear how it turns out with less sugar. I love enjoying the passion fruit curd over fresh ricotta cheese toast!
Yuck! This recipe is way too salty.
I would not make it again.
I didn’t have any unsalted butter so I used salted, and simply omitted the 1/2 tsp. salt. It was delicious.
Are you sure you didn’t add salt instead of sugar or just more salt than the recipe called for? 1/2 tsp salt is pretty and should do no more than enhance the flavour
There is absolutely no way this recipe is salty unless the ingredients are not followed properly. You could even make it with no salt and it would be just as amazing.
I just made this and it came out too salty. I used 1/2 tsp of kosher salt per recipe and the salt hit is just too prominent. I’ve been making curd for most of my life (lemon, passion fruit, tartes, cakes, etc) and I’ve never had it come out like this. Next time no salt or maybe 1/8th at the very most.
Sorry to hear that! I have updated the notes section in the recipe to specify that I used Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Diamond Crystal is less salty than the other popular brand, Morton kosher salt.
Beautiful results Loved it! I used frozen unsweetened passion fruit puree, and high quality salted butter (I didn’t have any unsalted on hand), and it turned out beautiful. The consistency was perfect for the layer cake I was making and there was just enough for five layers in an 8-in round cake.
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe! Good to know it works for a 5 layer cake!
The passion fruit curd yielded by this recipe is nothing short of OUTRAGEOUSLY delicious. OMG. Wow. All other flavors will now suffer by comparison.
Thank you! This is definitely my favorite fruit curd!
I am going to try this recipe. I have used one that calls for just egg yolks (3)with 1/2 c sugar and 1/4 c passion fruit but still a full stick of butter. It is quite good but I have frozen, thawed pulp leftover so will try this that uses more passion fruit and compare.
Delicious smooth curd. I used it in a tropical trifle and doubled the recipe. I think I’d reduce the sugar a bit next time.
I have to eat a dairy free diet. Do you think coconut oil would work in place of the butter?
How did you process your passionfruits to get out the purée? I’m reading different techniques online, some include heating slightly and others not. Thanks!
First, make sure the passionfruit are ripe and ready to eat. The skin should be wrinkled. (Check this post on passion fruit juice for more detailed step by step photos). Slice the fruit open. Use a spoon to scoop out the pulp and seeds.
I’m looking forward to making this recipe and using the passionfruit curd as one of the fillings for my partner’s key lime pie-themed birthday cake. Do you have any recommendations for adapting this recipe to make lime/key lime curd? I think that would make a great addition to the cake!
I live in Idaho, close to the Canadian border and we can’t get passion fruit here. I ordered the puree from Amazon so I could experience it. (I’ve been watching way too much of the Great British Bake Off :-) –I made this 3/9/22 as a layer in a dessert. Short-crust pastry, frangipane, strawberry/peach jelly, topped by the luscious passion fruit curd. I used the indirect method, as I’m a novice at baking and didn’t want to waste any ingredients. It was truly amazing. I felt like I was the “star baker” this week! Thank you very, very much!
I make lemon or orange curd in the microwave, maybe I could do the same with passion fruit
This was AMAZING! I made passion fruit curd tarts accompanied with fresh strawberry compote and cream cheese vanilla whip cream. It is definitely a keeper recipe and I can’t wait to make it again. It was my first attempt at any kind of curd and it was so easy! I didn’t have to sieve it either. Thank you for sharing this absolutely DELICIOUS recipe!
I’ve just made it and it was Amazing!! A perfect combination of tangy and sweet!!! Had few over ripen passion fruits at home and didn’t know what to do and found the perfect recipe. Since I used salted butter I left the extra salt out.
I was nervous going into this recipe because I’ve never made curd before and know how easy it is to curdle it during the cooking process. But after being gifted a huge bag of passion fruits from a friend’s garden, I figured it was worth a shot. I just finished making it and WOW it is so good- creamy, sweet, slightly tangy, melt in your mouth delicious. I used the double boiler method and it worked like a charm. I went low and slow while heating the mixture, just to be safe. It took me longer than ten minutes because of this, but it was absolutely worth it. Im so pleased that it worked out and now I have a huge jar of delicious curd to mix into yogurt, put on toast, or just eat with a spoon because quite frankly it is that good! The clear instructions and descriptions in the recipe are very helpful for curd-making newbies like myself. Thank you for posting! Can’t wait to try your some of your other recipes :)
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s such a treat having a friend that grows passion fruit!
Can I freeze the curd once it is made?
Yes, you may freeze passion fruit curd for longer storage. Transfer the curd to a freezer safe container (leaving about a finger’s width of room at the top of the container to allow for the curd to expand). Deep freeze (meaning in the coldest part of your freezer). To thaw, transfer to the fridge and thaw for 24 hours. After thawing, use the curd within 2 weeks.
Worked really well as per recipe but I found it too sweet I would cut the sugar back the next time I make it! Had to add lemon to this batch to counteract the sweetness but other than that great recipe
Hi, will this work with sweetener (like monkfruit or swerve)?
Hi, I have not tested this recipe with alternative sweeteners. I suggest using regular granulated sugar. Due to the acidic nature of passion fruit, I’m concerned it may not interact well with alternative sweeteners.
This was so delicious!! I used fresh passion fruits from my mother in law’s tree! I cut the sugar down to 3/4 cup and it was perfect. I made it in the double boiler and strained in before jarring and the texture was heavenly – silky and smooth. I will use this recipe again and again!
This was so easy and came out perfectly! I’m using it as a cake filling for a white chocolate cake with mango buttercream frosting. Can’t wait! Thanks so much for the recipe.
I can’t wait to try this recipe – but I’m in the UK! Can you tell me how much passion fruit I need in grams or ml rather than cups please? Many thanks!
Should I double this recipe for a three layer/8 in cake? TY
It depends on how much curd you want to add between the cake layers. I used a total amount of 2/3 cup passion fruit curd for the 3 layer 8-inch cake I posted here: https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/2021/04/passion-fruit-cake.html
This is soooo easy and tastes amazing! I wish you had a lemon curd recipe!!!