Passion Fruit Curd & Other Fruit Curds
Passion Fruit Curd is just one variation of this adaptable recipe. Fruit curds can be made with citrus fruit, mango, passion fruit, pineapple, and others. Curds are easy to make and so versatile in the kitchen.
My custom cake business, Cake Art Studio, had a fairly large menu of cake flavors. One of the most popular was the Luscious Lemon Cake and that cake is now one of the most popular recipes on Baking Sense.
The base for that wonderful cake is a really great lemon curd recipe. If you’ve got extra egg yolks, you can make this Yolks Only Lemon Curd.
Citrus juices make wonderful curd and lemon curd is a pastry kitchen staple, but passion fruit curd is one of my favorites. I just adore the floral tropical flavor.
Passion Fruit Curd is the perfect filling for Coconut Cake and Coconut Macaroons.
It’s a bit of work to get the juice from fresh passion fruit, and passion fruit can be a little expensive. But if you’re looking to make a tart or cake with an unusual flavor, I think it’s well worth the effort.
Scroll through the step by step photos to see how to make Passion Fruit Curd (and other fruit curds):
Tips for making Passion Fruit Curd and other types of Fruit Curd:
- Always combine the sugar with the eggs before adding the fruit juice. If you add the juice to eggs without the sugar, the acidic juice will “cook” the eggs.
- The gelatin is optional. Instructions for blooming gelatin can be found here.
- If you’re using the curd for a spread or sauce you don’t need the gelatin.
- Use the gelatin when you don’t want the curd to be oozy, like in a cake or tart that will be sliced.
- It’s not necessary to cook the curd on a double boiler.
- You can cook the curd directly on the stove as long as you keep the heat on medium-low and stir constantly to avoid burning.
- When the curd is ready it should coat the spatula or spoon.
- The curd will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator and can be frozen for several months.
The recipe can be adapted to make other fruit curds. See the notes section of the recipe card for an all purpose fruit curd recipe.
For inspiration, here are some of my favorite recipes that use all sorts of fruit curds: Lime Layered Cheesecake, Lemon Filled Shortbread, Pink Grapefruit Meringue Tart, Pina Colada Pie.
Finally, Passion Fruit Curd, and all other fruit curds, make a great topping for Vanilla Ice Cream.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.
Fruit Curd Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder (optional)
- 4 oz passion fruit juice (or other fruit juice) (1/2 cup, see notes)
- 10 oz granulated sugar (1 1/4 cups)
- 3 large eggs
- juice from 1/2 lime
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- 3 oz unsalted butter (cut into 1″ chunks)
Instructions
- If you are using the gelatin, bloom 1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder in 2 tablespoons cold water in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
- Slice the passion fruits in half. Scoop the pulp out of the shell and put into a blender or food processor. Process the pulp to separate the pulp and seeds. Strain the pulp in a fine mesh strainer. If a lot of pulp is still stuck to the seeds, process them again with a little bit of water. Strain again. You should have about a 1/2 cup of juice. Add water if needed to get to a 1/2 cup.
- Thoroughly whisk together10 oz granulated sugar and 3 large eggs in a medium saucepan. Add the passion fruit juice, juice from 1/2 lime and ⅛ teaspoon table salt.
- Place 3 oz unsalted butter on top of the bloomed gelatin. Put a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and keep it near the stove.
- Heat the egg/juice mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly. You must be sure to keep stirring across the entire bottom and corners of the pot so the custard does not have a chance to stick. The mixture will start out opaque with a fine white foam over the surface. As it heats up the curd will thicken, become more translucent and the foam will disappear.
- Cook until the curd will coat the back of a wooden spoon and is just beginning to boil. Don't allow it to come to a full boil, just 1 or 2 bubbles and you're ready.
- Immediately remove from the heat and pour through the sieve over the butter and (optional) gelatin.
- Stir until the butter and gelatin are melted and thoroughly incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and cool a bit before putting in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerate until completely cooled. If using gelatin, allow it to sit 8 hours or overnight to gel.
Fruit Curd Variations:
- 1/2 cup juice from mango, guava, pineapple, etc.
- Adjust sugar to taste for the type of juice used. You can always use the juice from 1/2 a lime or lemon to spark the flavor. I like to use lime with mango and lemon with guava.
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I will try your curd recipes, especially the guava.
Your recipe sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it. I have frozen passionfruit pulp, How much would you use to make this recipe? I dont know how much pulp/juice 1 passionfruit would produce to follow this recipe. Thank you!
You’ll need a 1/2 cup of juice.
The recipe sound amazing. I would like to try with blood orange. How much juice should it be?
Use the same proportions as the recipe, 1/2 cup of juice. You can adjust the sugar a bit to taste.
I want to make a guava curd. What form of guava would you recommend? Guava paste seems like it would be too thick, but so many guava juices are so highly sweetened. Is there a brand you use?
I have used frozen guava puree to make curd. You can buy it on-line. But it is a bit expensive. If you end up using sweetened juice, just try to find a juice without other added ingredients and you may have to adjust the sugar in the recipe.
@Eileen Gray, how do you turn the puree into juice for the curd or do you use the puree someother way to make the curd?
Did you scroll through the step by step photos? They show how I puree and strain the passion fruit juice to make the curd.
Hi! have tou tried to use some liquor? I was going to try an orange / bitter almond liquor curd
I have not, but it sounds good. Let us know how it works if you make it.
Hi: I saw someone post about you doing a wonderful orange curd. I’m looking to use it between layers of cake . I can’t seem to find it anywhere on here. The one that I had tasted was delicious and tart. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
In the notes for my Lemon Curd Recipe you’ll find information for adapting the recipe for Orange Curd and other citrus curds.