This easy passion fruit curd recipe uses whole passion fruit to achieve a silky smooth curd that’s fragrant and lush. Sweet Tart Passion Fruit Curd is delicious on sponge cake or dolloped into fruit tarts.
Passion fruit is such an exotic tropical fruit, don’t you think? Its essence is more tart than sweet with an aroma so distinct and specific, it’s immediately recognizable. You can buy passion fruit pulp (in the freezer section) or passion fruit nectar in cans at the grocery store, but if you can get your hands on the actual fruit, that’s a prize worth celebrating. And if you can get the real stuff, don’t just toss it into a smoothie or cocktail. Instead, turn it into this luscious, sweet-tart passion fruit curd.
Look at that gorgeous fruit! With a wrinkled, rosy skin and just a hint of the sweet perfume, you probably wouldn’t give much thought to these if you saw them in the market. But slice one open and its impossible to ignore its heady fragrance. If there is such a thing as a “sexy” fruit — this is it!
Trouble is, they’re loaded with seeds! Tons of little black seeds floating in that gelatinous goo that is the passion fruit. To separate the goo from the bad, whiz them around in a blender, pulsing several times. This will break the seeds from their membranes so you can collect the nectar. Just place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl (or a glass measuring cup) and pour the mashup through the sieve.
Stir and press on the seeds until you’ve extracted all of the pulp and juice. Now you’ve got something to work with!
To make the curd, separate the yolks from the whites and add them to a large saucepan along with the passion fruit juice and sugar.
Cook, stirring constantly until the curd starts to thicken. Make sure your temperature doesnt get too high, you don’t want to scramble the eggs. Remove from the heat and add the butter one tablespoon at a time, stirring until it melts completely before adding another knob.
Just to be sure that there’s no egg particles left in the curd, strain it once more. It may seem like overkill, but trust me, you’ll weed out some solids that don’t belong in your velvety curd.
What do you do with passion fruit curd? Here’s a few ideas:
- Add a few dollops to a slice of pound cake with fresh berries
- Spoon it onto scones.
- Fold it into whipped cream and use it as a filling for profiteroles.
- Spread it over a sponge cake and roll into a jelly roll.
- Sandwich between meringue cookies.
- Or (my favorite) lick it right off the spoon.
The flavor is just as intense as it’s bright yellow color indicates and this luscious passion fruit curd is impossible to resist.
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Sweet Tart Passion Fruit Curd
Ingredients
- 7 large egg yolks
- 6-7 passion fruit
- 1 cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into chunks.
Instructions
- Slice each passion fruit in half and scoop the pulp into a blender. On low speed, pulse the blender to separate the seeds from their gelatinous membrane, but not enough to puree the seeds. Rest a fine mesh sieve over a small bowl and pour the passion fruit into the sieve. Use the back of a spoon to press out the juice, stirring and pressing several times, until you're just left with pulp and seeds in the sieve. Discard pulp and seeds. You should have about 1/2 cup of passion fruit juice.
- In a small saucepan, combine the egg yolks, passion fruit juice and sugar. Stir constantly over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat. Add salt and butter, one chunk at a time, stirring after each addition until the butter melts.
- Place a clean sieve or fine mesh strainer over a small bowl and pour the curd into the strainer. Stir the curd, pushing gently through the sieve (you're removing any egg solids from the curd by straining a second time -- and ensuring a silky smooth texture). Transfer curd to a serving bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap to the top of the curd to avoid a skin. Refrigerate until chilled. Can be made one day ahead.
Nutrition
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Hi Lisa! Would it be possible to cut this recipe in half? If so, should I use three egg yolks or four? This looks gorgeous, and I’m excited to try it!
Hi Shauna! I’ve never tried cutting the recipe before. If you use 3 egg yolks the curd might be a bit thinner. If you use 4, it would be thicker. So, depending on what you’re doing with the curd, consider those factors.
I made this and it’s delicious! I’m using as a filling in macarons. How long can it be refrigerated for after it’s made though?
I’ve kept it for up to two weeks.
Can this be processed/canned for a longer shelf life?
I’ve never tried it before, but I would think you could… after all lemon curd can be canned. If you’re adept at canning and already have your method, go for it — and let me know how it goes. If you need a resource, I’m currently reading “Put ‘Em Up” by Sherry Brooks Vinton — all about canning and fermenting.
Hi Lisa, I just made this and it is absolutely delicious!!! Just wondering if the same recipe would work for lemon curd too, ie half a cup of lemon juice? My lemon curd recipe is a bit hit and miss and this one was so easy and worked so well!
Yes, you can do the same thing with lemon juice.
This Passion Fruit Curd is AMAZING!! I’m just about to make a lot of it for gifts! Could you possibly tell me what you think the shelf life is of the curd if kept in the refrigerator? Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!
So glad you liked it, Lori! My Mom actually requested that I make the passion fruit tartlets for our Thanksgiving — she likes it that much! This should hold up for about 10 days in the fridge — not that it ever lasts that long if you know it’s there…
How much does this recipe yield in cups?
Between 2 and 2 1/2 cups.
Hiii just made your delicious curd, i have a question… mine is not very thick, but covers the spoon… I already put butter and everything on it… what can I do or is it ok like that?
Thank you so much!!
The curd should thicken in the refrigerator.
Sounds delicious, how much of the passion fruit pulp ? Fresh are not available in my area.
Thank you
Use half a cup of passion fruit pulp/juice for the curd — it’s potent stuff.
Can this curd be frozen? Thank you.
Though I’ve never frozen curd — I’m too impatient and generally want to eat it right away, I did find this article which says fruit curds can be frozen for up to one year…https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/lemoncurd.pdf
I also have a passion vine which is laden with fruit. Can you please tell me how long the curd will keep for, if bottled ?? I’ve never made it before, but would like to give it a go. Thank you
I’ve kept it in a jar for up to a week, but usually I just use it in a pie or tart as soon as I’ve made it. Also good on a slice of pound cake or as another layer in a trifle.
My bad. I just read that it says 1/2 cup in the recipe. 😀
How much bottled passion fruit juice should I use in place of the 6–7 fresh?
Just finished making the passion fruit curd and it is delicious. I make lemon curd on a regular basis as I have 7 lemon trees but sure my friends are tiring of it. My passion fruit vine is collapsing under the weight of the fruit and I am running out of room in my freezer — I put pulp through a strainer and then pour juice into plastic containers so that I can make pitchers of passion fruit juice as needed. This curd recipe is now my go to recipe. I did make one small change and that was to use castor sugar rather than granulated. It dissolves much easier and eliminates any gritty texture.
Wow, you are so fortunate to have a passion fruit vine! I’m jealous! Glad that you liked the curd, we do too — especially in a shortbread tart! You’ll have to take a photo and post it on your Facebook or Instagram and be sure to tag me @garlicandzest.
I bought Passion fruit Curd in Maui at a stand by the ocean & I had never even heard of it, just lemon curd. It was out of this world delicious! It was a half pint jar of curd that the lady had made & was selling it. I had 3 days to eat it before leaving on my vacation & it was all gone. Too good to leave behind. Looking forward to have it again.
I know — isn’t it THE BEST THING EVER??? Totally worth it!
Thank you for including all the steps, this looks amazing, pinning for later and sharing!
Thank you Sara!
I think I ate enough passion fruit to last me a lifetime when I was a child and I still can’t get enough of the stuff. It is so amazing as a curd, especially paired with chocolate.
I’ve never tried it with chocolate before. Sounds great!
Funnily enough I’ve just been blogging about curd too. Blood orange curd. I adore the flavour of passion fruit but it’s so expensive that I very rarely do anything but just eat it as is.
I’ve never had blood orange curd, so I’ll definitely have to check out your recipe! Living in South Florida, we have a lot of citrus and tropical fruits – so they’re generally more moderately priced — or I have a neighbor with a tree or plant. LOL!
I love making lemon curd, so this intrigued me when I saw it on Facebook… I’ve never had passionfruit (that I know of) and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it fresh, but now you have me thinking I need to see if I can find the frozen pulp – I bet that will be available! I need to try this and see what it is like!
Frozen pulp or even canned nectar would probably work as well. It’s to die for!
Yum! That looks delicious and so easy!
Glad you like it Sam!
Lisa..I have been looking for a good recipe for passion fruit curd for a long time..thanks for posting it looks delicious
Happy to oblige. I warn you – this one is outstanding.
I cannot wait to make this! Everytime I go to the store I check to see if they have passionfruit yet… and so far no luck… but it must be soon and I can’t wait!!!
Sooooo good!
It’s coming, Katrina!!!