This passion fruit curd recipe is the easiest because:
- You don’t have to strain it.
- You don’t have to use a double-boiler.
- You don’t have to add ingredients in several stages.
- It uses whole eggs (no separating them!).
- There’s a video! So you don’t have to use a thermometer and can just eyeball it.
One of the keys to making this recipe easy is your food processor! (But don’t worry, there’s a hack if you don’t own one.)
I know: no double-boiler! Sounds risky. But I’ve made this recipe dozens of times, and it always results in a glossy, set-yet-spreadable passion fruit curd. I love it so much, I even put it in my book!
If you’re ready to start whisking, jump to the recipe + video. Otherwise, read on to see why it works.
Food processor = the key to easy, delicious passion fruit curd
Why is your food processor the key? Well…
1. It breaks up the fibrous pulp (so, no lumps!)
I learned this trick from Erin at Cloudy Kitchen. She explains that passion fruit pulp has a lot of fibrous stuff clinging to the seeds. But by blending it in a food processor, your curd will turn out silky smooth, never lumpy with little bits of passion fruit goo floating around.
2. The food processor doesn’t pulverize the seeds (so you won’t have to strain it!)
If you were to use a high-power blender for this, the seeds would start to break down, and you might need to strain it afterwards. A food processor, on the other hand, breaks down the membranous pulpy stuff without breaking up the seeds. They stay completely intact and add a peppery crunch. No one will mistake this curd for lemon—the seeds make it unmistakably passion fruit.
3. It emulsifies the sugar and eggs with the passion fruit (so, no double-boiler!)
In a traditional recipe for curd, you would need to add the sugar and eggs/yolks together first, then whisk them until they are completely smooth. This standard technique makes the eggs less likely to break or scramble once heated. But when you’re using the food processor, you can skip this step. Or rather, let the food processor do the work for you.
After creating such a serious emulsion, your passion fruit curd is much less likely to break. So you can get away with skipping the double boiler! Just make sure you don’t let it skip past the target temperature. If you don’t have a thermometer, keep an eye on the time and heat, and make sure you watch the video below to know what to look for.
4. You don’t have to separate the eggs!
Although… the food processor doesn’t get credit for this one. It’s just that I designed this recipe so that it uses whole eggs instead of yolks. And that’s because I can’t stand separating eggs. I mean, the actual separating is not such a hassle, but I despise having to find a use for all those whites afterwards.
If you don’t have a thermometer, no worries!
If you don’t have a thermometer, you’ll just need to pay close attention to the signs. It’s going to take a slightly different amount of time for everyone, depending on your stove, etc. But the time guidelines in the recipe will keep you on the right general track.
But more than timings, you should pay attention to what the curd looks like, because that is the best indicator of whether it is done. The video above will help the most, but here are some screen shots and descriptions of what it looks like at various stages of doneness:
At room temperature, passion fruit curd is the consistency of orange juice with added pulp. It’s watery, a bit dull in color, and usually has a layer of foam on the top. At this point, you can safely keep the heat at medium-low (a bit more on the medium side) while whisking constantly.
At 140°F [60°C], passion fruit curd begins to give off some wisps of steam. Look carefully and you’ll notice them. It also starts to thicken slightly, and becomes a bit brighter in color. The foam is still there, but there’s less of it. At this point, begin to reduce the heat gradually while still whisking constantly.
At 167°F [75°C], passion fruit curd significantly thickens and becomes even brighter. There is no longer foam on the surface, and it is a bit steamier than it was at 140°F [60°C]. Do not let it go much past this point because it will start to curdle at 180°F [82°C]. Don’t stop whisking!
Ways to use it
- Scone topping: spread on your favorite scones (especially with clotted cream on the side).
- Passion fruit olive oil cake (you can find my recipe here or check out Piecemeal)
- Layer cake filling: Make a buttercream border, and then fill with passion fruit, so it doesn’t ooze out the sides when you add on the next layer. Curd works best for cake designs that don’t need a ton of structural integrity.
- Passion fruit fool: Whip cream to medium-peaks, then swirl in some curd. For the best appearance, add a couple blobs and then give it a couple swirls.
- Yogurt parfait: Top a bowl of yogurt with passion fruit curd.
- Over-the-top strawberry shortcakes: Add a bit to some strawberry shortcakes for an upgrade.
- You can also use this passion fruit curd in place of lemon curd in just about any recipe. It will almost always work great, but sometimes it might not substitute perfectly. But have fun experimenting!
Lemonpassion fruit bars,lemon curdpassion fruit cookies, even a loaf cake that calls for a curd in the original recipe. The sky’s the limit!
easiest passion fruit curd
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 1/3 cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup [235g] passion fruit pulp
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup [150g] sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp [55g] cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
Instructions
- Place the passion fruit pulp, eggs, sugar, and salt in a food processor* fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse several times, stopping once it’s completely combined.
- Place the mixture in a small saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly until it thickens significantly. Gradually lower the heat and be careful not to let it overheat. It will start to thicken at around 140°F [60°C], and will fully thicken at around 167°F [75°C], which takes 10 to 15 minutes at medium-low. Don’t go over 180°F [82°C].**
- Once the curd reaches the target temperature and consistency, remove from the heat and immediately add the butter, whisking constantly until it disappears completely.
- Passion fruit curd will keep in the fridge for about 7 days, but it’s best stored in the freezer for at least 3 months.
Notes
* If you don’t have a food processor, you can whisk by hand, but you’ll need to whisk the eggs and sugar together first until completely smooth, otherwise you’ll end up with flecks of egg white in the finished product. You should also whisk your passion fruit pulp separately to break up the fibrous bits. Do not use a blender or you might pulverize the seeds. A food processor will just loosen the pulp while leaving the seeds whole.
** If you don’t have a thermometer, watch the video so you know what to look out for in terms of texture and viscosity.
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Psst… by the way, I love this recipe so much, I ended up including it in my cookbook, Piecemeal.
If you like this recipe as much as I do, you might like my book! It’s full of mix-and-match recipes and inspiration for fun and easy meals.
The cookbook also has recipes for scones, passion fruit cake, and frozen milk chocolate passion fruit bars. And all three recipes use this one as their base!
