How to Make Passion Fruit Curd (Step by Step Tutorial)

Made with just 5 ingredients and some simple steps, you can learn how to make passion fruit curd at home! You just need the best in-season fruit, egg yolks, and butter, and you’ll have a creamy, dreamy dessert that you can use with everything.

If you love a good fruit curd but have been intimidated by the process of making it or shell-shocked at the cost of store-bought, then I’m here to help! I was in your shoes, but after one good recipe, I discovered that making fruit curd at home is actually really quick and simple.

If you aren’t familiar with fruit curd, it is an amazing spread that can be enjoyed on toast or biscuits or as a filling for tarts and cookies. With less sugar than jams, it’s a perfect part of brunch or dessert.

Passion fruit curd combines all the best sweet and sour flavors in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide. It’s a fool-proof recipe that will teach you a classic culinary technique you can then replicate with any fruit you love. Do you know what tempering, a double boiler, and nappé consistency are? Let’s find out!

grab these ingredients

Everything here is a pantry staple except the passion fruit. Pick those up fresh! Once you master this recipe, you’ll be comfortable swapping out the fruit to make your own combinations. This is just an overview; jump to the recipe card for the full quantities.

• Passion Fruit Pulp: We are using the full pulp from inside each antioxidant-rich passion fruit, seeds and all. This will give us the best flavor, and the seeds will be a fun textural element.
• Egg Yolks: Egg yolks are necessary here to thicken the fruit curd. Save the whites for egg white oatmeal.
• Sugar: Don’t reduce the sugar in this recipe. It is needed to keep the integrity of the curd and balance the tartness of the fruit.
• Butter: Butter adds the perfect silkiness here.

How to make Passion Fruit Curd

There are a few processes here you might not be familiar with, but I’ll walk you through them step-by-step, and soon, you’ll be quite confident! Jump to the recipe card for the full instructions.

Step 1: Whisk the Eggs
Whisk the yolks and lemon juice until smooth. Do this in a bowl slightly larger than you think you need so we can use it for tempering later.

Step 2: Warm the Passion Fruit
Bring a pot of water on the stove to a simmer. Get yourself a separate glass bowl that fits nicely onto the pot, ensuring the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl. Add passion fruit pulp, sugar, and butter. Stir and let warm until the butter has melted.

Step 3: Temper
Now, the fun part – tempering! You’d quickly have scrambled eggs if you just added the egg yolks to the hot bowl. No one wants that in their fruit curd! Tempering is the process of adding a little bit of the warm passion fruit liquid to the bowl of egg yolks while stirring constantly. Add a tablespoon until the small bowl of eggs is warm to the touch.

Step 4: Combine it All
Now that the egg yolks are warm (close in temperature to the hot liquid in the bowl), you can slowly pour them back into the large bowl, whisking constantly! If you have it warm enough and you stir constantly, you shouldn’t have any curdled eggs.

Step 5: Cook
Now that everything is combined return the bowl to the top of the pot so you can stir and cook. What we are looking for is nappé consistency.

Step 6: Chill
Next, chill out! Carefully pour the curd into a jar and place plastic wrap directly on the surface. This is just like when making pudding, to prevent a skin from forming. Let the passion fruit butter chill for at least 4 hours to allow it to thicken.

Step 7: Serve
Spread your deliciously tropical passion curd over toast and biscuits, or use it in desserts! Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Recipe tips

Keep it Fresh: After the initial chill, you can use a regular lid on your jar. Keep it airtight, and your passion fruit curd will stay fresh all week.

Juicy: Try fresh lime juice instead of lemon for a fun little tweak.

Dirty Dishes: Yup, we’re using many different equipment and utensils here, but each one serves a purpose! A whisk is essential for texture, and a wooden spoon lets you check consistency. It’s all worth it in the end.

ways to enjoy that curd

Passionfruit curd is so good. You should definitely try a spoon by itself as a quick treat at the end of the day. But if you’re looking for more, there are many great ways to enjoy a taste of the tropics.

• Ricotta Blueberry Galette: Perfect topped with passion fruit curd instead of whipped cream.
• Greek Yogurt Biscuits: Try butter and passion fruit curd on a still-warm biscuit.
• Healthy Banana Splits: Fruit curd stirred into cottage cheese or yogurt is delicious, so add coconut!
• Eggless French Toast: A brunch favorite when dolloped with fruit curd!