easy passion fruit curd

by Sam on March 9, 2012

passion fruit curd

This passion fruit or granadilla curd is the perfect balance of sweetness to tart, is very easy to make, and is a wonderful decadent treat in summer.

I discovered that South Africa seems to be the only country that refers to passion fruit as granadilla, except when it comes to cordial, and then we call it passion fruit too. Anyway they are popping off vines in abundance at the moment.

passion fruit in abundance

I love this crinkly purple fruit that that engages multiple senses for me. It conjures up happy childhood memories of eating them in summer directly off my grandparents wall next to the pool, and I love that when you cut them you are confronted with an instant surge of tropical aroma.

Most often I add the pulp to my yoghurt giving it a delicious zing, but I had been wanting to try a curd for ages. I found Sophia Lindops recipe which looked quite perfect so decided to start there. I also found Tandy Sinclaires recipe for lemon curd which looked lovely and was very similar to Sophias.

The next debate with myself was should I use the pips or should I strain them out? I know some people are not fond of the pips, so decided to try both ways.

The first batch I made was a small one (half the quantity below) using strained granadilla / passion fruit juice and this yielded a small 250ml (1 cup) jar. The second batch I doubled up the quantity and used the whole pulp. I rounded the butter quantity to 120g (60g for half a batch) and both worked out perfectly.

I am not averse to the pips and found that you have to use at least double the quantity of fruit to yield the same amount for the whole fruit version. Either way, you can choose what you prefer.

For a big batch that makes around 2 cups / 500ml:

6 large eggs (free range or organic only)
120g butter
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of passion fruit pulp (strained or whole)

Heat the juice, butter and sugar in a heavy based pot until the sugar has dissolved and it reaches boiling point. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool slightly (about 3 minutes). Beat the eggs until fluffy in a bowl and then very quickly, whisking all the time add them to the hot juice. You do not want the eggs to curdle. Place this all back on the heat and whisk constantly until the mixture becomes thick. I allowed it to cool in the pot which further thickens it and then empty into a sterilised jar and store in the fridge.

This is wonderful to have on hand to create a dessert. It can be sandwiched between sponge cakes or biscuits, poured over meringues, dolloped onto pancakes or turned into gooey tarts. It is also wonderful just spooned directly out the jar.