Oh hello there. I really didn’t mean to take a 6 month break from blogging, but 2020 was a YEAR, am I right? Without a doubt, the best part to come out of the year-that-shall-not-be-named is my thriving quarantine garden. It’s my new favourite hobby and I love learning all about growing veggies.
I’ve had my share of rookie mistakes… like when I planted an entire packet of seeds and ended up with 40+ capsicum plants. Or managed to kill rosemary (twice), which are meant to be hardy and almost indestructible. The cherry tomatoes I grew from seed are taller than me now. I’ve grown some very oddly shaped cucumbers, learned how to hand pollinate zucchinis, have been to Bunnings at least once a week and yes, I still have a completely irrational slug phobia.
All in all, I would call this season a success and I am loving cooking with things I have grown myself. It definitely has re-inspired my long-time love of preserving. I’ve made countless batches of Tomato & Chilli Jam and Zucchini Pickles which were gifted to friends and family for Christmas.
In addition to preserving the things I’ve grown myself, our neighbours have a massive sprawling passionfruit vine that has taken over our side of the fence too. Every time I go outside there are a few more ripe passionfruit that have fallen to the ground – fair game, right?
So today we are making one of my favourite things – passionfruit curd!
If you’ve ever had lemon curd, you’ll know the creamy and sweet spread that is perfect on pancakes or in a pie crust. Passionfruit curd is like its tangy tropical cousin. The method is very similar and uses only a few basic ingredients – butter, sugar, eggs, passionfruit juice and a little lemon juice. Only about 10 minutes and a bit of whisking separate you from perfect curd. If you can wield a whisk, you can make this recipe!
My best tips for making passionfruit curd…
- Seedless passionfruit curd can often be better for filling cakes and tarts so I like to strain out the seeds and set them aside. Sometimes I will add a few tablespoons of the seeds back in at the very end. This way you get to control the amount of seeds present for a more pleasant texture as you eat it.
- Store in the fridge. Because curd contains eggs you have to treat it a little differently to a jam and always store in the fridge. It will last around 3 weeks. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months and defrost overnight in the fridge before you use it.
- Use a silicone whisk. Some people think that using a metal whisk can react with the eggs and lemon. I haven’t had this problem personally, however it’s easily avoidable by using a silicone whisk.
- Use a low heat. Some people prefer to make curd in a double boiler (with a non-metal bowl of course) but I just keep the heat a little lower to avoid burning the curd or scrambling the eggs.
- If you’re nervous that you may have scrambled the eggs (don’t worry, it happens to the best of us!) just strain the mixture with a fine sieve.
- Some recipes call for egg yolks only but I like this one that uses 3 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks. The whole eggs help to thicken the curd to a scoop-able consistency which is helpful if you’re using it in between cake layers or sandwich cookies. It will also thicken as it chills in the fridge.
- I used fresh passionfruit because I have a ton of them but if passionfruit isn’t in season you can also use canned juice.
- I also made my very first Reel on Instagram if you want to see how I made it!
There are so many ways to use your delicious homemade Passionfruit Curd. My favourite way is swirled with cream on top of a pavlova or through my No Churn ice cream mixture. If you want to get fancy you can try this cake inspired by Christina Tosi from Momofuku, which my sister declared as her favourite of all the birthday cakes I have ever made for her. It’s also completely delicious on a warm scone or a piece of toast. If you’ve got a glut of fresh passionfruit, then you really can’t go wrong!
Homemade Passionfruit Curd
Passionfruit curd is like lemon curd's tangy tropical cousin. The method is very similar and uses only a few basic ingredients. Only about 10 minutes and a bit of whisking separate you from perfect curd. If you can wield a whisk, you can make this recipe!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup 160ml passionfruit juice (seeds strained out and reserved)
- 165 g butter
- 3/4 cup caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
Instructions
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Place passionfruit juice, butter and caster sugar into a saucepan and whisk over medium heat until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved
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Put 3 eggs and 2 egg yolks into a bowl and whisk them together. Pour the passionfruit mixture over the eggs slowly and whisk them together.
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Put the mixture back into the saucepan and whisk continuously for 6-7 minutes until it has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Sometimes I like to add a few tablespoons of the passionfruit seeds back into the curd.
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Pour into sterilised jars and store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.