Passion Fruit Curd & Other Fruit Curds
Passion Fruit Curd is just one variation of this adaptable recipe. Fruit curds can be made with citrus fruit, mango, passion fruit, pineapple, and others. Curds are easy to make and so versatile in the kitchen.
My custom cake business, Cake Art Studio, had a fairly large menu of cake flavors. One of the most popular was the Luscious Lemon Cake and that cake is now one of the most popular recipes on Baking Sense.
The base for that wonderful cake is a really great lemon curd recipe. If you’ve got extra egg yolks, you can make this Yolks Only Lemon Curd.
Citrus juices make wonderful curd and lemon curd is a pastry kitchen staple, but passion fruit curd is one of my favorites. I just adore the floral tropical flavor.
Passion Fruit Curd is the perfect filling for Coconut Cake and Coconut Macaroons.
It’s a bit of work to get the juice from fresh passion fruit, and passion fruit can be a little expensive. But if you’re looking to make a tart or cake with an unusual flavor, I think it’s well worth the effort.
Scroll through the step by step photos to see how to make Passion Fruit Curd (and other fruit curds):
Tips for making Passion Fruit Curd and other types of Fruit Curd:
- Always combine the sugar with the eggs before adding the fruit juice. If you add the juice to eggs without the sugar, the acidic juice will “cook” the eggs.
- The gelatin is optional. Instructions for blooming gelatin can be found here.
- If you’re using the curd for a spread or sauce you don’t need the gelatin.
- Use the gelatin when you don’t want the curd to be oozy, like in a cake or tart that will be sliced.
- It’s not necessary to cook the curd on a double boiler.
- You can cook the curd directly on the stove as long as you keep the heat on medium-low and stir constantly to avoid burning.
- When the curd is ready it should coat the spatula or spoon.
- The curd will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator and can be frozen for several months.
The recipe can be adapted to make other fruit curds. See the notes section of the recipe card for an all purpose fruit curd recipe.
For inspiration, here are some of my favorite recipes that use all sorts of fruit curds: Lime Layered Cheesecake, Lemon Filled Shortbread, Pink Grapefruit Meringue Tart, Pina Colada Pie.
Finally, Passion Fruit Curd, and all other fruit curds, make a great topping for Vanilla Ice Cream.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.
Fruit Curd Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder (optional)
- 4 oz passion fruit juice (or other fruit juice) (1/2 cup, see notes)
- 10 oz granulated sugar (1 1/4 cups)
- 3 large eggs
- juice from 1/2 lime
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- 3 oz unsalted butter (cut into 1″ chunks)
Instructions
- If you are using the gelatin, bloom 1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder in 2 tablespoons cold water in a medium size bowl. Set aside.
- Slice the passion fruits in half. Scoop the pulp out of the shell and put into a blender or food processor. Process the pulp to separate the pulp and seeds. Strain the pulp in a fine mesh strainer. If a lot of pulp is still stuck to the seeds, process them again with a little bit of water. Strain again. You should have about a 1/2 cup of juice. Add water if needed to get to a 1/2 cup.
- Thoroughly whisk together10 oz granulated sugar and 3 large eggs in a medium saucepan. Add the passion fruit juice, juice from 1/2 lime and ⅛ teaspoon table salt.
- Place 3 oz unsalted butter on top of the bloomed gelatin. Put a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and keep it near the stove.
- Heat the egg/juice mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly. You must be sure to keep stirring across the entire bottom and corners of the pot so the custard does not have a chance to stick. The mixture will start out opaque with a fine white foam over the surface. As it heats up the curd will thicken, become more translucent and the foam will disappear.
- Cook until the curd will coat the back of a wooden spoon and is just beginning to boil. Don't allow it to come to a full boil, just 1 or 2 bubbles and you're ready.
- Immediately remove from the heat and pour through the sieve over the butter and (optional) gelatin.
- Stir until the butter and gelatin are melted and thoroughly incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and cool a bit before putting in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerate until completely cooled. If using gelatin, allow it to sit 8 hours or overnight to gel.
Fruit Curd Variations:
- 1/2 cup juice from mango, guava, pineapple, etc.
- Adjust sugar to taste for the type of juice used. You can always use the juice from 1/2 a lime or lemon to spark the flavor. I like to use lime with mango and lemon with guava.
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I love the “no double-boiler” recipe, as well as the addition of gelatin because it takes so long to become thick when you use other recipes that rely on the boiler method. Thanks!
Can I use a purée instead of a fruit juice???
Absolutely!
Making this with lime so I can make your layered cheesecake recipe. It’s a lot to do, but damn those pics made my mouth water. Thank you for the easy to follow recipes. Yum yum!!
You’re gonna love that layered cheesecake!
I will try your curd recipes, especially the guava.
Your recipe sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it. I have frozen passionfruit pulp, How much would you use to make this recipe? I dont know how much pulp/juice 1 passionfruit would produce to follow this recipe. Thank you!
You’ll need a 1/2 cup of juice.
The recipe sound amazing. I would like to try with blood orange. How much juice should it be?
Use the same proportions as the recipe, 1/2 cup of juice. You can adjust the sugar a bit to taste.
I want to make a guava curd. What form of guava would you recommend? Guava paste seems like it would be too thick, but so many guava juices are so highly sweetened. Is there a brand you use?
I have used frozen guava puree to make curd. You can buy it on-line. But it is a bit expensive. If you end up using sweetened juice, just try to find a juice without other added ingredients and you may have to adjust the sugar in the recipe.
@Eileen Gray, how do you turn the puree into juice for the curd or do you use the puree someother way to make the curd?
Did you scroll through the step by step photos? They show how I puree and strain the passion fruit juice to make the curd.
Hi! have tou tried to use some liquor? I was going to try an orange / bitter almond liquor curd
I have not, but it sounds good. Let us know how it works if you make it.
Hi: I saw someone post about you doing a wonderful orange curd. I’m looking to use it between layers of cake . I can’t seem to find it anywhere on here. The one that I had tasted was delicious and tart. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
In the notes for my Lemon Curd Recipe you’ll find information for adapting the recipe for Orange Curd and other citrus curds.
Thank you for such a great recipe!! So excited about trying it out. I am going try to make guava curd this week, but wanted to know how long does it last typically?
Hi Mona. I love guava curd, especially in a coconut cake! Do you mean how long does it stay fresh? In the refrigerator it will keep for several weeks. Curd also freezes very well for longer term storage.
Hi can this curd with gelatine added be frozen successfully?
Absolutely!
Do you think you could make a cranberry curd? What qty would you use?
I’m sure you can make cranberry curd. I would start with the quantities listed and then adjust the sugar to taste.
Hey this recipe looks amazing. I want to make Some cupcakes filled with a passion fruit curd. iOS it okay to fill the cupcake the day before and have them sit out unrefrigerated?
Hi Nellie, If you’re filling the cupcakes the day before I would refrigerate them over night (because of the eggs in the mix). Just take them out of the refrigerator an hour or two before serving so they can soften before serving.
I used this curd recipe with passion fruit . I found the curd disappointingly sweet once the butter was added. I did use the gelatin as well. Any suggestions on how to alter proportions to maintain a good texture and allowing the fruit to shine through? The delicious fresh fruit flavor was obliterated.
Did you use fresh passion fruits or a bottled juice? Bottled juice may have added sugar. I’ve made this recipe dozens of times and I would not say the fruit flavor is obliterated. You can reduce the sugar by 1/4 to 1/2 cup and see how you like it. As some point the texture will change if you reduce the sugar too far. You’ll have to experiment to get the flavor you like best.
Thankyou so much for this recipe! I needed an orange curd that won’t run out of a massive layer cake. I failed three times with other recipes which were all too runny. Yours was perfect. Cheers!
Yay!
Hi, i’d Like to try to make it today. I have a quick question, are you using the whole eggs or only egg yolks?
Thanks!
I use whole eggs. I would specify “yolks” if that’s the case.
Hi!
I’ve been using the “gelatinized” version of this recipe for months. I love it!
However, I have a bit of a problem with my last batch, and was wondering if you could offer any help.
I doubled the batch, but forgot to double the gelatin!!! It is not as firm as I prefer.
Is there anyway I could go back and add the extra needed gelatin? I was thinking maybe I could warm it up, mix with the extra bloomed gelatin? Would that work?
Thanks for any advice you have!
Yes, do exactly as you said. Warm the curd until it’s more liquid, then stir in the bloomed gelatin.
Worked perfect. Included gelatine and made lemon tarts. Tasted great. Thanks for the detailed instructions as it helped me.
That’s grea, Alison. Thanks for the feedback.
I’d like to make a mango lime curd for my son’s birthday cake this week. Can you please advise on how to do this with fresh mango fruit and lime juice? Also, how much sugar should I use. Thanks!
Hi Kristy. I would start with the same proportions as the Passion Fruit Curd. Give it a little taste and then adjust the flavor by adding more lime juice or more sugar. Also, if you’re using fresh mango you might want to strain it to get the fibrous bits out.
Hi Eileen,
Many many thanks for your advice and literally getting me out of a STICKY situation. I’m forever grateful.
So I ended up using 2 1/4 tsp gelatine and it did the tick. I couldn’t have hoped for a better result and have been meaning to come back on to your page to say Thankyou and to leave my findings for someone else that may need the help. I would love to post a photo of the slice for you but I’m not entirely sure
I know how to go about that , or perhaps I can email to you and you could post it if needed. Thankyou and I look forward to diving into to your cookbook one day.
I glad that worked Sarah. Did you leave out the cornstarch this time? If you’re on social media (Facebook, Instagram) you can post the photo and tag me so I see it. Otherwise you can email it to me.
Ok, I will look you up on Instagram.
Oh and yeah, I left out the cornstarch. Thanks for the tip, it actually tasted so much better with just the gelatine
This looks great but is there something I can use in place of gelatin to help firm the curd? I am allergic to gelatin and need to avoid it. Thanks so much!
Hi Pam. The gelatin is only needed if you want to make the curd hold it’s shape, like if you’re putting in a cake cake. You could try adding an extra egg which should make it set thicker. Here’s an article that I found that lists vegetarian alternatives for gelatin. Perhaps one of them would work for you?
I had not seen this article. You are wonderful! Thank you.
You’re quite welcome.
Hi there, looking to use some gelatin to firm up my raspberry curd although not sure how much to use? My recipe is 300g frozen raspberries, 110g sugar 2 tablespoons cornflour, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons water, 2 egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of butter. Followed above but still not firm enough for layer cake. Can you help me out? Thanks in advance
The problem with using cornstarch as a thickener is that when you stir the curd after it’s been set you’ll break the mixture so the water leaks out. If you’re interested you can read more about it in my Pastry Cream post. That’s why I use gelatin for curd. Corn starch is better suited to something like pudding (the US definition of “pudding” i.e., custard). Generally, a tablespoon of gelatin will set 2 cups of liquid. But that set is quite firm, like a jello mold. You’re recipe as listed, has about 15 oz of juice/sugar. My curd recipe has about the same amount. Although 15-16 oz is close to 2 cups of liquid, I only use 1 1/2 teaspoons of gelatin. First of all the eggs help thicken the curd. Also, I don’t want a super firm, jello like texture for the curd. I would suggest you start with removing the cornflour (cornstarch). Bloom 1 1/2 teaspoons of powdered gelatin in the water. Add the bloomed gelatin to the hot curd along with the butter. See how it turns out and nudge up or down the amount of gelatin to get the texture that you like. Let me know how it turns out.
I used your recipe and made amazing curd with my instant pot. I have made Lemon, Key lime, Lilikoi, Guava & Mango. All from local fruit. Waiting to try Pineapple and Coconu it has been a perfect cake filling
Mahalo from Hawi Hawaii!
That sounds amazing, Nancy. I have to admit that I don’t own an instant pot and I’m starting to feel like I need to take the plunge and see what all the excitement is about. What is lilikoi? I’ve never heard of it. I’m fruit-obsessed so always love discovering new fruits.
Lilikoi is passion fruit. We call it Lilikoi in Hawaii I also made this curd with lilikoi from the vine in our yard. I made the gelation version to fill a cake. It was superb. Thank you. Onto strawberry guava curd, which is a popular combo here in Hawaii.
I can’t tell you how jealous I am as I sit here is snowy Pennsylvania! Strawberry guava sounds amazing. I love guava curd with coconut cake!
Do you have a recipe for strawberry guava curd? I would LOVE to have one! Our tree is producing so much I need to create new yummies!
There are instructions for making guava curd in the notes section of the recipe card. You can replace some of the guava puree with strawberry puree to make Strawberry/Guava.
Hi! I am excited to try this recipe with guavas. I can buy guava pulp in the frozen section of my supermarket. Would you use the same amount of guava (1/2 cup)?
Hi Oli. Yes, I would use the same amount if the pulp is thin like a juice. Is the pulp unsweetened? You may have to adjust the sugar a bit depending on the sweetness of the pulp. I have made guava curd before and I think I might have used a little lime juice to spark the flavor. Guava curd is AMAZING in coconut cake.
This looks like a great recipe. I’m about to give it a try and am experimenting with a couple other flavors like blueberry. Have you ever tried strawberry? I’m kinda assuming i will have to reduce strawberry puree so that the flavor comes out stronger
Thanks again!
Hi Jacob. I have not done strawberry specifically but I agree that you might want to reduce the juice to get a better flavor. Also adding a little lemon juice will enhance the flavor of the strawberry.
Thank you so much for posting this. I’m making a gingerbread layer cake filled with orange curd and I was having difficulty getting it to set enough to work. The gelatin was perfect. It gave me the exact consistency I needed without dulling the flavor or making it rubbery. Woohoo!
Yipee! So glad to hear that. Curd is one of my absolute favorite things in the world.
Hi Eileen, thanks for the fab curd recipe, my only question I have is can I reheat the curd to add geletin to make it a bit firmer as it’s just a tad to runner for my tarts?
Hi Melissa. Yes, you can reheat the curd. What I would do is bloom the amount of gelatin you want to add. Microwave the curd until it’s runny and warm and then stir in the bloomed gelatin so it melts.
Can you make this as a raspberry curd for a cake filling? If so how?
Hi Evelyn. You can make a raspberry curd using a 1/2 cup of strained raspberry puree. I would reduce to the sugar to 10 oz (1 1/4 cups) and add the juice of 1 lemon. If you want to use it as a cake filling definitely use the optional gelatin in the recipe. Also, pipe a “dam” of buttercream around the edge so the curd doesn’t leak out.
Thanks for the advice! I tried making this last night, but this morning it was the consistency of jello, so I think something went wrong. Any suggestions on how to fix this problem? Or any ideas of what I did wrong?
I assume you refrigerated the curd? The gelatin will make it firmer, which is good. A firmer curd will stay in the cake when it’s cut. You can use a spatula to soften the curd to a spreadable consistency. Also, as it warms up it will soften. If you watch the videos in my Luscious Lemon Cake and Layered Cheesecake posts you can see the texture of the curd with gelatin. For both those recipes I let the curd soften at room temp for a little while before assembling the cake. You can also see when I slice the cakes how the curd holds it’s shape.
Just tried this recipe. It is now my hands down favorite curd recipe! Super easy and came out perfect. I used it for individual tarts but I still used the gelatin cause I didn’t want the filling running when bit or cut into. Perfect!
Thanks you for sharing
That’s great. Which flavor did you make?
Hi, I’d like to fill little tart shells with mango curd, and to top them with meringue. Will I need to use the gelatin? Please advise. Thank you 🙂
Hi Faten. If you’re putting the curd into individual tarts shells you don’t need the gelatin. I use the gelatin when I want the curd to hold it’s shape, e.g., when I use it to fill a cake layer or a large tart that will be served in slices. Mango Meringue tartlettes sound amazing! I’d love to see a photo after you make them. You can post a photo on my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram.
I’m thinking of trying this recipe because I need a firm curd for macarons, so I will be using the gelatin. If I want to pipe it onto my macs, would you recommend I pipe them before or after setting? Also have you tried this with other fruits like any kind of berry or mango?
Hi Carla, This curd works really well as a macaron filling. I’ve used the lemon curd to fill yellow macarons with great success. You will have to wait until the curd sets to pipe since it’s pretty runny when it’s just made. I’ve tried making curd with some other juices. Mango might be good. In general, I like curd made from very tart fruit juice like citrus or passionfruit. If you use a different juice you’ll just have to experiment with the amount of sugar depending on how sweet the juice is. Also, when using something like Mango a little bit of lime or lemon juice added will often brighten the flavor a bit. Let me know how it turns out if you experiment.
Thank you so much for the pointers! I’m going to be experimenting tomorrow with mangoes and apricots! I’ll definitely let you know how it turns out!