This passionfruit ginger curd is bright, tangy, and luxuriously smooth, with a bold tropical flavor. It’s vibrant and punchy, with just enough intrigue and warmth from the fresh ginger.
Passionfruit is my favorite fruit flavor, and I love using this curd anywhere I want a pop of in-your-face acidity and brightness. Try it swirled into frosting, layered into cakes, piped into tartlets, spooned over yogurt, or simply eaten straight from the jar.
Recipe highlights
- Bold, tangy passionfruit flavor with a super silky, spoonable texture
- Optional fresh ginger adds warmth that complements the tropical fruit flavor
- Made with just a few simple ingredients and no special equipment
- Perfect for cakes, tarts, pavlovas, cheesecakes, and dessert fillings
- A great alternative to lemon curd when you want something more exotic
Recipe overview
⏱️ Prep: ~5 minutes • Cook: 10–15 minutes • Total: ~20 minutes
🍴 Yield: About 1½ cups curd
💪 Skill level: Beginner
😋 Flavor profile: Bright, tart, tangy, & tropical with gentle ginger warmth. Pairs well with: Chocolate, vanilla, coconut, citrus, berries, tropical fruits.
What Is passionfruit curd?
Passionfruit curd is similar to lemon curd, but made with passionfruit juice or purée instead of citrus. It has the same rich, custardy base of eggs, sugar, and butter, but with a much bolder, punchier fruit flavor.
Passionfruit brings an intense tanginess and floral tropical aroma that I absolutely love (and crave) in desserts, especially when paired with chocolate, cream, or buttery pastry.
Fresh passionfruit vs frozen purée
To make passionfruit curd, you can use either whole, fresh fruits or a premade frozen juice or purée. Fresh passionfruit can be difficult to find depending on where you live. It’s nearly impossible to find here in the Pacific Northwest, so I usually make this recipe using defrosted frozen passionfruit purée — and it works wonderfully!
Here are your options:
- Frozen passionfruit purée: Convenient, consistent, and easy to use. Thaw completely before starting the recipe.
- Fresh passionfruit: Scoop out the pulp, pulse it a few times in a blender or food processor, and strain out the seeds if desired. You’ll need 6-8 passionfruit for this recipe.
Fresh fruit is fun to use if you have access to it, but either option works well. Both versions produce a smooth, vibrant, brightly colored curd with excellent flavor.
My favorite brand of frozen purée is The Perfect Purée, but you can use anything that is pure passionfruit and doesn’t contain additional ingredients. A small amount of added sugar is fine, but I don’t recommend getting sweetened juice for this.
How to make passionfruit ginger curd
Find the full ingredients list and detailed recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview of how to make this recipe:
- Mix ingredients: Whisk together the passionfruit purée, lime juice, grated ginger, sugar, egg yolks, and pinch of salt in a heat-proof bowl.
- Cook gently: Place bowl over a sauce pot with about 2 inches of water in it. Bring the water to a low simmer and cook gently, whisking often, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Add butter: Remove from heat and whisk in butter until fully melted and smooth.
- Strain: For an ultra-silky texture, pass through a fine mesh sieve and then cool completely before using or storing.
Note: The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. It’s done cooking when the mixture turns opaque, is viscous, and can coat the back of a spoon.
Pro tips for perfect passionfruit curd
Use gentle heat. When making curd, the biggest risk is cooking the eggs too quickly and scrambling them. A lot of curd recipes call for cooking the ingredients in a saucepan directly on the heat of the stove, but I highly recommend against that!
Instead, set up a makeshift double boiler. Simply add about two inches of water to a small pot on the stove. Whisk your curd ingredients together in a heatproof glass or metal bowl that will fit snugly on top of the pot, without touching the water. Bring the water to a low simmer and cook the curd slowly, whisking frequently. This indirect heat is a much gentler way to cook, and your curd is sure to come out without any weird eggy lumps!
Whisk frequently. This ensures a smooth, lump-free curd and reduces the risk of burning.
Cover it directly. Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of your finished curd, before it cools down. If you skip this step, the curd may develop a “skin” on top as it cools.
Let it chill. Remember that fruit curd firms up quite a bit as it cools, so resist the urge to over-cook it on the stove. Cook it until it’s thickened, opaque, and viscous enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Strain for texture perfection. I always recommend going the extra mile to strain your final curd for bakery-level silky-smoothness, but you definitely want to strain this one so you can remove the grated ginger. We want that added flavor, but we don’t want stringy chunks left behind!
Variations & flavor ideas
No ginger: Skip the ginger entirely if you’re looking for a classic passionfruit curd recipe.
Extra spice: Add a lightly smashed chili pepper to the mixture and strain it out with the ginger at the end.
Coconut passionfruit curd: Swap some (or all) of the butter for coconut butter. Yum!
Citrus options: Substitute the fresh lime juice with lemon, orange, yuzu, or even pineapple juice for a slightly different flavor profile.
👉 Looking for other curd recipes? Try grapefruit curd, lemon olive oil curd, hawthorn berry curd, or fresh mango curd.
How to use passionfruit ginger curd
What can you use passionfruit curd for? I’d personally like to put it on everything! This curd is so delicious and incredibly versatile. Try it:
- As a cake filling (it’s the star of my Chocolate Passionfruit Cake, but it would also be lovely with a vanilla cake)
- Spooned over pavlova, yogurt, pancakes, or scones
- As a filling for cupcakes, muffins, or sandwich cookies
- Swirled into a large tart shell like my Lemon Olive Oil Curd Tart or individual tart shells like these Grapefruit Curd Tarts
- Layered with whipped cream and berries
- Layered with chocolate mousse and chunks of Chocolate Shortbread
- As a cheesecake topping
- Folded into buttercream
Storage & serving
Store passionfruit curd in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen for longer storage. Pour fully cooled curd into clean jars with at least ½ inch headspace and thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
Serve chilled or at cool room temperature, depending on how you’re using it.
FAQ
Yes, that’s what I use and it works great. Just thaw completely before using.
Of course! The ginger is optional and added just for additional flavor.
Be patient, it does take a while to thicken curd sometimes. It may need a bit more time over gentle heat. Remember, it will thicken quite a bit more as it cools!
Yes, please! Chill fully first so it sets properly between layers.
If you make this Passionfruit Ginger Curd, please leave a comment and star rating. This helps me continue to provide free recipes. Thank you!
Passionfruit Ginger Curd
Ingredients
- ¾ cup passionfruit purée
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
- 4 egg yolks
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
Instructions
- Whisk ingredients together: Combine all ingredients except butter (¾ cup passionfruit purée, ¼ cup lime juice, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 4 egg yolks, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ tsp salt) in a metal or glass heat-proof bowl and whisk thoroughly.
- Set up a "double boiler": Place bowl with curd ingredients on top of a small sauce pot with about 2 inches of water in it. The bottom of the bowl should NOT be touching the water. Turn heat to medium and bring water to a low simmer.
- Cook until thick: Cook, whisking frequently, over medium heat until mixture thickens and can coat the back of a spoon, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add butter: Turn off heat and whisk in 2 oz cold diced butter until completely melted.
- Strain & cool: Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl; discard grated ginger. Cover passionfruit curd directly with plastic wrap (this prevents the curd from forming a skin) and store in the refrigerator until completely cool.
Notes
Did you try this recipe?
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