I tried out a new recipe on Saturday, for Passionfruit Curd. Passionfruit seem to be in season at the moment, or at least they are plentiful and relatively cheap in Waitrose. I synthesised a recipe from several I found online, scaling the quantities down to something I though was manageable. I’ve never made a curd before, but it was surprisingly easy!
65g caster sugar
2 passionfruit
1 egg
Pinch salt
35g softened butter, diced quite small
Put the sugar, egg, and salt in a pan. Cut the passionfruit in half – they had a surprisingly tough skin – and use a teaspoon to scoop the pulp and seeds into the saucepan. Whisk together over a low heat – I used a balloon whisk. Add the butter and continue to whisk until it is melted. Then turn the heat up and continue to whisk constantly until the curd thickens. Don’t let it boil. It should get to a consistency where it coats the back of a spoon. Mine took a few minutes to thicken satisfactorily. Decant into a sterilised airtight jar (I put mine through a hot wash in the dishwasher).
According to one of the online recipes, it should keep for up to three weeks in the fridge. That is clearly a lie! It’ll be lucky to last overnight – it was so delicious that I barely let the saucepan cool before I licked it clean! I used some of the curd to make a passionfruit Eton Mess (with whipped cream and broken meringues) and it was absolutely gorgeous! I’m sure that it can’t be good for me, with all that sugar, butter and cream, but it was the tastiest desert I’ve eaten all year.
