Passionfruit Curd ~ Bottled Sunshine

When I was little my brother and I used to play a game in our backyard that pretty much consisted of running a lap of our house; he would start first, I'd count to ten and then follow after him, with the goal being for me to catch him. Of course I now realise that the odds of this ever happening were hopelessly stacked against me and I was never going to win a race like this, bro being two years older and quite sporting and me being quite dumpy and not so sporty. Oh the innocence of youth!

The starting point for this game was always at the side of the house by the passionfruit vine, this being the toughest part of the course thanks to Mum's prized Azalea bush that was planted rather inconveniently in the middle of the track - if so much as one petal was found to be laying on the ground come dinner time then you knew not to bother asking for dessert! I'm pretty sure it was during one of my circuits of the house playing this game that I discovered what passionfruit tasted like. Heaven.

I have been overjoyed this 'summer' to find a plentiful supply of passionfruit here in the UK, an expensive supply but plentiful all the same. The fruit bowl has been overflowing with the crinkly purple fruits and I'm now at the point where I'm freezing them in ice cube bags so I can have a ready supply throughout the winter - that's how much I love passionfruit. One of my store cupboard stand bys now is Passionfruit Curd, all lovely and bright yellow and sunny looking - having a jar of this in the fridge almost makes the contents glow god like when you open the fridge door!

Passionfruit Curd

3 eggs

155g caster sugar

185ml fresh passionfruit pulp

125g unsalted butter, chopped

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and passionfruit pulp in a heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a saucepan half filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Add the butter to the bowl and cook, stirring, for 10 mins or until the mixture thickens (this can take quite a bit longer if the passionfruit is nice and juicy). Transfer to a clean sterilised jar and set aside to cool.

Makes 500g

Australian Good Taste - January 2007

My preferred method for eating this is Nigella style. Darkened house, fridge door open and spoon in hand!