Never struggle over a double boiler again with this SUPER easy lemon and passionfruit curd, made in the microwave in less than 10 minutes. It’s silky smooth, gorgeously bright, zesty and honestly? A little magical.
I am never making curd any other way again. Having a jar of tart, rich, glossy lemon curd on hand is ALWAYS a good idea. Dollop it onto pancakes, slather it onto toast, use it as a topper for cheesecake or drizzle it on top of mini pavlovas – the possibilities are endless.
And while you can buy it from the store, it tastes SO much better when you make it at home. But it can be a tricky thing to get right. Every time I would make it, it would take SO much longer than any recipe stated. I’d be (essentially) chained to the stove, whisking away over a double boiler, willing it to thicken. You NEVER have to worry about that again with this game-changer of a method.
It really is as simple as whisking your ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl, and cooking in intervals, whisking in between, until thickened. Seriously!
While I love regular lemon curd, adding passionfruit makes it even more special. The tropical flavor pairs wonderfully with lemon and makes a curd that feels a little luxurious. (You can skip the passionfruit if you like to make plain lemon curd. The rest of the ingredients are the same!)
Ingredients
- Eggs. You’ll need two whole eggs and two egg yolks. Using a mixture of whole eggs and just the yolks will give you a lovely rich, thick curd.
- Lemons. Use fresh as you need both the zest and the juice, plus the curd will taste SO much better with fresh lemon juice.
- Passionfruit. Like the lemons, your curd will taste best with fresh passionfruit pulp, but you could use jarred or canned if you can’t find any. I like keeping the seeds in the curd, but if you don’t want them in your curd, pass the passionfruit pulp through a fine mesh sieve before starting OR strain the curd once it’s cooked (this is easier).
- Butter. Unsalted or salted is fine here.
- Sugar. Use caster sugar (superfine sugar) if possible so that it dissolves quickly.
How to make it
Whisk your eggs, lemon juice, passionfruit pulp, sugar and salt. Add the butter, then microwave in intervals until the curd has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon. The exact time will depend on your microwave, but it shouldn’t take longer than five minutes.
It’ll still be reasonably liquidy at this point but will continue to thicken as it cools. So as long as it can coat the back of your spoon without dripping everywhere, you’re good to go. Pour into sterilized glass jars and keep in the fridge. Use however you’d like (I love it drizzled on top of mini pavlovas for a showstopping dessert that’s fab for dinner parties).
Got a question?
If your finished curd is a little lumpy, it may be slightly overcooked. You can easily solve this though, just pass the curd through a fine sieve to get that silky-smooth consistency you’re looking for.
You can! Either freeze it in an ice cube mold, in a ziplock bag or in an airtight container. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
Watch how to make it
Like this recipe? Here are more sweet ideas to try
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
Print
Easy Microwave Lemon Passionfruit Curd
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Never struggle over a double boiler again with this SUPER easy lemon and passionfruit curd, made in the microwave in less than 10 minutes. It’s silky smooth, gorgeously bright, zesty and honestly? A little magical.
You can skip the passionfruit if you like and make regular lemon curd.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup passionfruit pulp (from roughly 3 passionfruit)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (from roughly 2 -3 lemons)
- Zest of 2 – 3 lemons
- 2/3 cup caster (superfine) sugar
- 4 eggs (you’ll use 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks)
- 90g (6 tablespoons) butter, cubed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Whisk the ingredients. Add the sugar, 2 whole eggs, 2 egg yolks, the passionfruit pulp, lemon juice, lemon zest and salt to a large microwave-safe bowl. Whisk well to combine, making sure the eggs are completely broken up and combined with the rest of the ingredients.
- Microwave the curd. Add the cubed butter, then pop the bowl into the microwave for 45 seconds. Remove the bowl from the microwave and whisk. The butter should be almost melted. Pop into the microwave for another 45 seconds, then remove and whisk again. Continue in this way until the curd has thickened nicely, and can coat the back of a spoon without dripping off. This should take around five rounds in the microwave. PRO TIP: The curd will still be reasonably liquidy at this point, but it will continue to thicken as it cools.
- Transfer to jars and store. If you’d like to remove the passionfruit seeds and zest from the finished curd, use a fine mesh strainer to strain the curd into a different bowl. If you spot any little lumps in the curd (sometimes this can happen), straining it will remove them and you’ll be left with a gorgeously smooth curd. Transfer into sterilized glass jars or small containers, then store in the fridge.
Notes
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The curd will keep for about 10 days, stored in the fridge. You can also freeze it – either freeze in individual portions (an ice cube mold is the best for this) or in a container. Defrost overnight in the fridge before using.
LUMPY CURD? This can happen if you’ve overcooked it. But luckily, all you need to do is strain it through a fine mesh sieve and it’ll still be absolutely fine.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Slather the curd on toast, dollop it onto pancakes or granola, swirl it through oatmeal, use it as a topper on cheesecake, sandwich it between cakes or pile it on top of mini pavlovas for a showstopper of a dinner party dessert.
- Prep Time: 3
- Cook Time: 5
- Category: sauces
- Method: microwave
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 66
- Sugar: 4.4g
- Sodium: 44.7mg
- Fat: 4.6g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 5.1g
- Fiber: 0.4g
- Protein: 1.4g
- Cholesterol: 46.9mg
0 Comments