Passionfruit Butter

A favorite of the English in the 19th and 20th centuries, fruit butter, also known as “fruit curd” was often served with scones or as a filling for small cakes and pastries.

The lack of refrigeration meant that the spread could only be made in small amounts for eating within a few hours.

With some of the most popular fruit butters being lemon or lime, I thought that sweet acidity of passionfruit would lend itself well to the creamy spread.

Containing just a few ingredients, passionfruit butter is really simple to prepare and all it’s all-natural with no preservatives or thickening agents. The velvety spread thickens through a process of gently stirring butter, eggs, sugar and passionfruit pulp over a double-boiler for about 10 minutes.

I've been enjoying the passionfruit butter on toast for breakfast but the tangy spread would also be a perfect filling for tarts, sponge cakes, or buttermilk scones.

Photo: © S. Wongkaew (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc