Fruit Curds and Butters

Fruit curds or butters are simple to make and a great introduction to preserving. 

I use them for cupcake and mini tart fillings, but they are as equally good spread on a crumpet served with a cup of tea, stirred into yoghurt or spooned over a dessert. Baked yellow buttermilk cupcake filled with raspberry curd, then iced.

My favourites are flavours are raspberry and tangelo, though feel free to substitute lemon, lime, orange for the tangelo, ruby red grapefruit makes lovely curd too. Or try strawberries or blackberries instead of the raspberries.

Tangelo Curd

Ingredients
Makes 1 1/2 cups

3 large egg yolks
Zest of 1/2 a large tangelo
1/4 cup of tangelo juice
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter, cold and diced

Method
Combine yolks,  zest,  juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine. Set over medium heat, and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to stir sides and bottom of pan. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon, 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove saucepan from heat. Add the butter, one piece at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon until consistency is smooth. Strain.
Transfer mixture to a medium bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd to avoid a skin from forming; wrap tightly. Let cool; refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 2 days.

Adapted from Martha Stewart's lemon curd

Raspberry curd
Makes just over 2 cups

Ingredients
500g (1.10 lb) of Raspberries 
225g (1/2  lb) of white sugar
60g (2oz) of salted butter diced
2 large eggs beaten

Method
Put a quarter of cup of water and the raspberries in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Rub the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds.

In a double boiler or a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water set on the lowest heat possible, whisk the raspberries, sugar, butter and egg until the sugar has dissolved.

Swap to a wooden spoon and continue to simmer; until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the wooden spoon. Remove from heat, give it another stir, if you feel it's too thin pop it back on the heat for another minute or two. Remember it will thicken on cooling. 

Strain. Pot in sterilised jars or if you are using it within the week a covered container is fine. Refrigerate. 

Note: you don't ever want a curd to boil, it will result in curdled (bits of cooked egg) in your curd. If you do get a any sign of bubbling, remove curd pot from stove an submerge base of pan into iced water.

Make combed chocolate curls