The intense tangy flavour of juicy blood oranges makes them ideal for making orange curd. Delicious on toast, scones, plain cakes and crumpets.
Blood orange curd is like a ray of sunshine in the darker winter months and somehow reminds us that spring is not far off.
I am a huge fan of marmalade but last year I got a little carried away and I am still eating my way through the many jars I made. I even made marmalade from blood oranges last year.
So when deciding what to make with my latest bag of blood oranges, (I can't resist buying them whenever I see them) I thought about another preserve that is often served at breakfast, lemon curd and decided that orange curd made with blood oranges would be a delicious alternative; so decision made.
Now if I was the least bit logical I would have shared a lemon curd recipe with you before this one, it is after all more familar but hey why be logical? I love just going with the ingredients I have to hand.
I have made lemon curd many times before sometimes with whole eggs sometimes with just yolks and other times a mixture of the two. Each has its own merits.
Generally, I make it with a double boiler type set up but it can be a bit slow this way. So for this version, I have based it on the recipe by Delia Smith, which uses whole eggs and it is cooked directly in the pan.
You may not get such a silky smooth texture but it is certainly easier and the slight graininess by no means affects the delicious flavour of the curd. It's a small sacrifice for the ease in preparation.
Hints and Tips
- I cannot stress how important it is to cook the curd over a low heat and make sure if you are cooking with gas that the flame does not come up the side of the pan.
- You can reduce the butter by up to ⅓ for a slightly less rich curd.
- I like flecks of zest in my curd and it adds more flavour. For best results use a fine grater to remove the zest. I recommend a microplane zester.
- I used golden caster sugar to make mine (because generally, I prefer to use unrefined sugar in my cooking and that is what I had to hand) but you will get a brighter colour if you use white caster.
- How to sterilise jars.
Blood Orange Curd Step By Step
How Do you like to serve your fruit curd? Let me know in the comments. I like to use it as a cake filling and in bakes. It is also delicious stirred into a bowl of natural yoghurt.
Blood Orange Curd
Ingredients
- 4 blood oranges
- 4 large eggs
- 350 g (12oz) caster sugar
- 225 g (8oz) butter cut into small cubes
- 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoons cornflour US = cornstarch
Instructions
- Grate the zest from 4 oranges and place in a heavy-based saucepan. Squeeze the juice and set aside.
- Add 4 large eggs to the pan and whisk until the eggs are well broken up and mixed with the peel. Whisk in 350g (12oz) sugar and orange juice.
- Add 225g (8oz) butter to the pan. Squeeze the juice from 1 lemon, add 1 tablespoon cornflour and mix to a smooth paste then whisk into the pan.
- Place the pan over a low heat and cook gently whisking continuously until the butter melts and the mixture thickens. About 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and pour into warm sterilised jars. Cover with a waxed disc and seal while hot.
Video
Notes
- I cannot stress how important it is to cook the curd over a low heat and make sure if you are cooking with gas that the flame does not come up the side of the pan.
- You can reduce the butter by up to ⅓ for a slightly less rich curd.
- I like flecks of zest in my curd and it adds more flavour. For best results use a fine grater to remove the zest. I recommend a microplane zester.
- I used golden caster sugar to make mine (because generally, I prefer to use unrefined sugar in my cooking and that is what I had to hand) but you will get a brighter colour if you use white caster.
- How to sterilise jars.
- Once cold store in the refrigerator. The curd will keep for several weeks.
Devienne M Weekes
Can this be canned?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
The curd will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator but I have not tried canning to extend its life
Kat (The Baking Explorer)
I do love a citrus curd, and I'd love to try your blood orange version.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
It was a shame my blood oranges were not a little redder but I think the extra tang from blood oranges rally works well.
Monika Dabrowski
Such a tasty idea, I adore lemon curd and I am sure this recipe is just as delicious:)
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
I adore lemon curd to,o that's why I couldn't resist trying something similar and blood oranges seemed like a good alternative.