What is fruit curd? It doesn't have a pretty name, but it's such a luxurious treat. Dessert curd is created by cooking eggs with fruit juice (usually citrus), zest, sugar, and sometimes butter. There's a thousand variations on the actual ingredients and methods for making curd, but the result is the same - a rich, smooth spread that can be used in a hundred different ways.

How to use orange curd? Spread it on your favorite breakfast carbs such as pancakes, waffles, French toast, scones, or even fluffy buttermilk biscuits. Use thicker curds as a filling for cakes, cupcakes, tarts, and pies. Drizzle over ice cream. Toast a slice of your favorite sweet quickbread and serve with a dollop of curd. You can even use it as a base in citrusy adult cocktails, yum!

I made this blood orange curd when I found myself with some extra egg yolks after making a batch of almond meringue cookies. I still had some fresh blood oranges sitting in my fridge waiting to be put to good use. One thing led to another, and here we are. The proportions in this recipe will yield a nice pourable curd perfect for spreading and drizzling. Keep it in a mason jar in the fridge and it should be good for about 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Easy Blood Orange Curd

Author: Erin Browne
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 15 mins
Yield: 10oz curd 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

½ cup sugar
⅔ cup blood orange juice
½ tsp blood orange zest
4 egg yolks
5 TBS of butter, cut into chunks

Instructions

Mix egg yolks and sugar in a small saucepan until combined, heat on low until mixture is warm, and then whisk in the lemon juice, zest, and butter.
Continue to stir until mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of the spoon. If using a candy thermometer, you want the mixture to reach about 170F.
Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.