Curds gives cakes, éclairs, whipped cream, ect even more flavour to them. Most people like to use lemon curd however, I like to make and test out different flavours of curd, which would compliment the flavours of different cakes. Using different flavours of curd, you can add a twist to the classic lemon meringue pie. Be adventurous; try a passion fruit meringue pie or even a blackberry meringue pie.
Passion Fruit Curd
This is one of my favourite curds, the sharpness from the passion fruit cuts through the sweetness of cake and éclairs. The passion fruit also compliments a lot of flavours too.
Ingredients:
Passion Fruit Curds:
220g Passion Fruit Puree
125ml Double Cream
125g Caster Sugar
7 x Egg Yolks
15g Corn Flour
1. Pour the double cream and passion fruit puree into a pan and heat on the hob until the mixture starts to boil.
2. While the mixture boils, in a bowl add the caster sugar, egg yolks and corn flour and mix until the mixture becomes pale.
3. Once the passion fruit and cream boils take off the heat and allow cooling for 1 minute. Then pour on to the egg yolks in a thin stream while constantly mixing (to prevent the mixture from curdling).
4. Then pour the cream-egg yolk back into the pan. Bring to the boil on a medium heat, making sure you constantly mix the curd to prevent the curd from scrambling. Boil the curd for 2 minutes to cook out the corn flour.
5. Then take off the heat and leave to cool.
TIP – The passion fruit puree in this recipe can be substituted out for any fruit puree. Try blackberry, raspberry, strawberry purees experiment and see what works for you. If you are making your own puree, make sure it is smooth and there are no seeds. This will help to create a smooth, silky curd.
Orange Curd
If you like the citrusy flavour you get from lemon curd, you will like this curd too. It may not be as sharp as lemon curd but I think it has a lot more flavour than lemon curd. I find that orange curd works well with cardamom and white chocolate.
Ingredients:
Orange Curd:
2 x Oranges
150g Caster Sugar
4 x Eggs
100g Unsalted Butter
1. Zest the oranges and then extract the juice from the orange and place it into a bowl. Add the caster sugar, butter and eggs and whisk all the ingredients together.
2. Place the bowl over a simmering pan of water and mix consistently (to prevent the mixture from scrambling) until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.
3. When the mixture reaches this consistency take off the heat and allows it to cool.