Raspberry Curd

I’m currently obsessed with raspberry curd; it turns out that you can put it in practically any dessert and it will take it to the next level. Raspberry swirl brownies anyone? It’s even great in breakfasts – in scones, on top of waffles or pancakes, in stuffed french toast – the possibilities endless.

If you’ve never had raspberry curd, I highly recommend giving this recipe a go. It’s absolutely perfect in my raspberry swirl pound cake.

Ingredients

• Raspberries, fresh or frozen
• A lemon
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs
• Butter

Required Equipment

• A whisk
• A fine mesh strainer

Detailed Instructions

Start by pouring your raspberries into a small pot. Zest your lemon and add the zest to your raspberries. You can use a microplane or a grater to create a fine zest or you can add large strips of zest using a vegetable peeler or knife; any of these methods will work just fine.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and then heat the pot over medium-low heat.

As you cook the raspberries, they will start to break down and liquify. You are looking for the berries to totally dissolve, leaving loose seeds in the mixture. To test this, pull your spoon out and look for the individual seeds. When they are not surrounded by raspberry flesh then it’s fully cooked.

Place your fine mesh strainer over a medium sized bowl. Pour the cooked raspberry mixture into the strainer and stir with a spatula. After most of the liquid is gone, scrape the solids across the mesh of the spatula several times. This will force the thick parts of the mixture through, leaving only the seeds and the lemon peel behind.

You will be left with raspberry seeds in a very thick paste and chunks of lemon peel. Before you discard the solids, lift up the sieve and scrape off the raspberry mixture that is clinging to the bottom into the bowl.

Discard the solids and set aside the sieve – you will need it again at a later stage.

Pour the sugar into the raspberry mixture and whisk to combined. At this point, the mix should have cooled significantly. In order to add the egg without it cooking, the mixture should be warm but not hot. If you’d like to use a thermometer, make sure the temperature is lower than 125^oF.

Whisk in the one egg and the one egg yolk until thoroughly blended, then transfer the curd back to the pot. Set aside the bowl and place the sieve back over it.

Heat over low or medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the curd begins to thicken. If you are using medium-low heat, watch the curd very closely, it can go from uncooked to overcooked very quickly.

You will know that the curd has thickened enough when there are no longer any bubbles from the whisking, the whisk leaves tracks in the curd that remain briefly before disappearing, and the color lightens. It will be the consistency of thin yogurt or perhapse thick buttermilk.

When the curd has finished cooking, remove immediately from the heat and pour into the prepared bowl and sieve.

Strain the mixture using the same method as previously. There will not be many solids, but you may find some small clumps of egg which it is important to remove as well as some stray seeds that may have evaded your first straining. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the sieve before setting it aside.

Check the temperature of the strained curd. If it’s warm to the touch (but not hot!) add the butter and whisk until it’s fully incorporated. You are making an emulsion – suspending the butter in the curd so they stay mixed – and this is much more difficult to do when the curd is hot enough that the butter melts rapidly, so if it feels a little too warm pause for a couple minutes while it cools.

Your raspberry curd is now finished! For best results, allow to set in the fridge for at least four hours before use, however if you just can’t resist using it sooner, it will just be a little runny and for some purposes this will be fine.

Storage

Store in the fridge for up to a week and a half.