I’m going to teach you how to make lemon-blackberry curd. It’s a sweet, buttery, and quite tangy curd that’s perfect for cakes, doughnuts and even ice cream. Before we begin, however, I thought I’d share with you a typical day here at Project Pastry Love. When I first entertained the idea of becoming a food blogger, I envisioned happily baking in a clean and quiet kitchen, and then working on my posts in front of the fire, or out in the backyard with a glass of pinot noir by my side. The reality is somewhat different. When it’s baking day for Project Pastry Love, I measure out all of my ingredients in the morning while the babies are eating breakfast and watching TV. This a harried time, as I’m getting everything organized, converting volume measurements into grams, and running back and forth to the boys bringing more milk, cleaning up a smashed banana, and changing the channel to something more pleasant (I cannot believe how violent Tom & Jerry is). Then I get the kids ready for school or summer camp, send them off, and get to baking. As soon as the dessert is out of the oven, I rush out and pick up the boys. We have lunch, we play, and then my youngest goes down for a nap. Now it’s photo shoot time. This is a stressful moment for 3 reasons: I’m a new photographer; some dishes don’t always photograph well; and my oldest has developed the fine of art of photo bombing. See below.
Once I’m able to get some good shots I wake up my youngest. Oh wait… he’s awake already. In fact, he’s been trying to climb my legs for a while now. Hi Wesley!
So, I reluctantly put my camera down, and I hurry the boys out to the playground. We eventually come home. I put the TV on (Tom & Jerry again?!), and I make dinner. After dinner, we have before-bath tantrums, then happy baths, then before-bed tantrums, then more before-bed tantrums. Suddenly it’s quiet and I worry they’ve stopped breathing in their sleep. Finally, I sit down to type out my post. There is no glass of wine on my bedside table. It’s just me in my bed, with my glasses on, and sometimes a Breathe Right strip on my nose (got to keep myself looking sexy for the husband). I type furiously to outrun the exhaustion that is slowly taking over my body. I look at the clock thinking it must be 10:30 already. Nope. Only 8:04 p.m.
Okay, let’s make some curd! Citrus curd is a stirred custard made with fruit juice, egg yolks, sugar, and butter. I used Baking At Home With The Culinary Institute of America’s lemon curd recipe and then decided to add blackberry puree to shake things up a bit. First I pureed a pint of blackberries in my food processor. Then I strained it through a fine-mesh sieve and measured out a 1/4 cup.
After measuring out the rest of my ingredients, I got a large bowl of ice ready. You’ll need to cool the hot curd in it.
In a sauce pan, I stirred together the lemon juice, lemon zest, blackberry puree, some of the butter and some of the sugar over medium heat. You must stir constantly until it begins to boil.
Okay, stop stirring for just a second to blend the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Okay, now back to stirring!
Before adding the egg yolk/sugar mixture to the lemon/blackberry mixture you must temper the egg yolks. I ladled in about 1/2 cup of the hot lemon/blackberry mixture and stirred. Then I poured this tempered mixture into the saucepan.
I continued to stir until it came to a boil.
Then I added the remaining butter, and whisked until it had melted. Once melted, I poured the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl, and placed the bowl in the big bowl of ice to cool.
The curd can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
- 6 Large Egg Yolks
- ¾ cup (149 g) Sugar, divided
- ¾ cup (169 g) Unsalted Butter, diced and divided
- ½ cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
- ¼ cup Blackberry Puree
- 1 tsp grated Lemon Zest
- Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, combine ½ cup of the butter, ½ cup of the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and blackberry puree. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring continually.
- In another bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar and egg yolks.
- Ladle in about ½ cup of the hot lemon/blackberry mixture into the egg yolks to temper. Stir it together and then pour it all back into the saucepan. Continue to cook over medium heat.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and then add the remaining butter. Stir until the butter has melted.
- Pour the curd through a fine-mesh sieve and into a clean bowl. Place the bowl in the ice water, and stir occasionally until the mixture has cooled completely. Once cooled, the curd can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Large bowl
- Saucepan
- Fine-mesh sieve
- Food processor
