Blood Orange Curd

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I love the intense flavor of a fruit curd.  Lemon and lime tops the list because they are the tangiest and I love me some tang!  I had a bag of blood oranges and since they can be tart, I thought they would be a shoe in for a delicious tart curd.  The result was delicious and delicate not the tangy curd I had expected.  It had more of a creamy orange flavor.  I was not completely happy with this curd, although it was quite good.  The second time I made it, I added the juice of a lemon.  This brightened the blood orange flavor and gave it the citrusy tangy edge that I craved.  It was creamier and smoother than a lemon or lime curd but it had the balance of flavor I was looking for.

Lime Curd: Sweet, Tangy and Versatile

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Fruit curds are versatile and a little goes a long way.  This sweet and tangy indulgence is easy to make, but can also be a bit troublesome.  Incorporating the eggs correctly, cooking at a medium heat and constant stirring leads to a smooth and creamy curd with very few egg bits or none at all. If you have ever rushed making a curd by heating it too quickly or slacked when you should have been stirring, then you may already know scrambled egg enhanced curd is not what you are looking for.

Lemon curd always makes me think of my mom.  Mom loves lemon anything so lemon meringue pie showed up often when I was growing up.  I do have her recipe and I know it is good but it uses cornstarch as a thickener along with egg yolks and water (that's right water, I had to do a double take the first time she gave me this recipe).  No disrespect mom but I wanted to keep my recipe simple and focused on two techniques:  mixing the eggs and sugar with a whisk or mixer until well blended and the cooking method.  There are many recipes for making fruit curds. Some use yolks only or other additional thickeners or less butter or the addition of salt or more sugar and on and on (and water?!).  I am not saying anyone of these recipes is wrong or right because as long as they work, that is right!

Oh and don't be afraid of making a curd.  Once you get the hang of it, it is a cinch. Sometimes a little practice is all you need.  This goes well, like really well, with Coconut Bread that you can find here.