Raspberry Curd

Since I was a teenager, I have been known (at least in tiny circles) for my lemon curd - particularly lemon curd that I make into lemon tartlets.  I first became interested in making fruit curds when I was a late teenager.  Fruit curds are luscious and bursting with flavor, and able to go on pretty much everything (as we will soon see!). 

The curds I have made so far are lemon and kumquat curds, and today I decided to use my tried and true lemon curd recipe to make a raspberry curd. 

And.... it turned out deliciously!  The raspberry curd still had the delightful tang my lemon curd recipe has, but it was balanced by a delicious fresh raspberry flavor (though I do have to admit, I used frozen raspberries).  Also, the color of the raspberry curd was beautiful - an all natural deep raspberry color.

 

So what can you use raspberry curd for?  To start off, I created these Raspberry Tartlets - almond pastry crust, raspberry curd, vanilla bean whipped custard, fresh raspberry and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.  These perfect little one-biters were amazing and oh-so-beautiful. 

 

 Next, I had some leftover biscuits and created a Raspberry Curd Shortcake.  

Then, I wondered how the raspberry curd would taste on vanilla ice cream?  No pictures (I forgot), but it was delicious - a perfect combination of sweet and tangy.

Next, hmmm... what else?  I toasted an english muffin for breakfast one morning and used the raspberry curd instead of jelly.  It was very tasty.  

 

Then another morning, I was making waffles and wondered, how would the waffles be topped with raspberry curd, whipped cream and fresh raspberries?  Deliciously springy and light tasting. 





Another simple idea I had was to add raspberry curd to a classic dish of raspberries and cream (I love raspberries and cream).  It was awesomely flavorful and fresh. 

 

Other ideas I had (but haven't tried yet) would be to use the raspberry curd for filling in a cake, as a filling in a "raspberry meringue pie" instead of a lemon meringue, or to use the curd to fill a cake roll.  Or, you could just grab the jar from the fridge and eat it with a spoon - speaking from experience, that works pretty well too.      

How will you serve your raspberry curd?

Raspberry Curd

• 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• pinch salt
• 4 tablespoons butter 

In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, place raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, eggs, egg yolks and salt.  Cook over medium heat until filling thickens slightly but is pourable, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in butter.  Strain filling through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.  Discard seeds and other impurities.  Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the raspberry curd, this will prevent a skin from forming and will make the curd creamier.  Cover and refrigerate until completely cooled.  Use as desired.