Afternoon Tea - Blood Orange Curd
You might have spotted the arrival of blood oranges in the shops and green grocers; they look like normal oranges on the outside but with a slight deep red speckle. I have seen them every year and never thought to try something with them, until now - this year is the year!
I love to make lemon curd and I use it in my cakes at Sky Meadow Bakery, so I thought I would adapt the recipe and try blood orange curd. What a success! It can be used in buttercream, spread into layer cakes or just simply slathered onto toast and scones, great to add along with your afternoon tea.
The colour when you slice them is amazing, such a fiery red; who would've thought that this colour would be hiding underneath that speckly zest?
I found the taste to be, unsurprisingly, orange but slightly tarter. This is why it works so well as a curd, as the tartness cuts through the rich creaminess of the eggs and butter - delicious.
Blood Orange Curd
4 blood oranges
2 large free ranged eggs
2 large free ranged egg yolks
125g caster sugar
75g unsalted butter, cubed
1 tsp lemon juice
In a large heatproof bowl grate the zest from the blood oranges and squeeze 200ml of blood orange juice in too.
Into the same bowl add the eggs and the egg yolks and whisk to combine together, then add in the sugar and butter and whisk again. The butter will stay in its cubes, but this is fine.
Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, but don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water.
Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 8-10 minutes to allow the butter and sugar to slowly melt into the curd. Continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring often, as the curd starts to thicken up. It should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and have the appearance of thick custard .
Once it is lovely and thick, pass it through a sieve to remove any of the zest or lumps and then pour into sterilised jars. If you would like tips on jar sterilising, head back to my strawberry jam blog post from the summer which gives tips.
The curd can be kept in the fridge for 2 weeks…if it will last that long!
This curd will be excellent with the scone recipe I will be sharing at the end of the month, just in time for Mothers Day. Next Friday I will be sharing my recipe for delicate, light and more-ish cream puffs. Enjoy.
