Cranberry Curd

Tangy and tart, with a vivid, beautiful color, cranberry curd is the perfect holiday dessert element. Use it as a cake or tart filling, spread, or topping. It only requires 4 ingredients (5 if you count water) and comes together in less than 20 minutes.

Is there anything to rival the color of cranberries? They are the quintessential holiday fruit to me, and this cranberry curd is a delightful way to showcase them.

It’s tart, but not enough to bite. It’s sweet, but not enough to lose the signature tang of the cranberries. It’s thick and creamy, but spreadable and spoonable and just all around perfection. A little bit like jam, but something creamier and smoother and a touch more sophisticated.

What is a Curd? And, a Brief Science of Curds

Curd is a cooked fruit spread thickened with eggs. This is done through a process called emulsification, which brings together two ingredients that typically don’t mix well. In this case it’s a fat (in the butter and some in the egg yolks) and liquid (the juice from the cranberries).

When exposed to heat and the acid of the cranberries, the proteins in the eggs form a gel. This, when combined with the pectin from the cranberries, gives the curd it’s slightly gelatinous, thick consistency.

Typically fruit curds are tart and tangy, and complemented well by lightly sweetened elements like whipped cream or custard. If you want to try some other flavors, check out these recipes for blueberry curd, raspberry curd, or orange curd.

Ingredients

• Fresh cranberries— if you have frozen any cranberries, these will work too!
• Sugar— granulated sugar of any kind works, but I like to use organic cane sugar for the best flavor.
• Water–but does it really even count as an ingredient?
• Egg yolks–Egg yolks thicken the curd and give it it’s creamy texture.
• Butter— This gives a velvety, smooth finish to the curd.

A few notes on ingredients

• Cranberries are naturally very high in pectin, which is the thickening agent used to make jams and jellies. As such, they create almost a jelly like texture when they’re cooked with the water. Makes sure not to cook off too much of the water so that the curd isn’t overly thick.
  
• You can adjust the sugar to your taste. As it is, the curd is tangy and not overly sweet, but if you prefer it to be very tart, reduce the amount of sugar by a quarter cup.
  
• Some cranberry curd recipes call for the zest and juice of some kind of citrus, whether it’s lemon, orange, or lime. I don’t find that this curd needs it, and in the name of simplicity chose to omit it. However, if you do want to add a citrus hint, zest the citrus fruit, then juice it and

How to Make Cranberry Curd

Begin by washing your cranberries and removing any soft or mushy cranberries. Chop them roughly and place them in a pot. Add the water and the cup of sugar to the pot.

Bring the cranberries to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 5-8 minutes, or just until all of the cranberries are soft and can be mashed.

Place a fine sieve over a bowl and pour the cranberries into it. Press the cranberries to remove all of the juice. Some pulp may collect along the bottom of the sieve–make sure to scrape it off and add it to the bowl. Allow the cranberry juice mixture to cool slightly.

To add the egg yolks to the cranberries, eggs and place the yolks in a bowl. Beat them until smooth, then slowly drizzle them into the cranberry juices while whisking quickly. You don’t want the eggs to cook too quickly and be scrambled.

Note: The process of adding the egg yolks to the hot mixture is called tempering. It’s necessary to combine the egg yolks very slowly so that they don’t instantly cook and become chunky, giving the curd a curdled texture.

Clean out the sieve and place it back over the bowl.

Add the curd mixture back to the pot and heat it over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until you see bubbles beginning to form on the surface of the curd. Cook it for one minute while stirring briskly, then remove it from the heat.

Pour the curd through the sieve. Use the spoon to stir it through the sieve into the bowl.

Add the butter and whisk it in until it’s all melted.

Place the curd in a clean jar and chill it until completely cold. Store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

How Long Does Cranberry Curd Keep in the Fridge?

Curd can safely be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

However, cranberry curd can also be frozen for even longer. Store it in an airtight container or jar, and it will keep for up to 6 months.

To thaw, place the curd in the refrigerator 24 hours before you want to serve or use it. Stir it to make sure there is no ice left in it, then use or serve as desired.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before making the curd. This helps all of the elements come together more easily and smoothly, which is a goal when making a curd.
  
• Choose only the best cranberries and remove any that have even a hint of mushiness or being soft. Cranberries should be firm and hard, and the darker the red the better.
  
• Allow your curd plenty of time to chill. This not only improves the texture, it also helps the flavor come into it’s tangy, splendid potential.

How to Use Cranberry Curd

There are so many ways to use a curd, and cranberry curd is no exception. You can:

• Make a tart crust and fill it with cranberry curd for a festive, bright tart.
  
• Spoon it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream
  
• Swirl it in some yogurt for a perfectly festive parfait.
  
• Top a pavlova
  
• Use it as a cake filling between two layer cakes–it’s especially divine between chocolate cakes!
  
• Layer it with cake and whipped cream to make a holiday trifle

Other Recipes You May Enjoy:

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