I've never ever made curd/jam/preserves of any kind before, so this was something new. Taking a cue from the many lemon limes lying around, I went about juicing & zesting them. The end result was a luscious & tangy concoction, perfect for spreading on toasted brioche. I'm just thinking of the many ways I use this curd in: swirled into cheesecake, spooned into tart shells, as a cupcake filling or slathered and rolled into a roulade.
Lemon-Lime Curdadapted from Pierre Hermé's recipe for Lemon Cream.
100ml fresh lime juice
1 egg
5 T caster sugar or vanilla sugar
lime zest
2 T french unsalted butter
Place sugar and lime zest in a non-reactive saucepan. Rub the lime zest and sugar until the fragrance is thoroughly imbued & sugar crystals become moist. Pour in lime juice and cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Whisk the egg and gradually pour in hot syrup to temper. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook until mixture reaches 180F. Cool and strain into a large bowl. Once the curd reaches 30C ( or room temperature) , whisk in the butter. Whisk vigorously until the curd is smooth.
Thank goodness for my infra-red thermometer! No need to clean/wash and best of all, it registers the temperature in a matter of seconds. Just point and viola!
That is quite possibly the coolest thermometer Ive ever seen. Jealous!
ReplyDeleteHoly thermometer!
ReplyDeleteI love making curds as filling for cupcakes, though they're generally horrifying in terms of nutritional content. I'll have to try this method out.
I assume you mean 30C to whisk in the butter? Or do I need to freeze this? Without a thermometer, can I just guess? Would 180F be bubbling?
ReplyDelete-Madeline:
ReplyDeleteYes! I knew I just had to find an excuse to use it! (:
-Anna:
ReplyDeleteI tried to pair this same recipe (replace lemon with orange) with some chocolate cupcake & boy did they taste awesome!
-G in Berlin:
ReplyDeleteOh yes! A typo there. It should be 30C when you whisk in the butter so that it will be whipped in smoothly without turning into a pool of oil.
You don't need a thermometer for this, when the curd is done it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and leave a clear line when you run your finger down the spoon.