Blood Orange Curd Recipes

BLOOD-ORANGE CURD

Steps:

• Whisk eggs, egg yolks, and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar together in a large metal mixing bowl. Whisk in blood orange juice, blood orange zest, and coconut juice.
• Bring a pot of water to a simmer. Place the metal mixing bowl with the curd on top of the simmering water. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until curd begins to thicken, 6 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in butter until melted and well combined. Add vanilla extract and stir thoroughly. Add food coloring and stir to combine.
• Pour curd through a fine mesh sieve into individual ramekins or a single small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at least 2 hours before serving.

BLOOD-ORANGE CURD

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to a simmer. In a large stainless-steel mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk in orange and lemon juice and orange zest. Place bowl over simmering water, and cook curd, stirring, until it has the consistency of homemade mayonnaise. Remove from heat.
• Whisk in butter. Strain curd through a fine mesh sieve. Chill at least 2 hours before using. Curd can be made up to 3 days in advance.

BLOOD ORANGE CURD

Steps:

• Zest 2 blood oranges and set aside. Juice enough blood oranges to make 3/4 cup juice after straining out pulp and seeds.
• Whisk blood orange juice, sugar, eggs, and salt together in a medium-sized pot. Warm slowly over low heat. Add butter and reserved zest. Cook, stirring constantly, until curd has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Pour curd into a bowl and cool on the counter for 15 minutes. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of curd and refrigerate until ready to use.

BLOOD ORANGE CURD

Steps:

• Rub together the grated zest of 1/2 orange and 1/4 cup sugar with your fingertips; set aside.
• Bring 1 3/4 cups blood orange juice and 1/4 cup lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan. In a large bowl, whisk 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch and a pinch of salt; whisk in 6 egg yolks and the zest mixture. Slowly whisk in the hot juice, then return to the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until thick, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat; gradually whisk in 6 tablespoons cut-up butter.
• Strain the curd through a fine-mesh sieve and tint with red food coloring. Before using, chill until set, at least 4 hours.

ORANGE CURD

Steps:

• Remove the zest from the oranges with a vegetable peeler, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced.
• Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar/orange zest mixture and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then add the orange juice and salt. Mix until combined.
• Pour the mixture into a 2-quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. The orange curd will be ready when it coats a spoon, and it will register about 175 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Be careful not to overcook, or it will curdle. Remove from the heat and let cool or refrigerate.
• Place the orange curd in a bowl and decoratively arrange the strawberries on a serving platter around the bowl.

BLOOD ORANGE BUTTERSCOTCH MERINGUE PIE

Steps:

• Prepare the crust: On a lightly floured surface, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll pie dough into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a 9-inch pie pan (not deep dish); fold the edges over and crimp them together. Prick crust all over with a fork and chill in freezer for 30 minutes until frozen. (Cover with plastic if freezing for longer than a few hours. Well wrapped, it will last in the freezer for up to a month.)
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line chilled crust with foil, fill with pie weights or dried rice, then bake for 12 minutes. Remove foil, lower oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake until pale golden, 10 to 16 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack to cool while you prepare the filling. (Leave the oven on if baking the pie immediately.)
• In a heavy saucepan, whisk together egg yolks, egg and sugar. Stir in the orange and lemon juices, zest and salt. Add pieces of butter and cook, whisking constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat a spoon, about 7 to 9 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should register 180 degrees. Inspect the filling: If you think there are any coagulated bits of egg, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
• Pour filling into pie crust and return to the oven to bake until filling is set (it should jiggle only slightly in the center), about 18 to 40 minutes. (Pies prepared in glass and ceramic dishes can take much longer to bake than those prepared in metal dishes. Don't give up: The curd will eventually set.) Remove pie from oven and increase oven temperature to 400 degrees for baking the meringue.
• As the filling bakes, make the meringue: Fill a medium pot with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Using a large metal bowl, whisk together egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Set the bowl with the egg white mixture into the pot above the water, and whisk constantly by hand until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm (160 degrees on an instant thermometer) and has thickened and lightened in color, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.
• Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-low speed and gradually increase speed to high, until mixture is thick, fluffy and stiff peaks form, about 5 to 8 minutes. Be careful not to overbeat.
• Spread the meringue over the hot filling, making sure it meets the edges of the crust. Using a knife or spatula, swirl in a design if you like, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 to 12 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely and top with more orange zest before serving.