Easy Lemon Curd

 

This is a really easy recipe to make delicious lemon curd in a hurry! It's hard to believe, I know, but it's all done in the microwave and it takes less than 5 mins; YES! This recipe makes 3 of these jars in the photo, so around 500mls or so (I am sorry, I didn't actually measure the final product!)

Easy Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

• 175 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 225 g caster sugar
• 115 g very soft butter (or dairy free alternative - I used Flora block - unsalted)
• 2 large eggs

Method:

1. Mix the lemon juice and caster sugar together in a large microwave-safe bowl or jug. 
2. Stir in the butter.
3. Whisk the eggs very well in a separate bowl until well combined. Pass this through a sieve into the bowl of lemon juice mixture. Discard any stringy bits and wash and dry the sieve as you will need it again later.
4. Stir well and then cook in the microwave on high for 60 seconds. Take out and whisk it well; it may not look any different at this point, but whisk well anyway. 
5. Return to the microwave and cook for three more lots of 60 seconds on high, whisking well after each 60 seconds. You will see it thickening after each zap in the microwave.
6. After 4 mins it should be thick and starting to look set. If you think it needs slightly longer, zap for another 30 seconds. If you want to be cautious, you can slow down the final 60 seconds by splitting it into 30 second increments instead to control the thickening a little more.
7. Pass the curd through the clean and dry sieve to remove any small pieces of cooked egg, although it's rare to get any with this method. Spoon it into warm, sterilized jars, and once cooled to room temperature, store in the fridge.
8. It should last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

NOTE: there are a number of ways to sterilize jars:

1. Wash in the dishwasher and use straight after the wash while they are still hot.

2. Wash the jars in warm soapy water, then rinse and place the jars into the oven on 150 degrees C for 15 mins. I put the rubber seals into boiling water for the same length of time. Place curd in soon after sterilizing.

Cranberry Hazelnut Tartlets

 

My friend made these last night for our craft club and boy, they were absolutely delicious! And I mean, DELICIOUS! I ate 4 in a row and had to restrain myself from eating them all. They were bite sized, after all.

Anyway I am sharing the recipe.....there's a few elements to make, but I promise you, it's worth the effort.

It's taken from Annie's Eats - apparently a great blog, but this is my first time seeing it. I will spend some time checking it out further.

Click here for the recipe.

A perfect recipe for those Christmas parties coming up!

Try it out.
Kris

These frosted cranberries are simply the most beautiful, Christmassy things I have ever made.

Update - Jan 2016
I made these again yesterday for New Year's Eve, so, so delicious and they were a huge hit at the party we went to. I've added a couple of extra photos from this batch into the post. One batch of this recipe makes about 30 tartlets. and the cranberry curd makes A LOT...be prepared for lots of leftover curd to use on icecream!

Passionfruit Macarons

Basic macaron with passionfruit curd buttercream filling

I hosted a lovely lunch for some good friends last week, for my friend Jen's birthday. It was a good chance for me to do some baking, something I find very relaxing. I wanted to try and avoid chocolate for a change, so decided to go for a little tropical touch.

I whipped up a batch of passionfruit curd, and then made these basic macaron shells using plain icing sugar. I like this macaron recipe so much, it always seems to work for me. I filled them with some curd flavoured buttercream. I had to add LOADS of passionfruit curd to the buttercream to get the flavour and even then it was very subtle, but they were so delicate.

Ready for lunch

Passionfruit Curd

The finished product when I originally made these for my son's teachers.

Here's is a the recipe for the Passionfruit Curd I made last week. I used it in a victoria sponge with a layer of whipped cream on top and also as the filling in some macarons.

And of course there was some left over, so I have had that tonight drizzled over vanilla icecream. Oh my goodness, the MOST delicious dessert. Simple, but goooood.

Passionfruit Curd

 

Ingredients:

• ⅔ cups (160ml) passionfruit pulp
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 165g butter, chopped
• ¾ cup (200g) caster (superfine) sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks

Method:

1. Place the passionfruit pulp, lemon juice, butter and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir until butter is melted and sugar dissolved.
2. Place eggs and egg yolks in a bowl and whisk until combined. Gradually add the passionfruit mixture, whisking continuously.
3. Return curd mixture to pan and cook, stirring, over low heat, for 6–7 minutes or until thickened (mine took about 15 mins) and mixture coats the back of a spoon.
4. Allow to cool and store in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap. Makes 2½ cups.
5. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.



Sterilizing the jars and melting the butter, pulp and sugar

 

Thickening up



Getting into the jars prior to working on presentation.