Lemon, and Passionfruit Curd

I was in Melbourne during the week, and came across the most amazing display of cakes in the window of the Hopetoun Tea Rooms in the Block Arcade.  Needless to say, I want to live in these tearooms.

The cake that caught my eye was the passionfruit tart.  Passionfruit is one of my favourite flavours, and passionfruit curd eaten straight from the jar is one of life's great joys.  I didn't manage to try a slice of the passionfruit tart as there was a queue to get in and I was on a lunchtime mission to David Jones.  However, it got me thinking about the versatility of curd. 

Apart from being the main feature of a tart, curd can be used as a base for fruit to sit in, spread between the layers of a plain cake for flavour, drizzled over the top of a pavlova, included as a layer in a crumble or a trifle, poured over icecream, and even spread on a piece of toast.  The beauty of curd is that it can add a citrus zing to an otherwise pedestrian experience.

Good curd is hard to find in Australia.  You often see recipes from overseas that require a jar of good quality curd.  However, most people here make their own.  As summer approaches, a jar of curd in the fridge is very handy thing.  Here are my recipes for passionfruit curd, and lemon curd.  Both curds keep in the fridge for about 3 weeks.

Passionfruit curd

2 eggs
170g can of passionfruit pulp in syrup
150g caster sugar
85g unsalted butter, softened

Put the eggs, passionfruit pulp, sugar and butter into a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Stir continuously over a gentle heat until the mixture thickens (about 10 minutes).  The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.  When cool, pour into sterilised jars and refrigerate.

Passionfruit curd used as a dipping sauce for madeleines.

The key to a good lemon curd is strain, strain and strain again as there is nothing worse than getting a bit of lemon zest or clump of egg white between your teeth.

Lemon curd

3 eggs
2 large lemons
85g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar

Zest and juice the lemons.  Put the eggs, butter, sugar, zest and strained lemon juice into a heatproof bowl over simmering water.  Stir continuously over a gentle heat until thick (about 10 minutes).  Strain the mixture into sterilised jars and then refrigerate. 


Lemon curd in sweet pastry tarts, topped with blueberries.



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