Wednesday 17 April 2013

Zingy Lime Curd

WOW! This has to be the best jam/curd/preserve I have ever made and ever tasted! It’s so fresh, zingy and zesty that it makes my tongue come alive with a jolt as the flavour sweeps over my taste buds like an electric shock. Almost like biting into a hot chili, a sudden rush of intense flavour, that makes your mouth water.

It’s sweet, sharp and sour all at the same time. I have never had lime curd before, but after buying a big bag of limes from the local market, I knew I had to do something with them besides squeezing a bit over a stir fry. I remembered seeing a post for a ginger lime curd on Chocolate Log blog and adapted her recipe slightly to create this fabulous curd. I didn’t have any ginger and wanted the curd to be really zesty, so used lots of limes and a lemon for extra zing.
 

I love the creamy yellow green tinged colour of the curd. The recipe said to sieve the zest out of the curd before jarring it, but I wanted extra citrus flavour and so left it in. I used a very fine grater to zest my fruit so the zest was fine enough not to be noticeable in the finished curd. It adds a lovely speckled appearance to the curd and I’m sure it adds to the zingy fresh flavour too.
 

If you love zingy, sweet and sharp flavours you must try this curd! I can’t stress enough how amazing it is. I have nearly finished a whole jar and I only made it at the weekend. I’ve been eating it on everything, bread, cakes, pancakes, swirled into yogurt and even my morning porridge! I may have had the odd spoonful straight out the jar too!
 

So quick, so simple and so zingy and fresh. Lemon curd seems bland and boring by comparison. It becomes wonderfully thick as it cools and sets. I’ll be making this again and again for sure. I’ve already promised a jar to my grandmother who shares my love of fresh and zingy flavours.

Zingy Lime Curd
(Recipe adapted from Chocolate Log blog)
Ingredients
Zest & juice of 3 limes
Zest & juice of 1 lemon
160g caster sugar
55g butter
2 eggs

Method
Place two clean glass jars and their lids on a baking tray and place into the oven. Heat to 130C and leave the jars in the oven to sterilise while you make the curd.
Finely zest the limes and lemon and add to a large heatproof bowl. Squeeze the juice form the fruit and add to the zest along with the sugar.
Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has from cloudy to clear. (You can sieve the zest out at this stage if you don’t want it in the finished curd, but it adds a lot of extra flavour).
Cut the butter into small cubes and whisk into the zesty syrup until melted and combined.
Lightly beat the eggs and then pour into the lime mixture through a sieve to remove any oogly bits, whisking all the time to prevent the egg curdling into scrambled eggs.
Keep whisking gently for 10-15 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken. Do not be melted to walk away or turn the heat up to speed up the process, it will scramble the eggs.
Once the mixture starts to thicken, swap to a flexible spatula and keep stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula. You should be able to run your finger down the spatula, leaving a mark without the curd flowing back over it.
Remove your jars from the oven and immediately fill to the rim with the hot curd. Screw the lids on the jars tightly, using rubber gloves to prevent burning your hands.
Leave to jars to cool on the side – the lids will suddenly ‘pop’ as the vacuum is created, ensuring a sealed and sterile jar.
Store in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
Makes 1½ - 2 jars of zesty lime curd

9 comments:

Lucy said...

I've only ever tried lemon curd, but this sounds like a really interesting twist. I can imagine it would be delicious swirled through yoghurt for a very zingy breakfast!

Unknown said...

That curd is such a beautiful color. I love what lemons do to the color of custards. They turn into this pastelly ish yellow and its so nice to look at :)

Cupcake Crazy Gem said...

Love Love Love! Lime curd is my ultimate favourite! I made pineapple curd again last weekend too and everytime I make curd I forget how easy it is and vow to make more! It's so tasty! Love how you put lemon and lime zest in yours! I would have been fully on board with that!

Paloma said...

Ooooh yum!

Caroline said...

That sounds so delicious! I've been meaning to make curd for such a long while now and this is a very timely reminder. I like the fact that your recipe doesn't make loads and loads of jars - I'd never get through it all!

The Caked Crusader said...

I adore curd - and lime is a favourite. I find curd impossible to describe as it has so much flavour. It dries my mouth and makes it juicy at the same time!

Elle said...

I love lemon curd and lime curd and once even made pomegranate curd. Love that you left in the zest. That give such intense flavor. Just made some strawberry cookies with lemon curd...the perfect pairing. Now I want some of your lime curd...mmmmm

Choclette said...

Ahh fantastic, isn't lime curd wonderful. I have to confess, I've never made lemon curd, but I'm pretty sure I would prefer the lime anyway. Having said that your lime and lemon curd is something I'm now going to have to try. A lovely take on it Katie.

Emily said...

Love this! Be back to steal the recipe!

Missyalots!