How to Make Orange Curd

Orange curd? I was brought up with lemon curd - the sticky yellow jam-like substance you can spread on toast or use to make lemon curd tarts. I have seen jars of lime curd. I bet that tastes really good too. But orange curd? I hadn't seen that flavour before so I made some to see what it is tastes like. Now my life will never be the same again; there will be peace on Earth and ... okay, it just tastes very good indeed. Here is how I made it.

Ingredients

• 3 large oranges
• 6 eggs
• Half a cup of butter
• Sugar to taste

Preparation

• Very finely slice some orange peel until it resembles what you see in a good quality marmalade
• Boil the peel in a very small quantity of water until it is quite soft
• Zest one of the oranges using a fine grater
• Whisk the eggs, butter and sugar together then squeeze in the juice from the oranges and the water in which the peel was boiled
• Cook the mixture in a double boiler (I use an ovenproof shallow glass dish that fits snugly inside the top of a saucepan of boiling water); stir continuously
• As soon as the curd begins to thicken remove it from the heat or you will end up with something resembling orange-flavoured scrambled eggs; your curd should be smooth and thick with no lumps
• Stir in the orange zest and allow the curd to cool
• The boiled peel can be added directly to the curd or used as a decoration on top.

John's Notes
This recipe does not produce anything like an orange version of the hugely popular Robertsons Lemon Curd available in your local British store in Canada. As you might expect, Robertsons commercial mass-production method has produced a very fine tasting spread, but the texture is quite different to a good home-made curd. If you buy some Brandy Snap Baskets this Christmas you can fill them with orange curd, tangerine segments and boiled orange peel. Add a drop of brandy to the orange curd for Christmas - go on spoil yourself.

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