Pineapple Fruit Curd
When one hears the word “curd,” it’s a little like “curds and whey” that little Miss Muffet was eating. . . There are two types of curds: Those derived from a dairy’s separation and a “fruit curd” that’s made with a citrus fruit’s juice, eggs, sugar, and butter (SUPER Simple!). Here’s how I make a simple pineapple curd that will keep you satisfied for days!
Ingredients:
4 Grade A Large egg yolks
½ C granulated sugar
*½ C (scant) canned pineapple juice, shaken
4T UNSALTED butter, cubed and room temp
*1/8 t salt, if using fresh juice, but taste before you put this in. . .
*I’ve used canned juice, and it works beautifully. If you would like to use fresh juice, puree cubed pineapple slices in a blender and, through cheesecloth, strain the pulp from the juice. . .
Other things you’ll need:
Heavy bottomed pot
Heat safe bowl, ideally with larger diameter than the heavy bottomed pot
Whisk OR hand held mixer with beaters
Wooden/Silicone heat-safe spatula
Fine mesh strainer
Instructions:
In the bottom of your heavy bottomed pot, bring about an inch of water to a simmer over medium heat. Make sure that this water will not touch your heatproof bowl once it’s been placed over top. At this point, I like to cube my UNSALTED butter so that it comes to room temp easily while the curd is cooking.
In your heatproof stainless steel/glass bowl whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth paste forms. (If you’re using a handheld mixer, you can use it to beat this together) A little at a time, whisk in the pineapple juice to form the liquid mixture.
Place this bowl over the simmering water and whisk or beat with handheld for about 6-7 minutes on low speed. At this point, you can switch to a spoon and just stir. You want to be sure to keep the mixture moving as to not cook bits of the eggs. Stir for about 3 more minutes. The mixture is cooked when the paste formed coats the back of your spoon, and with a finger run through the middle, it stays separated. IF you have an instant read thermometer, you want to make sure that the liquid has reached at least 160degF to prevent any food-borne illness.
After your liquid has cooked for about 10 minutes total (may take longer if it’s a really humid day) and reached the consistency of a thick yogurt, pull it from the heat and incorporate the UNSALTED butter a little at a time making sure to melt each cube before the next is put in. (I generally never use unsalted butter, but for this application, it’s a MUST! Especially, if you’re using the canned pineapple.) After all of the butter has melted into the mixture, you can now run the fruit curd through a fine mesh strainer to catch any little bits of eggs that may have cooked. Once in the cooling bowl, cover with cling film that touches the curd; this will prevent a “skin” from developing. Chill for about 2 hours in the refrigerator before using. The liquid will firm up the cooler that it gets.
Our Pineapple curd is directly under the cherries in these DELICIOUS macarons!
That’s all you need for a delicious treat of Pineapple curd!
***Below is a demonstration of a Lemon curd. . . the process is the same, but the ingredients are a bit different. . . Check it out! ***