Sometimes winter just needs a little kick in the pants.

Here in the northwest, we’ve already weathered wind storms, early snow and some very serious flooding, and it isn’t even technically winter yet! Sure, we’re used to the rain and its pretty much a given that between the months of September and March, the only colour in the sky is grey.

Its weather like this that makes me think of summertime flavours, if only to cheer me up a little. Sort of a “Calgon, take me away!” type deal.

So for this dessert, I mixed together one of of my favourite winter holiday recipes and one of my favourite summertime flavours, and in the process, I created one of my very favourite Christmas gifts from the kitchen-

Lime Curd.

Don’t knock it ’til ya try it. Like the label says, “Trust me, it tastes good!” It seems like most people who have never tried curd don’t really know what they’re missing out on. Its sort of like a fruit jelly, only… a little different. Its uses are pretty much the same though.

Lemon curd is very popular, but you can pretty much make curd out of any sort of fruit or vegetable juice, if you think about it… or you could mix different juices together! OH, the possibilities are endless!

After I made the lime curd I realized I had a little bit extra, so I made a little vanilla sour cream cake (one of my holiday favourites) and used the curd as filling. The flavours mesh perfectly!

You’ll have to pardon my lack of story for this dessert/kitchen gift, I’ve been so busy lately that I can’t seem to think of anything to share! you’ll have to settle for photos and a recipe, but I don’t think you’ll mind-

Anyways.. here are some more photos!

Curd.. tasty tasty curd.

The sour cream cake is nice and rich and moist and dense and perfect! I iced it with a basic cream cheese icing, and the sharp citrus lime curd really cut through the rich flavour of it all. Delicious!

Without any further ado, here is the recipe for lime curd-

6 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup lime juice**
2 tablespoons finely grated lime or lemon zest (optional)
1/2 teaspoon citric acid (sour salt)- (optional, but recommended)
8 tablespoons butter

The first few times you make any sort of curd, I’d suggest doing it in a double boiler to avoid making lime flavoured scrambled eggs. If you’re completely comfortable with it, it is alright to go ahead and use a pan over direct heat, but make sure you’re prepared to commit to constant whisking. Seriously, you can NOT stop whisking, or you’ll end up with weird scrambley eggs. ew.

Also, always try and use the freshest ingredients possible for this project. Fresh eggs and fresh squeezed juice really make this curd sharp and delicious. Some recipes you can get away with using less than the best ingredients for, but you can really tell the difference with this one.

Anyways..

Before you begin the cooking process, prepare your ingredients. Cut the butter into small pieces and set them aside. Have all of your ingredients measured out and ready to go. You’ll need to be able to add them with one hand while whisking constantly with the other.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in either the top pan of a double boiler (with the bottom pan full of boiling water) or in a medium saucepan over direct heat, until blended. Cook, whisking constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) and reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which will take about 10-15 minutes. whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lime zest and citric acid at this point and Remove from heat. Pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps and pour into designated containers with tight fitting lids. Seal and let cool. The lime curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Keep refrigerated. The curd has a shelf life of about 2-3 weeks. Makes about 3 cups.

** You can use lemon or orange juice in this recipe if you wish, just make sure you use lemon zest with lemon juice or orange zest with orange juice, so you don’t end up with little green flecks in your orange curd!

As an added help, this site right here has some special tips and techniques for making curd. I didn’t follow their methods, so I can’t speak for them, but they look like viable ideas!

Also, check out this blogger’s delicious recipe for meyer lemon curd (and her completely adorable label!) you can see that there is much variation between recipes for curd. They’re all similar, but the amount of eggs, juice and butter is almost always different. Some people even use recipes that use entirely egg yolks, and not the full egg.

Oh, also- here is the label for the lime curd-

There are many different ways to gift the lime curd. Give it with a plate of fresh baked shortbread rounds, or with a pound cake in a tin (you can make the sour cream cake, and place IT in a tin!) You could even just make a little recipe book with all the different ways that lime curd can be used!

But all of that is up to you. I think the curd itself is gift enough!

Onward!
Here is the recipe that I used for Vanilla sour cream cake

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease a 9×9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally, mix together the sour cream and the milk, and stir it into the rest of the mixture until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

Once the cake has cooled, fill with lime curd (or your desired filling) and either frost with cream cheese icing (which I did) or sprinkle with powdered sugar. Its soooo good!

Hope you are all having a delicious holiday season!
-A.

*EDIT*
I went and searched the intarwebz, and I found a recipe for VEGAN lemon curd! Here is a link to the recipe- CLICKY!

I haven’t tried it myself, but it makes sense that it would work.

Just a note, “Fructose syrup” can be substituted with organic corn syrup (organic doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient, whereas regular does. If that doesn’t matter to you, then rock on.) Also, you can use corn starch instead of arrowroot, though the finished product won’t be as clear as if you were using Arrowroot powder, but still just as tasty.

Another thing, the author doesn’t mention this, but you should still include the lemon zest, as it makes the curd just a little more tart. Also, you should still follow the “remove from heat when mixture thickens” directions for the non-vegan curd, because I don’t think just bringing the mixture to a boil will thicken it up enough for it to be the right consistency. Thats just me though, like I said, I haven’t tried this recipe yet. If you do, lemme know how it turns out!

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 3:30 am and is filed under December 2007. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.