When it comes to summer, one thing I love to do is make jams and curds to preserve all that lovely summer fruit so we can enjoy it later in the year.
Last week my youngest daughter and I picked a big punnet full of blackcurrants at Crockford Bridge Farm, my local pick your own farm here in Surrey.
I have frozen some of them to enjoy in puddings and cakes later on. With one batch I made this easy blackcurrant curd.
I love the tartness of blackcurrants and redcurrants, and I always enjoying cooking, baking and preserving with fruit, especially the old traditional fruits like this that you don’t see in the shops that much.
Just look at the wonderful colour of the curd! As you gently cook the blackcurrants in a splash of water they release a lot of juice which gives a deep red colour to the curd. I suppose it is the same colour as Ribena but still I was amazed by it.
I kept my blackcurrant curd with a tart flavour rather than making it overly sweet.
I’ll be enjoying it with yoghurt, to sandwich together sponge cakes, with shortbread and meringues and fresh cream.
It’s also delicious on toast or straight from the spoon!
For more recipes using blackcurrants, make sure you check out these blackcurrant, redcurrant and gooseberry recipes in a collection from UK food bloggers!
How to Make Blackcurrant Curd
For this curd I used the bain marie method, though now I tend to always use the microwave method for making other fruit curds.
- Heat the blackcurrants in a small pan until they release their juice.
- Zest a lemon into a bowl and squeeze the lemon juice into the same bowl.
- Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Put the lemon zest, juice, caster sugar and butter in the bowl. Heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
- Beat the eggs and put them through a sieve into the bowl with the lemon sugar and butter mixture.
- Add the blackcurrants from the saucepan into the bain marie bowl. Stir well and keep stirring over the heat of the pan for 30-40 minutes until the curd has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
- Strain the fruit out using a sieve, catch the curd in a jug and place in a sterilised jar in the fridge. It will thicken more.
More Fruit Curds to Try
For more fruit curd recipes, here are some ideas:
- Kiwi and satsuma curd
- Elderflower and lemon curd from Fab Food 4 All
- Rhubarb curd from Foodie Quine
- Seville orange curd from Farmersgirl Kitchen
- Mango curd from Family Friends Food
What is your favourite fruit curd?
Are you on Pinterest? Pin my easy blackcurrant curd for later!
Easy Blackcurrant Curd
Ingredients
- 300 g fresh blackcurrants
- Zest and juice of half a lemon
- 50 g butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- 2 medium eggs
Instructions
- Put the blackcurrants in a pan with a splash of water. Cook on a low heat for 5-10 minutes until the fruit has released its juices.
- Zest the lemon into a small bowl and then squeeze the juice into the same bowl.
- Place a heatproof bowl (I used a pudding bowl) over a pan of just simmering water. Put the lemon juice and zest, butter and caster sugar in the bowl and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
- Set the bowl aside while you prepare the eggs. Crack the eggs into a bowl, whisk well with a fork and then sieve the eggs into the pudding bowl over the water.
- Add the fruit from the other pan, stir well, and keep stirring for 30-40 minutes until thickened and it coats the back of a spoon.
- Strain the fruit out using a sieve and pour into a sterilised jar.
Notes
- Note: Adapted from this recipe on BBC website.
- Store your blackcurrant curd in the fridge and use within about 2 weeks.
- You can also freeze small containers of fruit curd to make it last longer.
- Makes one medium jar.
Would it not be better to strain the black currants before adding to the butter/sugar/egg mixture?
You can do that if you prefer, I like to get loads of flavour from the blackcurrants so keep them in.
Thank you for this recipe! Tempted to try making in, but before I wanted to ask if this curd is suitable to be put on top of a cake? Or will it be too runny when cutting?
Thanks for your reply in advance!
Hi Stasy, I find with curd you can sometimes make it thicken up more by cooking for longer. But it is not as thick as commercial shop bought lemon curd which has stabilisers etc so it might be a bit too runny for the top of a cake unfortunately.
Had my first taste on wholemeal toast this morning and it’s absolutely delicious! I too am always looking for different recipes for the pounds of fruit I get from my black currants. This year it’s been sorbet and your curd. Gave some to my neighbour and she loved it too. Going to have it on breakfast muesli and yogurt tomorrow. Many thanks for sharing.
So pleased to hear that Jayne thanks very much for leaving your comment!
I wish I had blackcurrant bushes in my garden or allotment.
After stumbling across your recipe, and not knowing what to do with the blackcurrents from my garden, I have just made my first batch of blackcurrent curd and it tastes lovely. Can’t wait until it’s cooled down to taste properly. Will certainly be making more.
Hi, thanks for the recipe. I just make it and is fantastic. I just put a little licorice and taste very good. I live in Denmark and here we like with licorice. Now i have for my cakes. Thanks Carmen
Adding licorice sounds lovely! I’ll have to try it when the blackcurrants are ripe.
Oh wow, this looks sooooo good!!! This has gone straight on my to try board for next year when the blackcurrants come back! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
I absolutely love this blackcurrant curd. It’s such a rich colour and the best fruit curds are made with tart fruit, so adding this to my ‘to make’ list. Thanks for linking to my Seville Orange Curd recipe.
Thanks Janice, I loved the colour it ended up as, so bright!
Wow, the colour of that curd is amazing Lucy! It sounds delicious with that slight tartness and I hadn’t appreciated that we can freeze curd as well. I’ll have to try to remember that!
Angela x
Well I read it somewhere but haven’t tried it yet – will report back. Isn’t it bright!!
Wow looks like you’ve got the texture of that curd SPOT ON! I’ve curdled lemon curd more times than I care to admit 😛 great recipe!
thanks Emma. I do seem to have the patience you need to have, wonder why!
Your Blackcurrant Curd looks utterly divine Lucy:-) Must go to the farm and pick some fresh fruit soon! Thanks for linking to my Elderflower Curd:-)
thanks Camilla and you are very welcome!
I have a heaving Blackcurrant busy in my garden so this is a very timely recipe. Shall be making some today!
Perfect and so exciting to see someone I actually know trying out one of my recipes!
This looks fantastic! I love how smooth and creamy it looks. I’ve never tried making curd but it looks like a lovely change from jam.
Thanks Becca! The colour is just amazing.