Ever find yourself tired of the same old lemon or lime curd? Or maybe looking for a recipe for that pomegranate you impulse bought? Well, this is the solutions! Try an easy pomegranate curd - beautifully deep purple and packing a tart punch!
Ingredients for Pomegranate Curd
This recipe calls for four ingredients:
- Pomegranate juice - you can use fresh pressed juice from pomegranates (you'll need about 2 good sized pomegranates to get 1 cup of juice). Or, you can use store bought pomegranate juice - just be sure this is fresh, not from concentrate and not sweetened.
- Pomegranate molasses - this is essentially just heavily reduced pomegranate juice, emphasising the natural sweetness of the fruit without additional refined sugar. Its
- Eggs - you'll need two yolks and one whole egg.
- Port - this is technically optional, but will help to enhance the flavour. Port pairs well with pomegranate accentuating the flavours.
Note on Juicing Fresh Pomegranate
So if you've come upon this recipe because you're looking to use up some impulsive pomegranate purchases, you're in luck! This is exactly why I made pomegranate curd in the first place. Every year around this December, you can start to find beautiful looking large pomegranates in British supermarkets. I can't help but buy a few, but I almost never have a firm idea for pomegranate recipes when I get them...
Now, I've been hooked on pomegranate juice for years - its sold by street vendors throughout the Middle East and is a massively underappreciated juice! But, I'm not going to lie, squeezing pomegranate juice yourself is not the most obvious straightforward process.
Steps for Juicing Pomegranate
- First you need to remove the seeds from the pomegranate. This can be a bit messy, but do your best to collect the juicy little ruby morsels into a bowl of a food processor or blender.
- Using a food processor or blender, pulse these a few times - the blades will help smash the juice from the seeds, but won't grind the seeds themselves.
- Then strain these using a fine sieve
Easy Process for Pomegranate Curd
Curds can't get much easier! Though they do require a bit of whisking.
Simply put the juice, port, egg and yolks along with the molasses into a saucepan. Whisk these together over a medium heat until simmering.
Continue to whisk for about 25 minutes until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
A couple quick tips:
- You don't have to whisk absolutely constantly, but you don't want the curd to catch on the bottom of the pan and burn. So, you should keep an eye and more or less lightly whisk continuously.
- Don't worry if it looks a bit runny - it won't thicken up as thoroughly as a custard while in the saucepan on heat. Most of the thickening will come as it cools.
Ideas for Using Pomegranate Curd
So now that you've made this curd, you might be thinking 'what do I do with it?!' A couple of ideas:
- Use with scones for an afternoon treat or festive tea party.
- Mix a few tablespoons with pastry cream to form a pomegranate custard - this can then be used to fill choux buns such as profiteroles or eclairs, or make a simple custard tart (if you need a crust recipe for a tart try my easy all butter crust).
- Spread on toast or mix into yoghurt for a nice pomegranate twist to a simple breakfast!
FAQs for Pomegranate Curd
Stored correctly, pomegranate curd can last for a couple of weeks. Simply store in a jar (or covered bowl) in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze pomegranate curd. Ensure that you place this in a freezer safe container and allow the curd to cool first. Then store in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before use.
Look for the mixture to coat the back of a clean spoon - it should hold a nice thin but obvious layer. The classic trick to proving this 'coating' counts as done is to draw a line across the layer of curd with your finger. Take care as the mixture will be hot. If you swipe a small line down the coating, the mixture should stay put either side and not be so runny that it refills the line you created.
If you like this recipe, try some more fruit curds and jams:
Pomegranate Curd
Ingredients
- 1 cup pomegranate juice either fresh squeezed from a couple of pomegranates or store bought unsweetened, not from concentrate
- ¼ cup pomegranate molasses
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 2 tablespoon port optional
Instructions
- Place your ingredients in a saucepan over a medium heat and whisk together until smooth. Bring to a simmer.
- Continue heating and whisking for about 25 minutes while the mixture thickens. Look for the curd to coat the back of a spoon to indicate that this is done.
- Then remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl or jar to cool at room temperature, before storing in the refrigerator.
Kathleen
I'm curious why this particular curd recipe has no butter or additional sugar, compared to other fruit curds that I've made in the past. I'm a bit worried about how thick it can get in light of this and whether it would be too runny to use for a tart. I loooove pomegranate, and your recipe is one of the few pomegranate curd recipes I've found that doesn't also call for cranberry or some other berry augment. Would like to try, but also seeking more details about this recipe! Thank you!!
Liz Mincin
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for this message! I've found that this curd does get very thick and has never required sugar or butter to hold it's consistency. This may vary a bit depending on the brand of pomegranate molasses being used. It won't hurt the curd to add a dab of butter at the end - I find it really just accentuates the glossiness, but doesn't tend to overly impact flavor or texture here. Pomegranate is quite high in natural pectin, which helps here. The key for making this curd thick enough to hold in a tart will be during the cooking stage - you may want to allow it to thicken a little longer than the recipe calls for to make it a bit more sturdy for your tart filling. Do let me know if you give it a try and how it goes!
Rebecca
Please clarify for me. Do I use the pomegranate juice to make the molasses or do I need to use both the juice and molasses in the recipe?
Liz Mincin
For this recipe, you'll use both pomegranate juice and pomegranate molasses. No need to make your own pomegranate molasses - hopefully this is available near you or usually I'm able to find it on Amazon.
Caroline
Thanks Liz! This came out super tasty. Mine turned more of a purplish brown than a ruby red, probably because pomegranate season is over here and I had to use bottled pomegranate juice :/. But it still tastes great swirled in a cheesecake!!
Liz Mincin
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! Haha - oh no!! Yes, there can definitely be colour variation depending on fruits and juices - taste is the main thing though 🙂 swirled in cheesecake sounds absolutely fabulous!