Looking for a fun way to use up some blackberries? My easy blackberry curd recipe is the perfect homemade blackberry spread. Silky smooth, gorgeously purple and perfect for desserts or a new accompaniment for afternoon tea.
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Why you'll love this curd
- Silky smooth - a lusciously smooth blackberry curd! This homemade fruit curd doesn't need any blending, just a good thorough straining to give you thick, rich and smooth spread.
- Vibrant all natural purple color - nothing beats the beauty of a blackberry! This curd is 100% natural, no added food dyes for a deep purple shade.
- Easy, small batch and tasty - a unique homemade curd, that is easy to whip up in under an hour, great tasting and won't leave you hunting for storage space in the fridge. This recipe makes only about a cup of curd, which makes for a nice treat without leaving you at a loss for how to use up vats of curd in a couple of weeks.
Equipment Notes
For this recipe, you'll need to gather a couple of pieces of equipment:
- Saucepan - a medium saucepan with deep sides should work here. Something big enough for the ingredients to fit comfortably in with room for stirring. The mixture can bubble up a bit, so you don't want something shallow. Equally, if it's very large, you're more likely for the liquid to catch and burn as it heats over a large surface.
- Spatula - a good classic rubber spatula will work best.
- Sieve - this recipe will require you to strain out the pulp of the blackberries. This is essential for getting a smooth curd. The finer the sieve the more thorough the straining. I use a sieve similar to what I would use for sifting flour.
- Bowl or measuring jug - when you're straining, it's best to strain the mixture into a heatproof bowl or jug. You'll immediately be returning it to the pan, but why dirty a second pan!
- Whisk - at the stage when you add the eggs, you will want to whisk while adding. This is important to avoid cooking the eggs too quickly in clumps its a delicate process.
- Spoon - a standard soup spoon is perfect for checking the doneness of your curd.
- Heatproof container for storage - either a jar or a bowl that is both heatproof and you're happy to transfer to the fridge. Something that can be sealed airtight is best.
Picking Your Blackberries
So this recipe was developed with brambles - these are the wild blackberries that grow seasonally along rural paths in Britain. They're most like black raspberries in the US. Personally they're my favorite! Any ripe blackberry will work here though. There are a few things to consider:
- Aim for small ripe berries - the larger blackberries may need to be cut in half to ensure they cook down and release as much juice as possible. You may also find their centres quite hard and unyielding.
- Avoid underripe fruits as these will be harder and more difficult to work with.
- Frozen berries are perfectly fine here! I recommend defrosting first, but if cooking from frozen, it may simply take a little longer as they'll need to heat through.
Ingredient Notes
To make this recipe you'll need:
- Blackberries - preferably wild blackberries or black raspberries. You can also use store bought berries, fresh or frozen. See my notes above about berries.
- Sugar - granulated or caster sugar work perfect here.
- Lemon juice - you'll need about a tablespoon. I tend to use the juice of one whole lemon (average/small size). If you've got huge lemons, you might only need half.
- Eggs - an egg and two yolk. You'll want to use large eggs, at room temperature to avoid these scrambling in the curd. Lightly beat these together before adding to the mixture. This will help them to incorporate more smoothly.
- Butter - a bit of unsalted butter, ideally at room temperature. This will help add a final glossy sheen to the curd. Butter does also help stabilize the curd, which contributes to its thickness, especially when making curds with fruits that are lower in pectin. For blackberries, which are naturally high in pectin, it's not really necessary, but it is pretty!
How to Make Blackberry Curd
This curd follows the same basic processes as some of my other fruit curd recipes, such as my cherry curd or blueberry curd.
Step 1: Start off by adding you blackberries to a medium saucepan together with your lemon juice and sugar.
Step 2: Place this over a medium high heat and cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the berries have broken down. Continue cooking until the mixture boils.
Step 3: Once boiled, remove the pan from the heat and strain the mixture through a sieve to remove the pulp. Return the liquid to the saucepan, but keep off the heat while you slowly add the egg and yolks, whisking continuously to avoid scrambling the eggs.
Step 4: Return the saucepan to a medium high heat, whisking regularly while it thickens. This normally takes about 15 minutes until the curd coats the back of a spoon.
Step 5: Remove from the heat and add the butter, whisking through to melt.
Step 6: Pour the curd into a heatproof bowl, jar or other container to cool completely. This will continue to thicken a bit as it cools, so you should expect it to still be pourable at this stage rather than spreadable.
Tips and Tricks
My top tips for making this curd:
- When cooking the berries, mash them a bit with the back of the spoon or spatula to help release the juices.
- Be sure to keep the pan off the heat and to whisk continuously when adding the eggs - if added to quickly to a hot liquid they are prone to scrambling, making for a less than smooth silky curd!
- For quick cooling, you can pour the hot curd into a large based casserole dish or baking tray. Spreading over a larger surface area will speed cooling.
Alternatives
The key difference between this curd and some of my other varieties is that this one doesn't involve a blender. Instead I just strain after cooking the berries down. Ripe blackberries release their juices so thoroughly that there isn't really a need to blend. That said you could blend this before straining if you want to break the blackberries down even further - the rest will still follow the same steps!
This recipe will also work with raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and other similar fruits. Some of the timings will vary as different berries may release more or less liquid and therefore this can impact how long it takes to thicken.
The butter in this recipe can be left out, making this dairy free. The butter helps to make a shinier finished product but doesn't impact the setting significantly.
Storage Advice
This blackberry curd should be stored in an air tight container in the fridge. It will normally keep for a couple of weeks without issue.
This recipe isn't suitable for home canning or preserving long-life.
Ideas for Using the Curd
This fresh berry curd is the perfect accompaniment for an afternoon tea with some scones and cream, or try one of these ideas:
- Blackberry trifle - layer this curd with cake and fresh berries for a fun and fruity trifle. You can follow a similar process to my family-sized Strawberry Blueberry Shortcake for a showstopping centrepiece.
- Stir through a cheesecake, like my No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars.
- Serve with yogurt or as a topping for ice cream.
- Use as a topping for panna cotta - swap out the cherry bourbon sauce in my Cherry Panna Cotta for a delicious blackberry option with this curd.
FAQs
Yes indeed! This is a quick and easy recipe for homemade blackberry curd, using fresh wild blackberries. You can also use store bought or frozen berries in this recipe, see my notes.
This curd with blackberries will last a couple of weeks in the fridge if stored in an airtight container.
Fruit curds are generally a thickened fruit juice, using eggs to create a smooth, silky congealed spread. Unlike a jam or jelly it does not use gelatine and the setting state tends to be looser, making it easy to stir into desserts or yogurt.
More Blackberry Recipes
- Blackberry Apple Crisp
- Blackberry Simple Syrup
- Lemon Blackberry Cake
- Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls
- Bay and Blackberry Baked Donuts
Blackberry Curd
Equipment
- medium saucepan something big enough for the ingredients to fit comfortably in with room for stirring
- rubber spatula
- Sieve
- heatproof bowl or measuring jug
- whisk
- spoon standard soup spoon works best here to test the doneness of the curd
- heatproof bowl or jar for storage
Ingredients
- 8 oz blackberries wild blackberries, black raspberries or store bought varieties (fresh or frozen) - see note
- ¼ cup granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or juice of one whole (small/medium) lemon
- 2 egg yolks from large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 large egg whole, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- Start off by adding you blackberries to a medium saucepan together with your lemon juice and sugar.8 oz blackberries, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Place this over a medium high heat and cook, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved and the berries have broken down. Continue cooking until the mixture boils.
- Once boiled, remove the pan from the heat and strain the mixture through a sieve to remove the pulp. Return the liquid to the saucepan, but keep off the heat.2 egg yolks, 1 large egg
- In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, then slowly add these to the saucepan (while off the heat), whisking the juices continuously.
- Return the saucepan to a medium high heat, whisking regularly while it thickens. This normally takes about 15 minutes until the curd coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove from the heat and add the butter, whisking through to melt.2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Pour the curd into a heatproof bowl, jar or other container to cool completely. This will continue to thicken a bit as it cools, so you should expect it to still be pourable at this stage rather than spreadable.
Notes
- If using frozen blackberries, these should either be defrosted first or be aware that the timings here will need to be extended as it will take longer for the berries to cook down.
- Best results will be with small ripe fruits - if underripe, the berries may not release as much juice. Similarly if using large berries, you may wish to cut these in half before cooking as this will help encourage them to break down and release their juices.
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