Jump to Recipe
An easy recipe for small batch pink grapefruit curd. This small batch tangy grapefruit curd is a fun citrus preserve, that will be perfect for a tea time treat or to use in a variety of desserts.
Ingredients
This is an easy three ingredient curd recipe. All you will need is:
- Grapefruit - for my small batch pink grapefruit curd, you can use the juice of fresh pink grapefruit or ruby grapefruit or store bought fresh juice. Do not substitute with juice from concentrate as this will impact the curd.
- Sugar - either granulated or caster sugar will work in this recipe. Depending on the type of grapefruit used, you may with to adjust the sugar in this recipe. Ruby grapefruits are typically sweeter than the pink variety. The measurements in this recipe produce a tangy pink grapefruit curd.
- Egg yolks - the yolks in this recipe will enable the curd to thicken.
How to Make Grapefruit Curd
Grapefruit curd is an incredibly easy one pan recipe. They key is to heat slowly at first, to ensure that you don't scramble the eggs!
Begin by placing all of your ingredients in a pan, over a medium heat, whisking continuously for the first few minutes until the sugar has dissolved and you have a smooth liquid. Continue cooking, whisking occasionally as the curd begins to boil and thicken. This will take about 15 minutes.
You are looking for the mixture to be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. See the images below for a demonstration of what you are aiming to achieve.
Once thickened, remove from the heat and pour into a heatproof bowl or jar to cool.
As the mixture cools it will continue to thicken, so don't worry if this seems to be the consistency of a thick soup rather than a curd at this stage.
What to Do with Grapefruit Curd
So now that you've got the curd, you might be wondering what to do with it? Well, the options are really limitless! Some ideas for recipes using grapefruit curd are below:
- Quick and easy grapefruit curd tarts
- This is a small batch curd, so is not enough on its own to fill a large tart shell. It can be used in place of my blood orange curd in my recipe for two mini blood orange curd tartlets, to produce two individual grapefruit curd meringue tartlets.
- Alternatively, if you double this curd recipe you can fill a preprepared full size tart shell for a larger grapefruit tart.
- When making a tart, you can either spoon chilled curd into the prepared shell and smooth out, or you can pour freshly made curd into the crust while it is still warm. Either way, allow the curd to set and meld with the tart shell for a couple of hours before serving.
- Simple grapefruit pavlova
- Use either a homemade or store bought pavlova meringue base.
- Spoon out some grapefruit curd into the centre
- Then top with fruits such as raspberries, strawberries or tropical fruit slices.
- As a finishing touch, add some vanilla whipped cream, such as my stabilized cream and sprinkle over flaked coconut for an easy light summery dessert.
- Tangy grapefruit cake filling
- As a change to lemon curd, try adding grapefruit curd as a filling between cake layers.
- This will pair well with lemon or vanilla cakes in particular, but can be used with a variety of other flavours as well.
- Afternoon tea treat
- Grapefruit is a great alternative to lemon curd or other jams with your afternoon tea. Serve with fresh scones and cream.
FAQs
Absolutely!! Most citrus fruits can be made into curd easily, with just sugar and egg, and grapefruit is no different. This easy three ingredient grapefruit curd recipe provides step by step instructions to make a small batch of tangy pink curd.
Yes, you can make this recipe with either fresh squeezed grapefruits or with store bought fresh grapefruit juice. Do not use juice made from concentrate for this recipe.
If you make with store bought juice, you will not have the option of adding the zest to the recipe, but this will not greatly impact the overall flavour of the preserve.
This small batch curd made with grapefruit can last well for about two weeks in the refrigerator. It is not canned or processed like store bought curds, so it should not be stored at room temperature in a jar or left for months.
You can freeze curd if you intend to make this in advance. Allow the curd to cool completely and set in the refrigerator overnight before transferring to the freezer to store for up to three months. Ensure that the container you use for the curd is freezer safe before storing it.
The most common reason for curd not thickening is that this hasn't cooked long enough. If you've already removed it from the heat and allowed it to cool, you can still return to a saucepan and heat again. This will usually enable you to continue cooking and thickening the mixture.
If you would rather not attempt reheating, you can still use the mixture as a delicious and tangy grapefruit sauce. It will top panna cotta or ice cream, act as a great add-in to yoghurts or sauce for other desserts.
Feeling zesty? Try these other citrus treats:
Pink Grapefruit Curd
Equipment
- flat whisk see note below
Ingredients
- 2 ripe grapefruits see note
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup granulated sugar or caster sugar
Instructions
- Place the juice and zest of two grapefruit in a saucepan along with the sugar and egg yolks.
- Over a medium heat, whisk until the sugar has dissolved, then continue whisking occasionally until the mixture starts to boil.
- Continuing to cook over a medium heat, whisk while the mixture boils until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 15 minutes).
- Once thickened, decant into a heatproof bowl or jar and allow to cool.
Leave a Reply