Monday, June 17, 2013

Bergamot Lemon Curd

Busy Day Cake with bergamot lemon curd and garden strawberries

I made another batch of the Bergamot Lemon Curd over the weekend. What I didn't immediately lick off my fingers got used in the cake above or frozen for a burst of sunshine throughout the year.

Lemon curd makes a great topping for a simple cake. (One of our favorite cake recipes is Busy Day Cake, a recipe from an old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. That's what I'm using in the picture above, tho I've added whole wheat. We often make it vegan using vegetable oil or vegan margarine and flax seed meal/water to replace the egg.)


Here's my recipe for Bergamot Lemon Curd:

* 1 Tbsp (or more) bergamot citrus zest (it freezes well)
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 3 eggs
* 1 cup bergamot citrus juice (it freezes well; OK to augment with a bit of regular lemon juice if needed)
* 4 Tbsp butter, cold, cut into pieces
* Double boiler or a pot-over-pot method for cooking
* Bowl with ice, ready for cooling (store in fridge until needed)


Get out the double boiler or pot-over-pot and bring the water to a boil. In the mean time, place the sugar and zest into a food processor and whirl until the rind is well dispersed throughout the sugar mixture.

Turn the water down to a simmer (low). Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Add the sugar/zest and lemon juice while whisking. Then pour into the double boiler and stir continuously with a wooden spoon until thickened, approximately 7 - 10 minutes. You may need to skim some foam and if any bits of egg coagulate and form chunks, fish them out. Stir in butter, a tablespoon at a time, until it's well combined. Then set over a bowl of ice to cool. Give it a stir every now and then.

Stores well in the fridge for a week and freezes well, too.

6 comments:

Antiques And Teacups said...

Interesting idea with the bergamot addition...I would never have thought of that! But we definitely need strawberries at this time of year!
Ruth

The Everyday Tea Drinker said...

All I can say is YUM!

Teafan said...

That looks so delicious! And I love that you've used bergamot citrus.

Marilyn Miller said...

Your cake is amazing and beautiful!
Thanks for the recipe. Now I would love to find some bergamot citrus. I will be checking the market soon.

somepinkflowers said...

{{ oh oh oh

~*bergamot citrus*~

swoooning over here ... }}

somepinkflowers said...

{{ seriously !! }}