Cranberry orange curd is a luxurious fruit spread for toast, muffins, scones and biscuits made with fresh or frozen cranberries ~ the color is bold and the flavor really sings!
what is cranberry orange curd and how do I use it?
Cranberry orange curd is made exactly like lemon curd, but with blended cranberries standing in for the citrus. The result is smoother, richer, and more spreadable than jam ~ almost like a fruit custard.
Classic curds use citrus juice (like lemon), but you can make curd with all kinds of fruits as long as there’s enough acidity to keep the flavor bright. This cranberry orange curd takes advantage of cranberry’s uniquely bright, tart flavor, mellowed slightly with traditional citrus.
- Spread your cranberry orange curd on a thick piece of toast, a scone, muffin, or biscuit.
- Use it as a filling for desserts:
- It’s used as the filling in this gorgeous cranberry pie
- You could spread it between the layers of this cranberry layer cake.
- It can be made into a fool or trifle.
- Use it to fill thumbprint cookies.
what’s in cranberry orange curd?
- cranberries, fresh or frozen
- sugar, it’s needed to balance the intense tartness of the fruit.
- eggs + yolks give the curd its famously silky texture.
- orange juice and zest
- butter gives the curd a glossy finish.
- vanilla rounds out the other flavors.
cranberry curd step by step
- Cook the cranberries with sugar and orange zest in a saucepan until soft, and then puree until smooth.
- Whisk the puree with eggs and orange juice and cook gently until nappe (it coats the back of a spoon.)
- Strain.
- Stir in butter and vanilla.
- Jar and let cool, then refrigerate.
you asked…
It will last a couple of weeks or more in the fridge, and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
No, cranberry orange curd isn’t suitable for canning.
“Yes ~ just note that honey is sweeter than sugar, so you may not need quite as much. It may also produce a slightly softer curd.
Cranberry butter has a brighter, sharper flavor because it’s simply fruit cooked down until thick. Cranberry curd is cooked with eggs, juice, and butter to create a slightly looser texture and rounder flavor.
They’re German storage and canning jars, mine is the small ‘tulip’ shape, and you can find them here.
I like them with my cardamom orange scones for a real holiday combination, but plain cream scones would be a good choice, too.
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Cranberry Orange Curd
Ingredients
- 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries, you can use frozen berries too.
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temp and cut in pieces
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Put the cranberries, 3/4 cup of sugar, and 1/4 cup water to a simmer in a saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer the cranberries, uncovered, for about 15 minutes until they've popped and the mixture is quite thick. Let cool slightly and then puree until completely smooth.
- Whisk the puree, the eggs, yolks, salt, and orange juice together in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, this will take about 10 minutes or so. Stay by the pan the whole time and stir! Note: let the mixture just come up to a bubble, and then remove from heat.
- Push the curd through a mesh strainer, using the back of a spoon to get it all through.
- Drop the room temperature butter in, bit by bit, while you stir to melt it. Stir in the vanilla.
- Fill clean jars with the curd and let cool to room temperature. Cap and refrigerate until fully chilled. Curd will stay fresh in the fridge for 2-3 weeks, and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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This is delicious! It was also simple and fun to make. Next time, I will make a double batch. I used my immersion blender to puree and to whisk, and it works better if the liquid is deeper than was the case with a single batch. This will make great gifts. …. I wonder if I could cut back on the sugar a bit? I like the tartness of cranberries.
Hi Rita ~ yes you can cut down on the sugar, go with what tastes good to you. You can start with as little as 1/2 cup, and taste the mixture as you’re cooking it ~ you can always add more as needed.
You can also use honey or maple syrup if you like.
Just finished making the cranberry-orange curd! Delicious! Can’t wait to put it on a scone!
Oh yay I’m excited for you, I hope you love it as much as I do. Happy Holidays!
Is the cranberry – orange curd made with 1 cup of sugar or 3/4 cup. The ingredient list and directions are different.
Thanks!
That should be 3/4 cup in the recipe instructions – I just fixed it, thanks for catching that!
In the ingredients list, it says 3/4. Cup of sugar. The directions say to add 1 cup of sugar to 12 ounces of cranberries. Which is it?
Thanks!
I’ve made so many of your curds, and I can’t wait to try this one.