Berry Curd Recipes

Steps:

• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
• Add raspberries, egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, zest, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until curd coats the back of a spoon and is slightly thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Strain curd through a fine mesh sieve, mashing the raspberries with the back of a spoon.

Steps:

• Sieve raspberries through a strainer, pressing with the back of a spoon; reserve 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon juice. Discard seeds in sieve. , In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add raspberry juice and butter. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks until well blended. Stir in half of the raspberry mixture. Return all to saucepan; bring to a gently boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes. , Place into small jars; place plastic wrap on surface of curd. Cover and chill. Store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Place the blueberries and lime zest in a covered saucepan with 1 tablespoon water and cook gently, shaking the pan occasionally, until very soft (about 10 minutes.). Press through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler, then stir in the butter and sugar and put over a saucepan of gently simmering water; do not allow the bottom of the bowl to sit in the water. Heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
• Strain in the eggs and continue to stir over gently simmering water until the curd thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon, which should take 30-40 minutes. Stir only occasionally at first, more frequently as the cooking progresses, then constantly toward the end so that the curd cooks evenly and does not curdle. The water must not boil.
• Strain the curd, if necessary, into clean, dry jars. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• To make the lemon curd: Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch, and continue to whisk. Keep working-out that arm and whisk it vigorously for a good 10 minutes, until the curd has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow. Don't let it boil. Remove the bowl from heat and whisk in the butter, a couple of chunks at a time, until melted. Refrigerate until the custard is cold and firm.
• To build the trifle: put the berries in a mixing bowl and toss them together so they are evenly distributed. Fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon curd to lighten it up into a mousse. Line a glass trifle bowl with pieces of pound cake to fit. Drizzle or brush the cake with the Limoncello, spoon a layer of the lemon curd over the cake, and then a layer of mixed berries. Repeat the layers until the ingredients are used up, the last layer looks best if it's the berries. Chill before serving. Garnish with fresh mint.

Steps:

• Place all berries in a blender, and process until smooth. Press berry mixture through a sieve over a medium bowl using the back of a spoon, reserving 1 cup puree; discard seeds. Reserve any of remaining puree for another use; store in the refrigerator.
• Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium, heavy saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in 1 cup puree, juice, and eggs. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add butter, stirring gently until butter melts. Cool.
• Spoon mixture into a medium bowl; cover and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight (mixture will thicken as it cools).