Raspberry Curd
From scratch raspberry curd, this homemade curd is a cinch to make and results in a wonderfully tart, sweet buttery curd that bursts with raspberry flavor. Use this raspberry curd on breakfast items like scones, toast, pancakes and waffles, as a filling for crepes, cupcakes and macarons and to fill pavlovas. Or… just eat it off the spoon, it’s that good.
Ingredients for Raspberry Curd
Frozen raspberries: Berries are often frozen in bulk at a particular time of year when they are ripe and in season so they tend to be better tasting than fresh berries most of the year. Even if you have fresh, in season raspberries, since they are going to be cooked there’s no need to use fresh here.
Fresh Lemons: fresh fresh fresh! And organic if you can find an affordable option as you’ll be using the zest and want to avoid any chemicals that could be on the peel. Lemon brings out the wonderful tart flavor of the raspberry that is slightly muted by the the addition of the eggs and sugar.
Sugar: Granulated sugar provides sweetness to counter the tart of the lemon and berries but also structure.
Eggs: Eggs are our thickeners. This recipe can’t be made eggless.
Butter: Butter will make for a silky, lush curd. If you are avoiding dairy opt for a reputable non-dairy butter that is known to replace dairy butter easily.
Tapioca or Cornstarch: A thickener if you desire a thick curd or one which you plan to use in a pie or in curd bars.
How to make Raspberry Curd
There’s a few steps to this but it won’t take you more than 20 minutes from start to finish. First the raspberries need to thaw and cook with the lemon so that you can extract ‘raspberry juice’ to make the curd.
Once the seeds are removed we’ll add the eggs, sugar and thickener if using. The curd then cooks until thickened, this will take around five minutes.
Once thick, we’ll remove any egg bits (and seeds that escaped us in the last sieve) and stir it into butter until it’s smooth and shiny.
And that’s it!
How do I know when a curd is done cooking?
If you are using a thermometer the temperature will register 170 F, which is when the eggs are ‘safe’ to eat but also when the curd is thick. It’s pretty easy to eyeball this though so a thermometer isn’t necessary, you’ll know when it’s thick enough as you stir and it doesn’t slide off the back of the spoon so quickly but a layer remains.
Tips to make a perfectly smooth and tasty curd
- Sieve the curd, twice in this case: once to remove raspberry seeds and zest and again to remove any possible egg bits.
- Cook until just thickened and covers the back of a spoon and stop when it does. Curd is thin when hot but thickens as it cools.
- Whisk in the butter at the end: this makes for a buttery, silky curd.
What can I eat raspberry curd with?
Other than off the spoon you mean?
It’s wonderful on toast, on waffles, scones and pancakes.
To use the curd as a cake, cupcake, donut or macaron filling I’d go for the thicker option (add the starch).
You can make mini pavlovas, or a large raspberry pavlova and like this pomegranate pavlova and spread the curd in along with whipped cream and fresh berries.
How to keep and store raspberry curd
It should be stored in the fridge, sealed tight in a mason jar. It’ll keep for about 2 weeks. If you want it to last longer, store some of it in the freezer.
How can I make a thicker curd for a pie or for bars ?
This is when you’ll add that tapioca or cornstarch listed below as optional for a thicker curd. The curd will also need to bake once the butter is incorporated for about 10-15 minutes so if you are making a raspberry curd pie, parbake and bake the crust until you have roughly 12 minutes of bake time left. The same for bars (like these blueberry bars!).
Raspberry Curd
Ingredients
- 265g or 2 ½ cups frozen raspberries
- zest of 2 lemons
- 60g or ¼ freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 190g or ¾ plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 85g or 6 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch or cornstarch for a thicker curd (use when baking into a pie or bars)
Method
- Set out two bowls, one with the butter in it and one with a fine mesh sieve over it.
- Place the frozen raspberries, the zest and the lemon juice in a small pot. Cook on medium to low heat until the raspberries soften and burst and it’s mostly liquid.
- Press the raspberry mix through the fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds and zest, scraping the bottom of the sieve. You should have ¾ cup raspberry lemon juice. Discard the seeds and rinse the sieve and pat dry, and set it over the bowl with the butter in it.
- Return the raspberry juice to the pot and add the sugar and stir. The mix should have cooled quite a bit by now, if it’s hot, wait a bit. Whisk in the eggs (and starch if using) then return the pot to the stove, cooking at medium heat and whisking until the curd is thick at the bottom and covers the back of a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
- Pour the curd through the sieve and press to get as much curd out as possible, scraping the bottom of the sieve. Stir the curd and the butter until the butter is fully melted and you have a shiny, smooth curd. Transfer to a mason jar and chill, then store in the fridge. The curd will become more tart-tasting and stronger in flavor as it chills.
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This was delicious! I made it to go with some lemon scones for a Galentines craft night with friends, and everybody thought the curd was wonderful! Mine didn’t turn out quite the bright red of yours but more of a deeper and pinker berry color, which was still beautiful and certainly pink/red enough to be suitable for Valentines Day. My curd did turn out just a little bit more liquidy than I prefer, but I think a teaspoon or two of cornstarch will fix that if I make this again.
Heavenly! Have made to use in an almond and raspberry celebration cake I’m making for a cousin’s milestone birthday and honestly have to rein myself in!! Thanks for such an awesome recipe. Will most definitely be making again!
Great bright taste. Easy recipe. I did temper the eggs and my 2nd sieve produced only a few seeds which was great. This will be my go to for curd. Thank you.
This is possible one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Delicious. Worth the effort.
I also had the issue of muddy pink final colour rather than vibrant red. It was definitely not the raspberries, which were fresh-picked. My best guess is that it was the egg white (just a suggestion for a previous commenter) as curd recipes often call for yolks, rather than whole eggs? I’d try it again without whites, which would also eliminate the straining.
This was a bit too buttery for me. Sorry not to be more positive here. The flavour was nice, and I’ll use it as cake filling despite these minor issues. 🙂
I’m usually not big on raspberry but made this as a cake filling for my sister. Let me tell you, consider me a changed woman. This is amazing! So incredibly tasty, sweet yet tart, and smooth and balanced. Cannot reccommend this recipe any higher 🙂
Question! My market had a raspberries sale about a week ago so I grabbed a bunch, washed and dried them, and froze them on a sheet tray before storing them in a container. I made this curd today with cornstarch and the curd lost its vibrant color, turning more into a muddy pink than the bright red in your photo. I tried making it again without the cornstarch and got the same result. They both still taste delicious, but I was hoping to add some pools on top of my frosted cake and unfortunately the color doesn’t quite do it for me! Do you think I could avoid this in the future using store bought frozen raspberries? Is there something in their processing that allows them to maintain their color?
Sometimes when we wash the berries they lose their juices (thus color). When I make mine I use storebought berries. It really comes down to the berries themselves, the starch doesn’t really add color. So if the berries were deep dark red, they’ll make a brighter pink curd.
Why does it need to be sieved twice?
First to remove the raspberry seeds then to remove egg bits.
I love this recipe! I’m always looking for ways to mix up a classic and this one is perfectly tart. The first time I made it I accidentally added the sugar when melting the raspberries the first time and think I’ll keep that method since the leftover heat wasn’t enough to fully melt the sugar after sifting (but maybe I waited too long since I was multitasking). I used it for the raspberry tarts and it was everyone’s favorite at my Galentine’s party, and for raspberry and chocolate pavlovas the second round and it was DIVINE.
This was super easy to make and declisous! I used it as a topping for mini cheesecakes.
I hope this isn’t a silly question, but would it be possible to make this curd with just egg yolks instead of whole eggs? I’m wanting to make it to go with your mini chocolate pavlova recipe, and it would be fantastic to be able to just use some of those leftover yolks!
Not silly at all! You could use yolks, I imagine the consistency will be different (probably the color too). What I can’t tell you for sure is how many to use, I might use four but it’s possible it won’t be enough.
The curd is delicious! I made one third of it, as I only needed a small portion to fill some cupcakes. The recipe worked great!
This looks delicious! Have not made it yet but would like to use it as filling for eclairs. What amount of starch would you recommend for this purpose?
Ok i realized i didnt put 5 stars on the last review but after eating it for four days straight i had no come back and put the respect that this curd deserves!!!!! I’ve been eating it on a sour dough toast and its the best thing ever
Just made this and use a little bit of brown sugar b I put brown sugar in everything I can aaanndddd the lovely pink color is ruined but still delicious!!! Just like every recipe of yours
I’ve been looking for this recipe for a long time! My question is … whem I increase servings why is it the only things that increase are the eggs and tapioca? Thank You for Your Time zdees
good catch! It should work correctly now =)
I used the measurements from this to make the initial juice, then put the cooled juice, sugar, and eggs into the blender and followed the UC-Davis Extension Service instructions for Blender/freeser Curd. Used Meyer Lemons from my tree.
One jar in fridge…came out perfect and one in the freezer. Couldnt be simpler!
This is the best curd recipe ever!! It tastes amazing. I used frozen raspberries and used the finished curd in a chocolate cake with cream cheese icing.
This is delicious! Unfortunately, my guest needed to reschedule. Does anyone know how long will this last in the fridge? Or, can it be frozen? I didn’t use the thickener.
This curd is so good! I added in cranberries as I wanted a cran-raspberry flavor and it worked great.
This curd was the bomb. My son destroyed the pancakes I topped with it (and some whipped cream, lol). Thanks! I added a mint leaf on top, and it was beautiful.
Do you think this would work to swirl into a lemon cheesecake? Maybe fill half and then add the curd, adding the rest of the cheesecake on top? I’m thinking the curd may discolor in the oven if on the top.
i think it would be lovely, i might add a little starch to make sure it thickens (about a teaspoon of tapioca starch)
Realized right after making this on the 1st attempt that I forgot sugar, but so glad I pushed through and made it again. Delicious with the Black Cocoa Cake recipe (:
!!! love the idea of those two together!
I was not disappointed! The recipe was easy to follow and it turned out wonderfully! I love the sweet & tart taste and how creamy it was. Definitely will continue to use this for all of my raspberry cakes and fillings!!
Incredibly delicious and creamy! I made it with frozen raspberry, I served it with palais breton. Merci pour cette belle recette.
Do you use the whole egg, or just the yolk? Looking forward to this one ????
whole egg!
This raspberry curd is incredible! The flavours are bright and tart, but it is also so creamy at the same time. I made it to top a pavlova but I’ll have to hide it from myself if I want to have any left. It is delicious! I doubled the recipe and used frozen raspberries.
I’m excited to use this for my macaron filling!! I hope it will be thick enough to not leak all over the place. Do you think I could leave in the zest and the seeds for more flavor and texture?
Yeah i think that would be fine! If you want it to be thick, be sure to use the starch
This curd is shockingly delicious!! Something about the balance in this recipe really allows the raspberry flavour to sing in a way I haven’t quite experienced before. Definitely make this. I didn’t quite get that vibrant red colour, but I am using this for a cake filling and could draw a line through the curd with a spoon once chilled, so that is a good sign to me!
Ben that’s wonderful to hear! Out of curiosity, did you use fresh or frozen raspberries?
Super delicious! Love to put it on scones 😛
This is the silkiest, most delicious curd! I will definitely make it again. Yum.