Apricot and Cardamom Curd
Creamy, zesty, sunshiny apricot curd with subtle cardamom notes to enhance that beautiful apricot flavour. Fruit curd is really quite simple to make and it’s so delicious you won’t regret the small amount of effort required. Spread it on toast and scones or use it to top cakes and desserts.
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Another post which isn’t a chocolate one. Well it’s not yet anyway. I shall use it for at least one future chocolate recipe though. Apricots are the ingredient chosen by Chele for this month’s We Should Cocoa. Don’t you just love the colour of apricots? I certainly do.
Apricot And Cardamom Curd
When I saw a recipe for apricot curd over at Home Baked, it seemed like a useful thing to have to hand. Not that I have yet decided what I’m going to make. Several ideas are still circulating in my mind.
I used a slightly different method to Hannah as I’d heard whisking the lemon juice into the eggs helped to “cook” the eggs, so wanted to do that bit first. I also used a little less sugar as I don’t like things too sweet. And the sugar I use is cardamom sugar – an idea I picked up from hearing about Vanessa Kimbell’s book Prepped*.
I use the double boiler method to make this apricot and cardamom curd. You can make it direct in a saucepan and it will thicken faster. However, the risk of turning your precious curd into scrambled eggs is much greater.
The apricot curd tastes divine. It’s creamy, with an apricot flavour and refreshing zing. What’s not to like? It sets a little better than the lime curd and has a firmer texture. I’ve used some to make these apricot curd and white chocolate cupcakes. I’ve also made this chilli chocolate cake with apricot curd buttercream which is an absolute star.
Cardamom Sugar
Cardamom sugar gives lovely, but subtle warm citrus tones to sweet recipes. It pairs particularly well with fruit. It’s very easy to make the sugar. Just add a small handful of cardamom pods to a bag of golden caster sugar or your sugar jar and leave it for at least a week. Give it an occasional shake.
When you come to use the sugar, just pass it through a sieve and return the cardamom pods to the original bag of sugar.
I have a jar permanently on the go. Rarely do I need to change the cardamom pods, I just top up the sugar as I use it.
Apricot Curd: Top Tip
It’s best to strain the finished curd through a sieve before jarring. You don’t have to do this bit, but there are usually a few hard threads in the apricots which can give an unpleasant texture.
Other Fruit Curd Recipes You Might Like
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this apricot curd, with or without the cardamom, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more apricot recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Apricot Curd. PIN IT.
Apricot Curd – The Recipe
Apricot Curd
Ingredients
- 4 large apricots (225-250g) stoned
- 1 organic lemon zest & juice
- 2 large eggs (I used duck eggs)
- 200 g golden caster sugar (I used cardamom sugar)
- 50 g unsalted butter
Instructions
- Roughly chop the apricots and simmer in a splash of water for about 10 minutes until soft.4 large apricots
- Finely grate the lemon zest into a bowl large enough to sit on a pan of simmering water. Squeeze in the juice.1 organic lemon
- Add the eggs and whisk together.2 large eggs
- Place the bowl on the pan of simmering water and whisk in the sugar.200 g golden caster sugar
- Add the apricots along with the butter and continue to whisk until everything is well combined.50 g unsalted butter
- Allow the mixture to heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon – about 20 minutes.
- Strain through a sieve and pour into 3 small sterilised glass jars.
Love this recipe so am revisiting!
Ren – it is pretty damn good and a great thing to have on standby too.
Have to make this! Looks divine!
WLM – Agree, it’s hard to have a favourite spice, but cardamom is up in the top few.
Jac – I hadn’t made any for years until this year – it’s obviously something we need to be reminded of 😉
CC – Strangely, I’ve never been a fan of lemon curd, but I suspect it’s because I’ve never had home made before. I certainly enjoyed the lime curd I made. Will have to give lemon a try.
Love the idea of a fruit curd that isn’t lemon! Gorgeous colour and I bet it tastes divine
That sounds just perfect. I do love curd. I don’t know why I don’t make it more often. Can’t wait to see ehat you make with it 🙂
Looks really Nice, and an interesting combination! Love cardamom, glad it is increasingly prominent these days!
Nora – weirdly the cardamom has more of a citrus flavour when combined with the sugar and it’s quite subtle, but that could be because I haven’t put in enough pods. I just bunged a whole load of cardamom pods in a jar of caster sugar and left for a week before using, then just keep topping it up. As for the apricots, I would have thought sour ones would work well as it’s good to get a bit of sour zinginess in there to contrast with the creamy curd texture. Let me know how it turns out if you do try it.
Carol – I think you are absolutely right. Good Luck with your new range and let me know how things turn out if you do make this.
BVG – I’ve fallen in love with the cardamom sugar and have been using it in just about everything recently. Such an easy thing to do.
Katie – thanks, just right for summer and it appeals to me more than strawberry or raspberry curd does – not that I’ve tried them!
CityHippy – he he, it’s just too bad. You’ll be doing the same to us in a few months time!
Foodycat – I wonder why we don’t hear more about it, apricots make such a good curd.
C – I know, the weather is rather grim isn’t it? So, as you say it’s good to have something that makes us feel as though it’s summer occasionally 🙁
Hannah – thank you for the idea.
Wow, I love that colour! The colour of the sunshine we aren’t having…. 😉
Can’t wait to see the finished bake!
Ooh – I like what you’ve added to it. Thanks so much for linking back to me :o)
I made an apricot curd a couple of years ago – very delicious and very versatile!
Now that sounds like summer in a jar. I’ve found you summer bloggers are really taunting me this year with your stone fruit, especially apricots as I haven’t had any good ones for years now! Yum, oh so yum.
Wow this looks amazing! I’ve never seen apricot curd before but love the idea. It sounds so fresh and summery. Interesting idea to pair it with cardomom. What a gorgeous colour too
Like Nora I love the sound of the cardamom sugar ….. I’m going to give it a go, nice thing to have in the cupboard.
Looking forward to the cupcakes!
Oh I will be trying both of these recipes as soon as my new range is in situ sounds glorious. I bet it would be heavenly sandwiches in a dark dark chocolate cake. x
Wow, that looks lovely. And I can’t wait to see the cupcakes. And I am intrigued by the cardamom sugar – is that just sugar with cardamom pods sitting in it, like vanilla pods? If so, any idea how long you’d have to leave them to infuse before you get a cardamomy flavour to the sugar? And also, do you reckon this is a good thing for unripe apricots? It’s just that I know that my local fruit and veg shop has some unripe ones (or they were when I bought them yesterday) so it might be a good thing to use them for. Or do you think ripe ones would be better?
Sorry to bombard you with questions! xxx
Chele – I loved the colour of this too and it tastes divine 🙂
Corina – yes, that did occur to me later – sorry!
Anna – thank you. I feel I should make some more before the apricot season is over.
VBB – you’ll have to wait for the chocolate 😉 And that stuff is brill – thanks for saying so.
Nic – thank you, it’s almost worth it for the colour alone, but it does taste pretty damn good too 🙂
Gloria – I expect next summer feels like a long time away, but hope you manage to make it.
Hazel – the cardamom sugar is quite subtle but I’m convinced it’s added a certain something 😉
Janice – eating them raw is going to be much better for you and ripe ones are so delicious. These were actually quite sharp so the curd was definitely zingy and there was lemon juice too.
mmm apricots (not sure Homer Simpson would agree but you know what i mean) Not sure about the curd, is it sharp enough for a curd? Would find it diffiuclt to make this as I just want to eat them raw!
This sounds fabulous! I absolutely love apricot. Sounds very interesting with cardamom. I would love some of this on a cupcake, or my toast!
Delicious and beauty! I bookmarked I have to do foir next summer, I adore apricots, the colour is wonderful, LOL gloria
Oooh, nice and the colour is truly gorgeous!
Where’s the chocolate?
This stuff looks brill.
Yum, that’s a great idea and it looks so good!
If only I didn’t need to go out in the rain to get the apricots! It sounds gorgeous.
Loving the colour of that curd. I’ve bookmarked a recipe for apricot curd in Jamie’s latest magazine so I’m really keen to give it a go now. Can’t wait to see what you use the curd in ;0)