How to make homemade orange curd

Homemade orange curd is so quick and easy to make. Whip up a batch today. It’s delicious spread on scones, or used as a filling in cakes. You’ll even find yourself eating it straight out of the jar!!!

Homemade orange curd

I was browsing our local supermarket the other day looking for inspiration for a new recipe when I noticed a display of juicy oranges.

The sight of them brought back memories of my childhood in South Africa. Our neighbours had a huge lemon tree in their back garden which was always covered in bright yellow plump juicy lemons. The neighbours were always passing bags full of the fruit to us over the fence. I remember my mother cooking up batches of homemade lemon curd and then turning it into the tastiest jam tarts – some of which made their way back over the fence!

I thought it would be interesting to see how well oranges would work in an orange curd recipe, rather than using lemons, so I bought a packet full and took them home to experiment.

The first batch turned out reasonably well. It thickened nicely, but I found it a bit too sweet, which actually overpowered the flavour of the orange. So I tried again. This time I cut down on the amount of sugar and added a small amount of honey.

What a difference that made! The flavour of the orange really came to the fore, and the while the curd was still sweet, it wasn’t overpoweringly so.

I layered some of the orange curd onto a scone, piled whipped cream on top and passed it over to Graham for the taste test. The result? ‘Oh that was nice – have you got any more?’. I think we can safely say my experiment was a success.

How to make homemade orange curd

It’s easier to make that you might think. Once you have assembled all your ingredients it only takes about 10 minutes to make. Get the complete printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients

You only need 5 ingredients – these will make about 300 ml orange curd. If you want to make more you can just double the quantities.

• 200 ml freshly squeezed orange juice – don’t cheat and try to use shop-bought orange juice – you really won’t get the same taste. Also, if you really wanted to, you could grate some of the fresh orange zest and add about a teaspoonful for extra flavour. The number of oranges you will need depends on how juicy your oranges are.
• 50 g Butter – it has to be butter – margerine just won’t work as well.
• 50 g Sugar – this depends entirely on how sweet your oranges are. I would add half of the sugar in the beginning and taste halfway through the cooking process to see whether you need all of it. Remember, you can put it in, but you can’t take it out again.
• 50 ml Honey – (about 2 tablespoons). You can substitute this with extra sugar if you don’t have honey to hand, but I find the honey really enhances the flavour.
• 3 large eggs – these are used to thicken the orange curd. If you don’t have large eggs to hand then you can use 4 small eggs instead. (When I took this picture I had run out of eggs, which is why there are only 2 eggs showing).

Steps

Cut your oranges in half and squeeze out 200ml juice.

Melt the butter in a saucepan then add the rest of the ingredients. Only add half the sugar.

Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Taste at this point and add the nest of the sugar if necessary.

Cook over a low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens. Don’t worry if the mixture looks as though it is curdling. This is perfectly normal – it will come together as it cooks and thickens. It will be at the correct consistency when a spoon leaves a trail as you pull it through the curd.

Allow to cool then pour into a sterilised jar. The mixture will thicken more as it cools. See the recipe notes for full instructions on how to sterilise jars.

Store in the fridge until you are ready to use it. It will keep quite happily in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Equipment

To make this recipe you will need the following equipment

• Citrus juicer – to extract the juice from the oranges. I’ve included links to both a manual and an electric juicer.
• Zester – if you want to add orange zest
• Whisk – for stirring whilst the curd is cooking
• Saucepan
• Jars – for storage

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Recipe – Homemade Orange Curd

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

How to make Orange Curd

Sweet and tangy homemade orange curd – ideal for spreading on scones, or using as a filling for a cake

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Preserves

Cuisine: Any

Servings: 250 ml (1 cup)

Calories: 1019kcal

Author: VJ

Ingredients

• 200 ml orange juice freshly squeezed
• 50 g butter
• 50 g white sugar
• 3 large eggs lightly beaten
• 50 ml honey

Instructions

• Melt the butter in a saucepan
• Add the remaining ingredients and stir over a low heat until the mixture thickens and leaves a trail when you draw a spoon through it.
• Allow to cool. It will thicken more as it cools.
• Pour into a sterilised jar and seal

Notes

The  will amount of sugar depend on how sweet your oranges are.  If the oranges are very sweet start by adding only half the amount of sugar.  Once the mixture is starting to thicken, taste and add the remainder of the sugar if necessary.

The curd will be cooked when it leaves a trail when you draw a spoon through it.  It will thicken further on cooling.

To sterilise your jars in the oven:

• Wash your jars and the lids in hot soapy water, but do not dry them.
• Stand them upside down on a baking tray while they’re still wet.
• Place the tray of clean, wet jars and lids in to a preheated oven at 160-180ºC for about 15 mins.

To sterilise your jars in the microwave:

• Wash your jars and the lids in hot soapy water, but do not dry them.
• Place them in the microwave whilst still wet.
• Microwave on full power for 2 minutes
• If the lids are made of metal DO NOT MICROWAVE.  Instead, place the lids in a pot of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes.

The calorie count has been calculated for the entire recipe.

The calorie count has been calculated using an on-line calculator and is provided for information purposes only.  If the calorie count is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, please rate it in the comments below. I’d love to know how it went.

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