Strawberry Curd
Strawberry curd is a versatile strawberry-flavored fruit spread you can use to fill cakes, tarts, or macarons. It can also add a bit of tartness as a parfait layer or drizzled over ice cream, waffles, or pancakes.
Recipe At a Glance
Strawberry curd is the perfect strawberry-flavored spread. It follows the same process raspberry curd does: you combine the fruit puree with lemon juice and zest, thicken it with a mixture of eggs, yolks and sugar, the add butter for richness and texture.
The process is as simple as it gets, and you can adjust the texture easily by adding extra yolks or a bit of cornstarch.
(I cover both options in the tips section.)
That’s about all you need to know.
Making strawberry curd for the first time? Read the ingredients notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re familiar with the recipe, feel free to jump to the recipe card.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutes
- Strawberries. Both fresh and frozen strawberries work well for this recipe. I typically go with frozen strawberries as they’re available all year long and use fresh ones for decoration when available.
- Lemon. Lemon juice and zest help bring out the flavor of the strawberries.
- Sugar. Regular white sugar works best.
- Eggs. Curds use eggs for thickening. We use a combination of whole eggs and additional yolks to ensure a rich, creamy texture.
- Unsalted butter. Butter adds richness and further helps thicken the curd.
How to Make Strawberry Curd
New to curds? Check out my curds 101 article, where I cover different techniques you can use to make curds and other useful tips.
- Puree Strawberries: Use a hand blender to puree your fresh strawberries. If using frozen berries, cook them gently on the stove with a couple of tablespoons of water to prevent burning until completely soft, then puree them. If you want a smooth curd, strain the pureed strawberries through a fine mesh to remove all seeds, pressing and scraping to extract as much puree as possible. You’ll end up with about four-fifths of the original weight in puree. Strawberries don’t have nearly as many seeds as raspberries, so you could omit the straining for a more textured consistency.
Blend strawberries into a puree
Strain to extract puree and remove seeds
- Prep Lemon: Wash the lemon under running water to remove any residues. For extra precaution against pesticides on commercial lemons, soak the lemon for 15 minutes in 2 cups of water mixed with a tablespoon of baking soda.
- Zest: Gently peel off the zest from the lemon half using a microplane, a zester, or the fine holes on your box grater, avoiding discolored or blemished areas. Chop the zest if it’s in long strips.
- Squeeze: Extract the juice from the lemon half.
- Prep Eggs: Crack the eggs into a heatproof bowl, add the yolks, whisk, and stir in the sugar. Set aside.
Crack eggs into a bowl
Whisk with sugar
- Cook Puree Mixture: Add the strawberry puree, lemon juice, and lemon zest to a pot, stir everything, and cook on medium heat until it bubbles. Take off the heat.
- Temper Eggs: Gradually incorporate the hot puree into the eggs mixture by adding a few tablespoons at a time while constantly stirring. Continue until you combine at least half of the mixture with the eggs. Continue stirring at all times so the eggs don’t curdle. Pour the warm egg mixture back into the pot and set it on low heat.
Gradually add the hot puree
Mix at least half of the mixture with the eggs
Return the warm egg mixture to the pot
- Cook: Cook the egg mixture while stirring continously until it noticeably thickens. As it cooks, it typically foams and that foam tends to disappear soon after the curd thickens. Don’t stop whisking, or the eggs will curdle.
- Add Butter: Once thickened, remove from heat, add the chopped butter, and stir until it melts and blends in.
Cooking mixture until it thickens
Add the chopped butter
Stir until butter melts and blends in
- Strain (Optional): For a smoother texture, strain the curd to remove any lemon zest or bits of cooked egg. This step is optional, and I usually omit it.
- Cover: Place plastic wrap directly on the curd’s surface to prevent skin formation.
- Refrigerate: Let the curd cool at room temperature until it’s no longer hot before refrigerating it, still covered.
Tips
Here are a few things to keep in mind when making this curd:
- Add Yolks to Thicken: This curd recipe is slightly thinner than my lemon curd recipe. That’s usually not an issue, but if you need a thicker one (say, to use as macaron filling), add in two extra egg yolks. If you’ve already cooked the curd and it’s too thin, beat the yolks in a separate bowl, temper them with some of the curd the same way you temper eggs in the recipe, then return everything to the pot and cook until the mixture thickens.
- Thicken with Cornstarch: Cornstarch is an effective alternative for thickening the curd without extra eggs. Mix one teaspoon of cornstarch with one teaspoon of water, then stir this slurry into the cooking curd. Continue to cook and stir until it thickens. Repeat the process if needed. After adding cornstarch, stir continuously for an additional minute once removed from heat to ensure smoothness.
- Adjust Flavor: This recipe has a balanced blend of sweet and tart flavors, but feel free to tweak it to your liking. Taste the curd after stirring it the butter (be careful!), and add more sugar for extra sweetness or lemon juice for more acidity.
Storage
You can store strawberry curd in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Make sure the container is sealed tightly so they don’t absorb any smells.
Servings: 3.75 cups strawberry curd
Equipment
- whisk
- Hand blender
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries ~450 g, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 lemon medium
- 4 oz sugar 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon or 113 g
- 3 eggs large
- 3 egg yolks large, about 45-52 g
- 4 oz butter ~113 g
Instructions
- Puree Strawberries: Use a hand blender for fresh strawberries or cook frozen strawberries with water until soft. Strain to remove seeds.1 pound strawberries
- Prep Lemon: Wash the lemon thoroughly, soaking if needed to remove pesticides.
- Zest & Squeeze: Zest and then juice the lemon.1/2 lemon
- Prep Eggs: Whisk eggs and yolks with sugar in a bowl and set aside.3 eggs, 3 egg yolks, 4 oz sugar
- Cook Puree Mixture: Combine strawberry puree, lemon juice, and zest in a pot. Heat until it bubbles then remove from heat.
- Temper Eggs: Slowly mix the hot puree into the eggs to avoid curdling. Return the mixture to the pot.
- Cook: Stir the mixture on low heat until it noticeably thickens.
- Add Butter: Off the heat, add chopped butter and stir until melted and incorporated.4 oz butter
- Strain (Optional): Optionally strain the curd for a smoother texture.
- Cover & Cool: Cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin formation.
- Refrigerate: Cool to about room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
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