Grapefruit Curd with Ginger
This vibrant grapefruit curd is perfect slathered on scones, waffles, and shortbread. A jolt of freshly pressed ginger juice makes it extra special.
I started thinking about this grapefruit curd while traveling in Marrakech, Morocco. I was admiring the diverse plants outside Peacock Pavilions when Maryam kindly brought us tea and a platter of incredible lemon bars. The lemon flavor of the curd was intense and bright, made from citrus picked on the property. The shortbread foundation was extra thick and structured. Think deep-dish lemon bar perfection. And there I found myself, standing in the North African sun, thinking about all the citrus that would waiting for me when I got home to California, and all the different curds I would make.
All The Different Citrus Curds!
And I did. I got right to it. I made minneola curd, blood orange curd, lemon curd with a kiss of clove, and this one, grapefruit curd with ginger. It's my favorite. You get an intense, assertive hit of grapefruit with enough ginger to notice. It begs to be slathered on everything.
What Pairs Well with Grapefruit Curd?
Grapefruit curd is wonderful on a long list of things. Scones, biscuits, toast, and English muffins to start with. Wayne puts it on pizzelles. I swirl it into Greek yogurt. And I like to make some before family comes to brunch because it is perfect with all of the following.
- The Best Waffles
- Fluffy Pancakes
- Scones (swap in some citrus zest or blueberries if blackberries aren’t around!)
- Shortbread
A Couple Details
You can sweeten this curd with granulated sugar or honey, and I include instructions for both down below. In general, I use a one-pan method to make curd, which (I hope) makes things easy for you - not fussy or technical.
Beyond Curd Inspiration
While I was in Morocco I shot with my Polaroid Land camera quite a lot. It takes pack film which is still readily available. Each shot develops over the course of a few minutes, and you peel it away from its backing. You can see my shots spread out on the table up above (land cam shots on the right). I love this camera, but in all honesty, it is not a system for the faint of heart. I carry an external light meter/timer, sizable packs of film, lens adapters/rangefinders, bags for the trash the film produces, and a small box to protect the damp prints from scratches and dirt. The film is also temperature sensitive. Beyond that, the list of issues goes on - but I love the little prints it makes, and the feel they have. Hopefully some of that magic is retained in a few of these scans - a handful of my favorites from this trip.
I look forward to returning someday - I'd also love to visit Fez, a city that has been on my travel wishlist for a long time. In the meantime, I'll keep cooking from my stack of Moroccan cookbooks so I have a deeper understanding when I do return - a shortlist of a few of my favorites for those of you who are interested (The Food of Morocco, Mourad: New Moroccan, Arabesque, and A Month in Marrakesh). Also! Paula Wolfert maintains a fantastic Facebook group focused on Moroccan cooking, it's an incredible resource that you might want to check out if you're interested in diving deeper.
Exploring the Medina in Marrakech.
More Citrus Recipes
- Sunny Citrus Recipes
- Super Orange Citrus Rice
- 15 Inspiring Winter Citrus Recipes
- Glazed Lemon Cake
- Citrus Salt
- Ginger-kissed Grapefruit Juice
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Grapefruit Curd with Ginger
I simmer my grapefruit juice here so it reduces and concentrates. I do this with any citrus curd I make. The flavor of the curd is better, the color deeper. That said, if you don't have time (or the inclination) to do this step, just start with 1/2 cup / 120 ml of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained. Your curd with still be perfectly good. As far as sweeteners go, I use granulated sugar, or honey, or a blend of the two. I tend to mix it up depending on the citrus I'm using. This curd is great made with sugar or honey. If using honey, I use less because the flavor is so much more pronounced, and honey is sweeter. That said, I think I tend to go easy on the sweetener in general compared to other curd recipes - trying to strike a balance, avoiding cloying sweetness. Try it this way and feel free to adjust the sweetness in future batches to your liking. Method: I cream, then combine ingredients in a stainless steel mixing bowl here, you can use the bowl from your stand mixer if you like. Then, move that bowl over a saucepan of boiling water (as a makeshift double boiler), to keep the heat gentle. Go from there. It's easy, and keeps bowl-cleaning to a minimum.
- 1 cup / 240 ml freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, soft
- 1/2 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g granulated sugar OR 1/4 cup / 60 ml honey
- 2 large egg yolks, preferably room temperature
- 2 large eggs, preferably room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger juice (made by pressing grated ginger through a strainer)
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Simmer the grapefruit juice in a small saucepan, reducing to 1/2 cup / 120 ml. Let it cool a bit.
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Cream the butter in a medium stainless steel bowl (note: you'll use this bowl as a makeshift double-boiler later). Add the sugar and beat until fluffy and light. Add the yolks, and then the eggs one at a time, beating well to incorporate after each addition. Stir in the salt, and then gradually add the grapefruit juice, lemon juice, and ginger juice - working the juice in as you go.
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Rinse out the small saucepan you used earlier, and fill 1/3 of the way full with water. Bring to a simmer, and place your stainless steel bowl of curd on top of it. Stir constantly, and heat the curd slowly enough that the sugar (if you used it) has time to dissolve. This step usually takes me about ten minutes. Pull the curd from the heat when it is just thick enough to coat your spoon - my thermometer usually reads ~166°F (it will continue to climb a bit off heat, keep that in mind). Your curd will thick substantially as it cools.
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There's no need to strain it, unless you somehow ended up with a few lumps (which you shouldn't). And it keeps refrigerated for a week, or up to a month in the freezer. I love it warm or cold.
Makes about 2 cups.
Related Recipes
15 Inspiring Winter Citrus Recipes
Put all that amazing winter citrus to work! A round-up of 15 winter citrus recipes, and a reminder of all the different ways we can enjoy citrus season while it lasts.
Glazed Lemon Cake
This lemon cake is moist, fragrant and topped with a salted lemon glaze. It is made with lots of lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice. You don’t need a mixer, the olive oil based batter comes together quickly, and you’re not much longer than an hour from having a beautiful cake to share.
Ginger-kissed Grapefruit Juice
This grapefruit juice will jolt you to attention. It’s just the thing if you’re looking for something bright, invigorating, spicy, and full volume citrus. Steep grated ginger in a bit of sugared water, and then strain it into a lime & grapefruit juice blend. Inspired by a version in the Rose Bakery cookbook.
Citrus Salt
A spectrum of citrus salts made from all sorts of winter citrus zest - clementines, Makrut lime, Meyer lemon, kalamansi oranges, and mandarinquats. The process couldn't be simpler.
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Comments
Gorgeous photographs, gorgeous food and that camera is exquisite. I love it all. You have an amazing talent both in the kitchen and with photography.
Wow what beautiful pictures! I've never commented before but ive made a lot of your recipes and you are a woman of many talents! I would live to go to north Africa and this just tempts me. But do you or anyone else commenting have a recipe for vegan curd? Or is the egg just vital - I might just have to accept I cant sample this, maybe a grapefruit-ginger lemonade-type juice could be my version?
This post is stunning. You got me with the first photo [gorgeous!] but goodness, your trip captures are incredible. What a beautiful account. And now the travel bug has hit me, alas.
There are so many yummy things I could do with this! Yum!
Lovely, just lovely! (That's for both the photos and the recipe.) I will be making this soon.
Jemaa el Fna! Love! A favorite place.
I love the pictures of Marrakesh, rose-colored on the edge of the Sahara. I was there in 1981. We had travelled down from Tangiers one winter and stayed for a few weeks at the CTM which is a hotel run by the bus company right on the Djmaa el Fna (sp?). No tour buses then. Spending much time on the roof, going down to the square to one of the stalls for fresh orange juice, fresh dates, almonds and lovely round brown bread with a hard boiled egg crammed in the middle. The yolk was brilliant yellow, almost chartreuse...Enjoying the show in the square, dentists w/piles of extracted teeth at their side, snake charmers, acrobats... The hotel brought us a brazier full of coals in the evening so that we could grill our own whole fish and other wonderful things, after we had tired of eating at the stalls. Love your bracelets, I want them.
It may not be for the faint hearted, as you say, but I can see why you love that camera. It just captured the light so perfectly. In my long list of curds, grapefruit is still to be added. I found it is not worth making curd unless you have really good fruit at hand, and it never happened to me with grapefruit. I wish I had.
oh, this looks so delicious and your pictures, as always, are stunning. do you think that this would work with coconut oil instead of butter??
Morning H - Your photos are absolutely gorgeous. Just goes to show its worth carrying around a heavier/extra camera to get some great photos. Also this citrus curd recipe comes at the perfect time as I have a drawer FULL of oranges - so I might give it a try with those. I know this is a stretch, but do you think this could somehow be used in a sweet - almost dessert salad? Maybe tossed with a heartier leaf like dinosaur kale?
Gorgeous, Heidi - love those Land shots. I was wondering if you've shot with any of the films in Impossible's lineup? I seem to recall that you have a SX-70 and just wondered what your impressions were/if you had a favourite?
oh I LOVE hearing about your trip!!!
GORGEOUS photos and GORGEOUS curd (my kind of sweet-tart-citrus). That camera is simply fantastic!
This looks delicious... and your pictures are really gorgeous. I'll have to try your recipe; I often find curds too sweet, so I'm excited to try your version.
Joy! Joy! Joy! Joy!!!!!
Amazing pics!! I did recently a passion fruit curd... lovely idea I think!
Such stunning images that capture a certain type of magic!
Wow! Beautiful photos and recipe! I've never even wanted to try a curd before but this one has me drooling. Yum!
The thought of this curd in Greek yogurt sounds like the ultimate March breakfast to beat away the winter doldrums. I love your photos from Morocco and I completely understand what you didn't take photos of. There is something about that acridity of trash/wood fires that somehow adds a mystical earthiness to the overall atmosphere while traveling. Whenever I smell that distinct scent of burning, I'm immediately taken back to night market eating during winter in the town I lived in in China. I always tried to take photos, but the essence never felt truly captured. I decided it was best to give up and just truly throw myself in the moment instead. I think it turned out much better because the image and feeling I have in my head is probably ten times better than anything I could have ever captured. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Your photos are amazing!! I felt like I was taking a stroll through Morocco while reading your post. I've never actually had lemon curd before - I'll have to give this recipe a try!