When I ruined what could have been a perfectly delightful batch of blackberry jelly, by over boiling it, I managed to rescue the situation by throwing butter at it and turning it into a delicious blackberry curd. Given that most things can be improved by throwing butter at them I wondered if one could use the same principle to turn any jam or jelly, not just accidentally over-boiled ones, into curd. Turns out one can. That’s nice, you might think, that kept you busy for an afternoon, but why should I care?
Well, because it’s perfect if you want a quick and delicious filling for a pastry, a tart or a cake, one that’s just a bit more glamorous than a skim of jam and requires no tedious fruit preparation beyond opening a jar.
I haven’t tested every jam, jelly, conserve, preserve or marmalade (give me time) but there’s no reason why the principle shouldn’t be applied across the whole sticky, fruity genre.
These amounts make enough to fill a 300ml jam jar and if you want an EGG-FREE or PLANT-BASED version, just scroll down.
Any Jam Curd
170g of readymade jam (I used blackcurrant)
50g water
10g cornflour / cornstarch (if your jam is runny use 12g)
1 large egg
80g unsalted butter
A micro pinch of salt
A squeeze of lemon juice or citric acid if the jam isn’t very sharp.
HOW TO:
• Add the jam you’re using to a heavy bottom pan and break it up a bit.
• To a small bowl add the water and cornflour and mix until there are no lumps.
• Whisk the egg into the conrflour mix, then pour through a fine sieve into the jam pan, discard any stringy eggy bit.
• Mix everything in the pan together so the egg is well incorporated then put on a medium heat.
• Keep the curd mixture moving as it cooks, it will take about 5 minutes to thicken.
• Taste the curd and if there is some chalkiness from the cornflour cook it for a further minute or two until it the chalkiness has gone.
• Taste the curd, if you want it a bit sharper add a little citric acid or a squeeze of lemon.
• Remove from the heat and stir in 80g of unsalted butter.
• Add the tiniest pinch of salt to balance the flavours.
• Pour it into a very clean jam jar and keep in the fridge until you need to use it.
• Or eat it straight from the jar with a spoon.
• Or your fingers.
• Or someone else’s fingers. I’ll leave that up to you.
Egg-Free Any Jam Curd
175g of readymade jam (I used blackcurrant)
100g aquafaba*
15g cornflour* / cornstarch
80g unsalted butter (dairy or plant-based)
Micro pinch of salt
A squeeze of lemon juice or citric acid if the jam isn’t very sharp
*If you can't have, don’t have, or don’t want to use aquafaba you can use 100g of water, but egg free curds can start to separate when chilled, particularly when using a plant-based butter, but the lecithin in the aquafaba helps the fats stayed emulsified for a better texture.
HOW TO:
• Add the jam you’re using to a heavy bottom pan and break it up a bit.
• To a small bowl add the cornflour and mix with a little of the aquafaba, when there are no lumps stir in the rest of the liquid.
• Add the liquid to the jam pan.
• Mix everything in the pan together so everything is well incorporated then put on a medium heat.
• Keep the curd mixture moving as it cooks it will take about 5 minutes to thicken.
• Taste the curd and if there is some chalkiness from the cornflour cook it for a further minute or two until it the chalkiness has gone.
• Taste the curd, if you want it a bit sharper add a little citric acid or a squeeze of lemon.
• Remove from the heat and stir in 80g of unsalted butter.
• Add the tiniest pinch of salt to balance the flavours.
• Pour it into a very clean jam jar and keep in the fridge until you need to use it.
Tat x
I'm obsessed with Thursday cottage cherry curd, it's not easy to find though. I will give this a try with cherry jam when I run out.
Have you tried it with cherry jam?
I must try this. Thanks for the egg-free option!