Cornelian Cherry Curd – Tart & Creamy
A smooth, tart Cornelian cherry curd made with fresh fruit, eggs, sugar and butter, with a distinctive sour-cherry flavour.
This Cornelian Cherry Curd makes the most of the fruit’s natural tartness, which works surprisingly well in place of lemon but with a distinctive sour-cherry twist. Eggs, sugar and butter turn the bright red fruit purée into a smooth, creamy curd for spreading on toast and scones or using in cakes and tarts.
Ingredients
- Cornelian cherries – Provide the intensely tart, slightly sour-cherry flavour that gives the curd its character; use fully ripe, deep-red fruit for the best flavour and colour.
- Eggs and egg yolks – Thicken the fruit purée into a smooth curd while giving it a richer, creamier texture.
- Granulated sugar – Balances the natural acidity of the Cornelian cherries and helps give the finished curd its soft, glossy consistency.
- Butter – Added towards the end of cooking for richness and a smoother, more spreadable texture.
How to Make Cornelian Cherry Curd
Cook the Cornelian Cherries
Place the Cornelian cherries and water in a medium saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally and lightly mashing the fruit as it softens. They are ready when the skins have split and the fruit has collapsed into a thick, juicy pulp.
Remove the Stones
Press the cooked cherries through a coarse sieve or colander into a bowl, leaving the stones behind. The back of a ladle works particularly well for pushing the soft flesh through; scrape any purée clinging to the underside into the bowl. Measure out 200 g of Cornelian cherry purée for the curd.
Combine the Eggs and Sugar
Whisk the whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl until thoroughly combined, then whisk in the Cornelian cherry purée and a small pinch of salt. Mixing the eggs with the sugar before heating helps the curd thicken evenly.
Gently Cook the Curd
Set the bowl over a saucepan containing a few centimetres of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook gently, stirring continuously with a silicone spatula and scraping around the base and sides, until the curd noticeably thickens. Aim for around 77–80°C (171–176°F); avoid boiling, which will scramble the eggs.
Add the Butter
Remove the bowl from the heat and gradually whisk in the cubed butter until completely melted and incorporated. The finished curd should be glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, although it will become considerably thicker as it cools.
Strain Until Smooth
For the smoothest Cornelian cherry curd, press the warm curd through a fine-mesh sieve. This removes any small pieces of cooked egg or fruit skin and gives the finished curd a more even texture.
Cool and Refrigerate
Transfer the curd to a clean jar, allow it to cool briefly, then cover and refrigerate. It will continue to set as it chills, so don’t keep cooking it simply because it looks slightly thinner than you expect while warm.
Storage
Keep the cherry curd covered in the refrigerator. Because this recipe contains eggs and butter, I wouldn’t recommend water-bath canning. Fruit curds can be made shelf stable, but require specifically tested preservation formulations.
More Cornelian Cherry Recipes
- Cornelian Cherry Jam
- Cornelian Cherry Hot Sauce
- Cornelian Cherry BBQ Sauce
- Cornelian Cherry Jelly
- Cornelian Cherry Cordial
- Cornelian Cherry Sorbet
Cornelian Cherry Curd
Ingredients
- 500 g ripe Cornelian cherries
- 100 ml water
- 120 g granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 75 g unsalted butter chilled and cut into cubes
- 1 small pinch fine salt
Instructions
- Add the Cornelian cherries and water to a medium saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring and lightly mashing occasionally, until the fruit has completely softened.
- Press the cooked fruit through a coarse sieve or colander to remove the stones and skins. Measure 200 g of Cornelian cherry purée and set aside.
- Whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together in a heatproof bowl until smooth. Whisk in the Cornelian cherry purée and salt.
- Set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water without allowing the bowl to touch the water. Stir continuously with a silicone spatula until the curd thickens and reaches approximately 77–80°C (171–176°F).
- Add the butter. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chilled butter a few cubes at a time until completely melted and incorporated.
- Pass the warm curd through a fine-mesh sieve for a smooth finish.
- Transfer to a clean container, cover and refrigerate. The curd will thicken further as it cools.
Notes
Storage and Freezing
Keep the curd covered in the refrigerator. For this Cornelian cherry formulation, I’d take the conservative approach and use it within one week, as it hasn’t been laboratory tested for extended refrigerated storage. For longer storage, freezing is the better option than canning. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has validated freezing for its lemon curd recipe for up to a year, with refrigerator thawing recommended; although that doesn’t specifically validate this Cornelian cherry formulation, it supports freezing as the more appropriate preservation approach for fruit curds. I would not water-bath can this Cornelian cherry curd. The NCHFP specifically states that fruit curds other than its tested lemon/lime formulations are not currently recommended for home canning.Cornelian Cherry Curd FAQs
Yes. Thaw the Cornelian cherries first, including any juices they release, then cook and strain them in the same way as fresh fruit. Measure the required amount of purée after removing the stones.
Curd needs gentle heat and enough time for the eggs to thicken the mixture. Continue stirring until it reaches around 77–80°C (171–176°F) and coats the back of a spoon; remember that it will become considerably thicker once refrigerated.
Use it much as you would lemon curd: spread on toast, scones or pancakes, spooned over yoghurt, or as a filling for cakes and tarts. Its tart, sour-cherry character works particularly well with creamy and buttery desserts.
Store it in a clean, tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator. For this homemade egg-and-butter curd, I’d use it within about one week rather than treating it as a long-term preserve.
Yes, and making it a day ahead is useful because the texture becomes thicker once thoroughly chilled. Keep it refrigerated until you are ready to serve or use it in another recipe.
Yes. Cornelian cherries are naturally very tart, so this Cornelian cherry curd without lemon gets its acidity directly from the fruit. That gives it some of the sharp character of lemon curd while retaining a distinctive sour-cherry flavour.
Keep Cornelian cherry curd covered in the refrigerator and use it within one week. For longer storage, freezing is the better option; tested fruit-curd guidance indicates that some fruit curds can be frozen for up to one year, then thawed slowly in the refrigerator before use.
I wouldn’t water-bath can this recipe. Home-canning guidance for fruit curds is formulation-specific, and this Cornelian cherry curd does not have an established tested processing method, so it shouldn’t be treated as shelf-stable.
