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Cranberry Curd

By Sarah Ewald

Published on October 15, 2019

Time

30 minutes, plus 3 hours chilling

Yield

Makes about 2 cups

Cranberry Curd

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 grams/3 cups) frozen cranberries 1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar 2 teaspoons grated orange zest plus ¼ cup juice¼ teaspoon table salt 2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled

Before You Begin

You needn't thaw the cranberries for this recipe.

Instructions

  1. Cook cranberries, sugar, orange zest and juice, and salt in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, mashing occasionally with potato masher, until cranberries have mostly broken down and mixture measures 1¼ cups, 10 to 12 minutes. Strain cranberry mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl, pressing on solids with rubber spatula to extract as much puree as possible. Discard solids.
  2. Whisk eggs and yolks into cranberry mixture in bowl. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with rubber spatula, until mixture is thickened and registers 175 degrees in multiple spots, 5 to 7 minutes.
  3. Off heat, stir in butter until incorporated. Transfer curd to bowl, press piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (Curd can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
Cranberry Curd
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Catrine Kelty.

Cranberry Curd

Headshot of Sarah Ewald
By Sarah Ewald
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Time

30 minutes, plus 3 hours chilling

Yield

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 grams/3 cups) frozen cranberries
1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest plus ¼ cup juice
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 grams/3 cups) frozen cranberries
1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest plus ¼ cup juice
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled

Ingredients

12 ounces (340 grams/3 cups) frozen cranberries
1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest plus ¼ cup juice
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs plus 2 large yolks
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled

Why This Recipe Works

Cranberry curd is a custard-style sauce made from eggs, sugar, butter, and cranberries. We concentrated the flavor of our cranberries by cooking them down with sugar, orange zest and juice, and salt. To create a silky-smooth curd, we strained the cooked cranberries through a fine-mesh strainer. We then cooked the curd to 175 degrees to achieve a creamy consistency.

Before You Begin

You needn't thaw the cranberries for this recipe.

Instructions

  1. Cook cranberries, sugar, orange zest and juice, and salt in medium saucepan over medium-low heat, mashing occasionally with potato masher, until cranberries have mostly broken down and mixture measures 1¼ cups, 10 to 12 minutes. Strain cranberry mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl, pressing on solids with rubber spatula to extract as much puree as possible. Discard solids.
  2. Whisk eggs and yolks into cranberry mixture in bowl. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with rubber spatula, until mixture is thickened and registers 175 degrees in multiple spots, 5 to 7 minutes.
  3. Off heat, stir in butter until incorporated. Transfer curd to bowl, press piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface of curd, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (Curd can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

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