Cranberry Curd

I love cranberries but the season is so short. I wanted to literally “bottle” the flavour for a bit longer.  This curd is so simple and I used the egg whites left over for macaroons.  It’s also lovely as the base of a Bakewell Tart instead of jam.  The measures below make enough for a 400g jam jar.

YOU’LL NEED

• 150g fresh cranberries
• 5 medium sized eggs
• 75g unsalted butter
• 75g caster sugar
• half a fresh lemon

TO MAKE IT

1. Sterilise your choice of jars.  I basically put it in the oven, wait til the temperature gets to 150C and then turn the oven off.  Take it out of the oven when it’s cooled otherwise you might break the glass.
2. Put the cranberries in a pan with 100ml water.
3. Bring this to the boil and then turn it down to a simmer
4. Cook them for 15 minutes until the berries have softened.
5.  Take them off the heat and sieve everything into a large bowl to make a smooth, pulp-like sauce.
6. Add 2 whole eggs and 3 egg yolks into a heavy-based pan on a very low heat (otherwise you’ll get scrambled eggs) and give them a good stir to break up the yolks. You can use the egg whites for macroons or in Mini Meringue Pies.
7. Stir in the caster sugar and juice from the lemon.
8. Add the butter and then put this over a low heat.
9. Add the cranberry sauce and cook this mixture over a low heat stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. It’s ready when it coats the back of the spoon thickly.  Mine took about 15 minutes.
10. Pour the gloopy curd into your sterilised jar and cover.

Once cooled, store it in the fridge.  It should last a couple of months to make Christmas last a bit longer!