Fruit Curd Popsicles

Recently, I sensed a trend in the artisanal popsicle. Recipes and photo spreads are "pop"ping up in food magazines and blog posts, and a variety of molds are out on the market boasting nostalgia, fun shapes, or no-mess features. Also, there's these people of whom I'm completely in awe.

You don't need me to tell you that it's been a pretty hot summer and that the trend of DIY endures. I so entirely relate and was ready to jump on that bandwagon. My first vision of frozen relief: multiple, vibrant stripes of fruit curd. Tart, refreshing, and a gorgeous gradation of color. That's the concept I was after.

Making interesting fruit curds strongly rivals my interest in jam making. Freezing them in popsicle format just seemed like a logical next step. The flavors of this batch, layered from top to bottom/ lightest to darkest, include: lemon-buttermilk sherbet, gooseberry curd, raspberry curd, and black currant curd. See below for the recipes.

Not ready to invest in popsicle molds? Try the tricks outlined here.

And for fun, read the brief history of the popsicle. Learn how they got their name...

THE RECIPES:

Lemon Buttermilk Sherbet
from David Lebovitz's "The Perfect Scoop"

makes about a quart

⅓ cup water water
⅔ cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup lemon juice

In a saucepan, bring the first three ingredients to a boil. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Once it has chilled, add the buttermilk and lemon juice and churn in your ice cream machine.

Gooseberry Curd

makes about 2 cups

1 pint pink gooseberries, rinsed

2 TBS water

½ cup sugar

2 TBS unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

Place the gooseberries and the water in a non-corroding saucepan. Cover and cook on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the gooseberries are mushy. Pass the gooseberries through a food mill to produce about 1¼ cups puree. Stir the sugar and butter into the warm puree and heat, stirring constantly. Whisk the eggs and the egg yolk just until mixed, then whisk in a little of the hot gooseberry mixture to heat the eggs. Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is well thickened and has reached 170° F. Pour into a container, cover and chill.*

Raspberry Curd
from Tea and Cookies



makes about 3½ cups

12-oz fresh raspberries

1 cup sugar
4 large eggs

4 TBS fresh lemon juice

4 TBS unsalted butter (½ stick)

¼ tsp salt



In a medium saucepan, add the raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, butter, and salt. Heat on medium and, as the butter begins to melt and the raspberries break down, start whisking. Cook on medium heat until the mixture is uniform and the fruit has softened.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. Stirring continually, slowly add ½ cup of the fruit mixture to the eggs. Mix to incorporate.

While whisking continually, slowly add the eggs back into the raspberry mixture. Stir constantly as the mixture heats and thickens slightly. Don’t let the mixture come to a boil, but small bubbles around the edges are okay.

Taste and add more sugar if desired.

Place a mesh strainer over a large bowl. Pour half the raspberry mixture into the strainer and, using a spatula or spoon, press the solids into the mesh. When all the raspberry curd has been expressed, discard the solids and strain the second half of the mixture.
Refrigerate the curd until use.*

Black Currant Curd

makes about 2 cups

1 pint black currants, rinsed

2 TBS water

½ cup sugar

2 TBS unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

Place the black currants and the water in a non-corroding saucepan. Cover and cook on a low-medium heat, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the currants are mushy. Pass the currants through a food mill to produce about 1¼ cups puree. Stir the sugar and butter into the warm puree and heat, stirring constantly. Whisk the eggs and the egg yolk just until mixed, then whisk in a little of the hot currant mixture to heat the eggs. Return to the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is well thickened and has reached 170° F. Pour into a container, cover and chill.*

*Curds can be stored about a week in the refrigerator, frozen for several months, or canned,

processing in

a hot water bath for about 15 minutes.