I recently made Meyer Lemon Curd for the first time using a recipe from the very inspiring blog Food in Jars.  It was easy and delicious and I decided that I would make the Creamy Orange Cardamom Curd next time.  When I finally got around to looking more closely at the Orange Cardamom Curd recipe, I saw that it was quite different from the Meyer Lemon Curd recipe.  I am new to curd making so the differences surprised me. One recipe called only for yolks and the other called for a mixture of yolks and whole eggs.  One required a double boiler and the other did not.  I realized that I was not interested in experimenting with the many different ways to make citrus curd.  Maybe I am just lazy, but I really just wanted to make different flavours of curd using the first technique that I tried.   So that is what I have been doing!

The first version of spiced orange curd  that I tried had a teaspoon of ground cardamom.  I could not really taste cardamom and the orange flavour was not as strong as I would have liked either.  I also became distracted by wondering why cumin and is never used in desserts.  I think that a cumin and orange zest truffle would be nice…but I wasn’t sure about orange cumin curd.

Next I tried an orange curd flavoured with whole  Masala spices (including cumin).  Again I could not really taste the spices although this time, I got the amount of orange juice and peel right.

Finally, I used some of the Punjabi Garam Masala that I toast, grind and keep on hand in my pantry.  I ground it up very fine with the sugar to make sure that the flavour would permeate the curd.  This produced a lovely spicy, tangy, creamy curd!  I think that it would be an unusual icing for an angle food cake (that would be a good way to use up the six leftover egg whites).  I also think that it would be nice with pistachio shortbread cookies.  My husband wants me to make a pan sauce for pork or duck with it.  I’ll let you know how I end up using it!

MASALA SPICED ORANGE CURD

• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 egg yolks
• 2 Oranges, juiced (you should get a generous cup. Strain it, to ensure you remove all of the seeds)
• 1 stick of butter, cut into chunks
• zest from the juiced oranges

1. Grind the sugar and garam masala in a food processor.
2. In a small, heavy bottom pot over medium heat, whisk together the egg yolks, orange zest and spiced sugar. Add the orange juice and switch to stirring with a wooden spoon, so as not to aerate the curd. Stir continually for 10-15 minutes, adjusting the heat as you go to ensure that it does not boil. Your curd is done when it has thickened and coats the back of the spoon.
3. Drop in the butter and stir until melted.
4. Position a fine mesh sieve over a glass or stainless steel bowl and pour the curd through it, to remove any bits of cooked egg, zest and spices.