Grapefruit Curd Recipe: How to Make the Easy Grapefruit Recipe

Grapefruit curd, like lemon or lime curd, is an emulsified mixture of bottled or fresh grapefruit juice, eggs, sugar, and butter. As with a lemon curd recipe, the fruit juice—in this case, grapefruit juice—curdles before it fully emulsifies with the other fats (egg yolks and butter) in the recipe.

Grapefruit curd is sweet and tart and can lend its unique flavor to various baked goods and other dishes.

1. 1. In meringue: For baked meringue—a mixture of egg whites and sugar—swirl grapefruit curd into the meringue for fluffy, marshmallow-like meringue with a grapefruit flavor.
2. 2. On breakfast foods: Top waffles or pancakes with grapefruit curd instead of maple syrup for a sweet and tart topping. Or fill crêpes with grapefruit curd and top them with powdered sugar or whipped cream.
3. 3. With cookies or scones: Clotted cream and lemon curd are classic spreads for scones. Try switching out the lemon curd for grapefruit curd. Additionally, try spreading the fruit curd between two shortbread cookies or use as a filling for French macarons.

Not all grapefruit curd recipes contain cornstarch or lemon juice. Below are a few tips for making grapefruit curd, no matter the ingredients:

1. 1. Choose the grapefruit. Pink grapefruit or ruby red grapefruit both work well for curd, but ruby red grapefruit is sweeter. Adjust the sugar in the recipe slightly to accommodate the tartness or sweetness of the grapefruit juice.
2. 2. Allow the ingredients to come to room temperature. Curd-making requires creating and maintaining an emulsion. To achieve that, all the ingredients should come to room temperature. Take the butter and eggs out of the refrigerator before making the curd. Room-temperature butter mixes better than cold butter with a hot egg mixture.
3. 3. Stir constantly. To prevent the curd from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning, stir continuously. Grapefruit curd only takes about ten to fifteen minutes, so it’s a long time to be stirring, but doing so ensures the proper texture and flavor.
4. 4. Store the curd properly. Just like lemon curd, orange curd, and other citrus curds, grapefruit curd will last in the refrigerator in sealed jars (or covered securely with plastic wrap) for about ten days. You can also freeze grapefruit curd in ice cube trays and transfer the cubes to a plastic freezer bag before storing them for up to a year.
5. 5. Use a double boiler. You can make the grapefruit curd in a double boiler. Add a couple of inches of water to a small saucepan and place a glass bowl just inside the saucepan. Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the curd in the bowl.