Grapefruit curd is delicious, easy to make, and a wonderful way to use up citrus. Learn how to make and use this homemade grapefruit curd recipe and use it for tarts, pavlova, cakes, and other desserts!
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Citrus Curd to Brighten Winter Days
It’s winter time, and you know what that means. It’s citrus season!
We are lucky enough to have friends and family in the southern part of the country who send us homegrown citrus during the winter, which is always an exciting package to get!
Bright, fresh citrus can really make a dreary winter day more bearable.
Recently we got a bunch of super juicy grapefruits, and while I’m perfectly happy eating a half of one every day with my breakfast, I wanted to do something a little different with them this time.
After looking up a bunch of different recipes, I settled on grapefruit curd!
If you didn’t know already, a fruit curd is a spread that you would use in a similar way as jelly or jam. It is most often made with citrus as the fruit component, and also contains sugar, egg yolks and butter.
It is creamy and delicious, sweet yet tart. I absolutely love it! The best part is that it’s fairly simple to make.
You can also make this recipe with any type of citrus juice, it doesn’t have to be grapefruit. Lemon curd is probably the most common version.
Related: 12 Ways to Preserve Citrus: Drying, Canning, Fementing and more!
Grapefruit Curd Recipe
Here I’ll show you how to make grapefruit curd, which is made just like lemon curd, but with grapefruit instead.
This recipe is adapted from 101 Cookbook’s Ginger Grapefruit Curd Recipe. I left the ginger out of this one, but feel free to add it if you’d like!
The day you’re going to make this curd, try to remember to pull the butter and eggs out of the fridge to let sit at room temp for a few hours. It’s not essential, but it will make everything blend a little better.
Zest and Juice the Grapefruit
The first step is to zest the grapefruit. A Microplane makes the job so much easier. I don’t know what I ever did without mine!
Then juice the grapefruits, enough to make 1 cup of juice. Mine were really juicy so I only needed to use two.
Make the Grapefruit Curd
Simmer the grapefruit juice down to ½ cup.
If you don’t have time for this step it is ok to skip it and and just start with 1/2 cup of juice from the beginning, but I think doing it makes for a much more flavorful curd.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a metal bowl. You will be making a double boiler with this bowl, so use one that will fit on top of a saucepan.
Add in the egg yolks and eggs, one at a time, stirring to combine each one. A whisk helps.
Stir in the grapefruit zest and pinch of salt, and slowly add in the grapefruit juice and lemon juice, stirring as you go.
Heat the Grapefruit Curd in a Double Boiler
Put a couple of inches of water into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place your metal bowl on top of the saucepan for a makeshift double boiler.
Stir the curd constantly, as you don’t want the eggs to scramble.
After about ten minutes, the curd should start to thicken up. Once it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it’s done. It will thicken even more as it cools.
Jar the Grapefruit Curd
Pour into a pint jar, or two half pints, and refrigerate. It will keep for about two weeks in the fridge.
Now you have lovely grapefruit curd!
This is such a treat to have. It makes a great gift, as well!
This grapefruit curd has such an amazing grapefruit flavor!
If you are a big fan of grapefruit you will love this, I promise.
I’ve been eating it on sourdough toast every morning… sometimes even twice a day. It’s that good!
It’s also delicious slathered on a scone or biscuit. The perfect treat!
This is a great way to use up any excess citrus you might have. Lime would be wonderful, as would Meyer lemon or orange.
Citrus curd is so simple to make and so tasty!
It doesn’t take much time to make, and it will make you feel a little more fancy when you eat it.
Time to have a tea party with scones and grapefruit curd!
More Citrus Recipes
Love citrus fruit? Then you’ll love these zesty recipes!
- Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies
- Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cookies
- Plum & Lemon Upside Down Cake
- Lemon Bars with Honey & Thyme
- Rosemary Champagne Cocktail with Blood Orange
Grapefruit Curd
Ingredients
Instructions
- Zest the grapefruit using a microplane, then juice the grapefruits until you have one cup of juice.
- Simmer the grapefruit juice over medium heat until reduced by half.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a metal bowl. Add in the egg yolks and eggs one at a time, whisking after each one.
- Stir in the zest and pinch of salt, then slowly add in the grapefruit juice and lemon juice, stirring as you go.
- Fill a saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place the metal bowl on top of the saucepan for a makeshift double boiler. Stir the curd constantly so it doesn't curdle.
- Continue to heat the curd and stir frequently for about ten minutes. It should thicken as it cooks.
- Once it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, it's done. It will continue to thicken as it cools. Pour into a pint jar and refrigerate. It will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- You may substitute lemons, limes, or oranges for the grapefruit.
- The day you’re going to make this curd, try to remember to pull the butter and eggs out of the fridge to let sit at room temp for a few hours.
- This recipe is adapted from 101 Cookbook’s Ginger Grapefruit Curd Recipe.
lovely! i made this to pair with a pavlova and it turned out so freaking good! i had lots of egg yolks leftover from making it, so i just used 6 egg yolks here instead of yolks+full eggs but the result was really lovely and rich.
I’m going to try making this tomorrow! Would you mind sharing where you got your glass jars? They’re adorable!
Thanks.
Looked at several recipes for grapefruit curd, eliminated the ones that included cornstarch (cheaters), narrowed it down and chose this one because I know that reduction always results in more deliciousness. True! Good choice! This is a great recipe! Not difficult either. My only note is that it does not make a pint, More like 11 oz. Not complaining, just tweaking. Absolutely delicious!
Could you substitute sugar with honey?
I’ve never tried that so I can’t say if it would work.
Okay, I will make this with all of the juicy lemons on our tree!
You should, it’s delicious!!!
Awesome recipe, will definitely give it a shot! One question: so, this curd does need to be refrigerated – however, if I then went another step and canned the curd, do you think it would be safe to store in a pantry? My orange tree overfloweth, and I am looking to send oranges and homemade orange goodies to family out-of-state. Perhaps canned orange curd could make the trip (I just don’t know because of the egg)?
P.S. I am absolutely in love with your blog! Super useful, really pretty, and way too much natural, food-based fun :)
Hi Camille! Yes, you can can the curd (ha!). I have never done it, but from what I understand even when it’s canned the shelf life is only 2 or 3 months, likely because of the egg. So, you’ll just have to inform your family to eat it sooner rather than later! That shouldn’t be a problem :) Marmalade is another idea for you and your oranges, it will last a long time when canned. So glad you like my blog, thanks for reading!
So how long is the shelf life for this deliciousness?
Just so you know you can make amazing curd (which I also love ) completely vegan. While your recipes are delicious some people have to adapt ingredients for whatever reason. At any rate I made some scrumptious Vegan lemon curd at Christmas, the coloring came from turmeric which adds no flavor at all.