Sour Cherry Curd

This idea came from my mother when I told her we would be going cherry picking and I had no clue what to do with all of them besides make a ton of cherry ice cream. Tart like a lemon curd, this has the hint of an almond tone mixed with the subtlety of cherry. If you haven't tried sour cherries before, give it a try! You still get that cherry flavor, but a lot of bright tartness as well which is perfect for a curd. Cheers!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sour cherry puree (about 3 cups of sour cherries pitted)

2 tbsp salted butter

2 eggs 

1 cup sugar 

Optional: Cherry pits wrapped in cheese cloth (or 1/4 tsp almond extract)

Directions:

1. Remove all the pits from the cherries. Make sure to save some of them if you want the hint of almond flavor, or simply add a 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract if you don't want to make a fuss

2. If using your cherry pits, place them in a cheese cloth and tie it closed with twine so you can remove the seeds easily

3. Puree the cherries until smooth and strain through a fine sieve

4. Create a double boiler and add your puree, pits (or extract), butter and sugar to the bowl. Make sure the heat is on high and that the water doesn't touch the bowl

5. Stir your ingredients so your butter completely melts

6. Once the butter has melted, whisk your eggs in a separate bowl and add a little bit of the hot liquid to temper your eggs (this is to prevent your eggs scrambling when you add it to the double boiler)

7. Add your tempered eggs to the double boiler and stir until the mixture thickens. Halfway through mixing process remove the cherry pits. This is when you need to be patient as it will take 15-20 minutes to come together

8. Once the curd has thickened (test on the back of a silicone spatula, if you run your finger through it and does not drip off, it is ready) strain through a fine sieve and place in the refrigerator to cool completely