Grapefruit Sticky Curd

It's Monday. And in the south bay, it's cloudy. So perhaps we should have a little edible sunshine, eh?

My dear friend Lindsay made Jillee's English Muffin Bread and was kind enough to share a loaf with me. Which, of course, meant that I needed something to put on it. A citrus curd seemed just the thing.

I had a grapefruit to use up, but I only had 2 eggs left. Dear, dear. Well, the result tasted like curd, but it acted more like a caramel. And thus, Sticky Curd was born!

Start off with the grapefruit. It needs juicing. And zesting.

Add some of that juice to a saucepan with the zest and a fair amount of sugar. Let it boil for 10 minutes or so. I was hoping that it would reduce. It ended up caramelizing.... and not really reducing much at all. But that was a happy accident!

Once the color got to a deep amber, I pulled it off the heat and tempered the 2 egg yolks, then poured that back into the pot with the rest of the syrup. 

That cooks until thickened. Then, pull it off the heat and add butter.

Move it to a bowl and allow to cool in the fridge for 10 minutes. The texture gets all taffy-esque. Awesome!

Perfect for English muffin bread toast!

Grapefruit Sticky Curd

Makes about a 1/2 c.

1/2 c. grapefruit juice (I juiced one small ruby red)

2 tbsp grapefruit zest

1 c. sugar

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp butter

In a small saucepan, mix juice, zest, and sugar. Bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes or until a deep amber color develops. 

Remove from heat. In a small-ish bowl, hold the 2 egg yolks. While whisking furiously, pour about a quarter of the syrupy mixture into the eggs to temper them. Once tempered, pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the remaining syrup. Return to a low heat and whisk until thickened. 

Remove from heat and stir in butter in two increments. Pour into a bowl and allow to sit in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving. Use as a spread on toast (or whatever else you want to put in your mouth).