This silky mandarin curd (also known as mandarin butter) is made with just 3 simple ingredients, and is a dairy-free and low sugar version of fruit curd, making the most of the beautiful winter fruit.
It’s mandarin season in Australia! With their delicate sweet floral scent, mandarin oranges brighten up the darker cooler days.
This mandarin curd recipe is a delicious way to use up a surplus of mandarins, as well as some slightly overripe mandarin oranges. With a young child in the house who changes his mind about fruit every day, there is a lot of using-up discarded fruit going on here! (See my banana jam, banana bread and stewed apples for recipes that make the most of child-discarded fruit 🙂 )
Newsletter
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient quantities.
This mandarin curd doesn’t include any butter, making it dairy free. Whilst butter is traditionally used and adds a richness to the curd, I personally don’t think the curd needs it.
- Mandarins – Look for mandarins that are firm and heavy, and that are a bright orange colour.
- White sugar – I use granulated sugar and find the sugar granules dissolve perfectly fine, however you can use caster sugar (superfine sugar) if you prefer.
- Egg – a size large egg. I use the whole egg in this recipe, using just yolks will give a richer curd, but in this particular curd recipe I don’t think you notice it, and it saves wondering what to do with 1 egg white.
Some Important Notes about this Mandarin Curd:
- This is a sweet-sour curd, it tastes sweet at first but you are left with a slightly sour taste afterwards. My family love this, but if you prefer something sweeter, then add another 1 tablespoon / 15g sugar.
- This is a runny curd, ideal for drizzling over hot toast; but not the best for putting inbetween biscuits
- For a smooth silky curd, pass it through a sieve once cooked, to remove the pieces of mandarin zest.
How To Make This Mandarin Curd Recipe
Please scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for the full recipe.
Whisk the ingredients together in a heatproof bowl, then set the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. You don’t want too high a heat otherwise you risk cooking the egg too quickly and it turning into a lumpy mixture that resembles scrambled eggs more than a smooth and silky curd. Use a balloon whisk and whisk over the heat, until the curd lightens in colour and becomes thicker and the fragrance of the mandarin becomes stronger. This can take a reasonable amount of time!
The images below show the transition: the first image is the whisked ingredients, the second image is of the cooked and set mandarin curd.
Storage
- Fridge: This mandarin curd will keep for up to 2 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing the curd.
Serving Ideas
- Spoon over pancakes, waffles or drop scones (mini pancakes).
- Mix through some plain Greek yogurt – we often have this with some roughly chopped dark chocolate for a quick dessert.
- On top of scones.
- Use in a cheesecake or on a pavlova – it goes especially well with this almond meringue – whipped cream and fresh berries.
- On toast – perhaps the most simple way of enjoying any curd recipe, but delicious!
More Citrus Recipes
Mandarin Curd
Author: Robyn
Ingredients
- 60ml (¼ c) mandarin juice approx 2 mandarins worth
- 2 mandarins zested
- 1 tablespoon (15g) granulated sugar *
- 1 egg size large
Instructions
- Place a pan of water on the stove, about a third full, and bring to a simmer.
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a heatproof bowl with a balloon whisk.
- Place the heat proof bowl over the pan of simmering water and keep whisking until the curd has thickened and has lightened in colour (this takes around 7-10 minutes).
- Remove from heat, tip the curd into a serving bowl and leave to cool.
- Once cool, cover and place in fridge until ready to serve.
- Store in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
HAVE YOU MADE THIS RECIPE?
I’d love to see your creation!
Or just leave a comment below!
Sof says
Just made this. I added a extra tsp of sugar as my home grown mandarines are a tad sour. It turned out beautifully! I will be adding it to cheesecakes and cannot wait! Thanks so much.
Robyn says
Ah wow! I imagine it would taste amazing with homemade mandarins Sof! And cheesecake with it sounds delicious 🙂
Sof says
Oh it was delicious!
Just a quick question, if I want to double this, will I need to add another egg or will one be enough?
Robyn says
🙂 I would add another egg – so 4 mandarins, 2 eggs and 6 – 8 tsp sugar depending on your mandarins.