Homemade Rhubarb Curd! Sweet, tart, and gorgeous in color, this summer-inspired curd recipe is perfect for all kinds of breakfast and dessert dishes.
Table of contents
I love, and I mean love rhubarb. I think part of the reason I love it so much is that I find it to be an ingredient that has so much untapped potential. The last few years has been good to rhubarb in the recipe world, but I think thereâs still so much we can do that we havenât even explored.
Enter this curd. Itâs lusciously smooth, strikes the perfect balance between sweet and tart, and is absolutely versatile (I share a few ideas later). And because I love to use natural sweeteners whenever possible (why not?) I decided to use honey for this curd as opposed to regular sugar. And the result. Absolute heaven. This curd is magical.
How to make rhubarb curd:
The process for making rhubarb curd is very similar to that of making lemon curd. The main difference is that instead of starting with fresh lemon juice, we start with cooked and pureed rhubarb.
Hereâs a rundown of how to make rhubarb curd!
Step 1
Cook diced rhubarb in a saucepan with honey an a splash of lemon juice until completely soft. Puree rhubarb mixture.
Step 2
Add rhubarb back to sauce pan and whisk in more honey, egg yolks, and egg.
Step 3
Cook curd mixture, stirring constantly, until thickened and reaches 168°F on an instant-read thermometer.
Step 4
Remove curd from heat and whisk in butter until melted.
Step 5
Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve.
How do you store rhubarb curd?
Rhubarb curd can be made and stored in the refrigerator up to 1 week in advance. Transfer curd to a glass container, press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the curd so a skin doesnât form, and store in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze rhubarb curd! Homemade curd can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. Transfer curd to a zipper-lock freezer bag, remove air, seal and transfer to the freezer. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using. Thawed curd should be used within 1 week.
If you’ve got extra fresh rhubarb, here’s how to store it.
What to do with rhubarb curd:
- Make our Rhubarb & Lemon Curd TartÂ
- Make a rhubarb curd tart and top with fresh strawberries
- Spoon over scones, pancakes or waffles
- Spoon over yogurt or add to parfaits
- Spoon over ricotta toast for an appetizer
- Spoon over pavlova
- Spoon over vanilla ice cream
- Spread between vanilla cake layers
- Spoon over cheese cake for an extra tangy finish
Other Curd Recipes to Try
- Our Naturally Sweetened Lemon Curd is a class!
- During the winter, this Orange Curd is perfect spooned over Olive Oil Cake.
- Make this Cranberry Curd for our Cranberry Tart.
Rhubarb Curd
Description
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh rhubarb cut into 1-inch chunks (about 3 cups)
- œ cup honey, divided
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 5 egg yolks, beaten
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
Instructions
- Combine rhubarb, ÂŒ cup honey, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until liquid starts to bubbly around the edges then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 10â15 minutes until rhubarb is completely soft, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Transfer rhubarb mixture to a blender and puree; return rhubarb puree to saucepan. Â
- Whisk together remaining ÂŒ cup honey, egg yolks and egg until thoroughly combined; whisk into rhubarb mixture. Cook curd mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with rubber spatula, until mixture thickens slightly and registers 168°F on an instant-read thermometer, 5â8 minutes.
- Off heat, whisk in butter until melted. Strain rhubarb curd through fine-mesh strainer into bowl.
Notes
Make it brighter in color:
If you want the color to be more vibrant and have a pinker hue, you can add 1 tablespoon ground freeze dried strawberries or raspberry powder. Whisk it in to the cooked and strained rhubarb curd.Equipment you’ll need:
- Saucepan
- Blender
- Fine mesh sieve
Nutrition
This is delicious! Mine was very thick, so I used an immersion blender instead of straining it. Mine came out pretty orange from the fresh egg yolks and greenish rhubarb, so I’ll be ready with strawberry powder next time! I’ll be making a tart later!
Great idea to use an immersion blender! I wonder why it came out so thick, was the texture still enjoyable? I’m glad you enjoyed it!
How much sugar instead of honey?
Hi Maureen, I haven’t tested this, but I would use 2/3 cup regular sugar.
Hello there,
While cooking the curd, is it a bit fiddly to make it cook without scrambling the eggs?
Thanks
Hi Shannon, great question. That is the most challenging part of making a homemade curd. If you have an instant-read thermometer or candy thermometer, I would use that to monitor the heat. Using a thermometer takes the guesswork out of it. If your stove runs hot, decrease the heat a bit. It’s better to have a longer cook time than to rush the cooking process of curd. And finally, make sure to stir constantly! Don’t be tempted to walk away (especially if it seems to be taking longer than expected).
For this recipe, to be extra safe, you could let the cooked rhubarb mixture cool to room temperature before stirring in the eggs and cooking as directed. You may need a few more minutes cook time.
If you do end up getting some small cooked egg pieces, just strain them out through a fine mesh strainer. I call for staining in the recipe to extract the citrus zest, but it also will catch any small egg bits should there be any.
I hope this helps! Let me know how it goes.
You need to temper your eggs first. Take a bit of your warm rubato and whisk it in with the eggs first before adding them to the pot. This will prevent the scramble.
Can I used canned rhubarb? And since they are a bit softer what would need to change?
Hey Brooklyn, that’s a great question! I haven’t worked with canned rhubarb but I think it would work well. I would drain the rhubarb and use mostly the rhubarb solids (maybe a bit of the juice it comes in, but not much of it). I would also puree the rhubarb first (since it’s already soft) then cook it on the stovetop with half of the honey to warm it through and slightly thicken the mixture before adding the egg mixture. I hope that helps, let me know how it goes!
I was disappointed with this recipe and wasted 3 cups of good rhubarb. đ
I found the honey completely overwhelmed the rhubarb and I got none of that delicious tartness that I was anticipating from the rhubarb. Maybe it was the kind of honey I had, though it was just regular honey. I would try a recipe with sugar rather than honey next time, because the idea of rhubarb curd sounds delicious, and I really want to find one I love. As well, it took forever to come up to 168 degrees. I gave up after about 20 minutes of stirring and about 12 degrees shy of it. The curd still set and has a beautiful texture but the flavour is not appealing at all.
Hi Leanne,
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the flavor of this rhubarb curd. I use honey in almost all of my curd recipes because I love the floral flavor that it adds to the tartness of curd. For a sugar version of this recipe, you can use 2/3 cup of granulated sugar.
It definitely shouldn’t take 20 minutes for the curd to reach 168ÂșF (which is actually lower than most curd recipesâincluding those from my time at America’s Test Kitchenâwhich call for cooking to anywhere between 170ÂșF and 175ÂșF). I have found that it takes almost exactly 8 minutes for the mixture to reach 168ÂșF, if it is taking longer, the stove top heat should be adjusted.
Thank you for your feedback!