Pineapple Curd

Just when you thought desserts couldn't get any better! Allow me to introduce you to pineapple curd.. Like it's cousin, the lemon curd, this filling is incredible no matter how you decide to use it. A delicious filling for cakes, tarts, cupcakes, or any dessert you want to enchance. Trust me, you'll be hooked!

Pineapple Curd

Prep Time -5mins

Yield - +-450g

Cooking time - +-10mins

Ingredients

100ml Pineapple Juice **(See Ingredient notes)
165g (3) Eggs
100g Castor Sugar
80g Butter
4g (2) Gelatine Leaves

Method

Hydrate the gelatine leaves in ice cold water, set aside
Whisk together eggs, sugar, pineapple juice, and butter in a small pot over low heat.
Allow the butter to melt and cook until the mixture starts to thicken and turn transluscent. This should take around 7-10mins. Whisk continuously!
Remove from the heat and add the hydrated gelatine leaves, mix thoroughly.
Strain the curd to remove any pieces of unmelted gelatine on egg that may have curdled.
Contact cover and allow to come to room temperature.
Place into a piping bag and use as needed.

*Don't be tempted to turn up the heat as you can risk making overheating the curd and curdling your eggs.

Notes

This recipe should work over direct heat, however, feel free to make it over a double boiler to be on the safe side.

If you like temperatures and sugar thermometers like me, the ideal temperature for this curd is between 77-82°C. This cooks the eggs just enough to kill harmful bacteria and makes it thick enough to hold its' shape.

Pineapple juice

Pineapples contain the enzyme Bromelain which interferes with gelatine's ability to set. This will inhibit the thickening and setting of your curd. This enzyme needs to be denatured before using.

*If using fresh pineapple juice, bring the juice to the boil before adding to the recipe. Just be careful when adding the hot juice to the eggs as not to curdle them. Otherwise, feel free to use canned pineapple juice, it generally has a much lower bromelain content than fresh pineapples.

Sugar

Castor sugar should be used as it dissolves faster than granulated sugar. As we don't want to boil the curd, granulated sugar will simply take too long to dissolve, leaving you with a grainy curd.