Mixed Berry Curd

I've spent the past several days making and eating huge meals with my and my husband's families.  Endless hours of preparation, cooking and baking end in way too much food and people exclaiming over old favorites and new treats.  My favorite part of the evening is when everyone is sitting around the table and all you can hear is the warm hum of laughter and conversation.  People who have spent the past year scattered from each other gathered together to enjoy each other's company around a table of food that holds memories of Christmases of the past.

It's part of the reason I started this blog- food brings people together.  And there is no better example of that than this time of the year.  We come together to the table to share a meal and stories of our lives.

This is one of the recipes that graced our Christmas table this year.  I started out excited to make Meyer lemon macarons and ended up falling in love with the filling I made for them.  I'm all too familiar with lemon curd- I've even shared my favorite recipe for it on this blog.  This was my first try at using anything other than lemon and it was a complete success.  So I thought I would gift it to you this holiday season.  Merry Christmas friends.  Thank you for joining my virtual table, sharing your stories with me and listening to me go on and on about the food I love. 

Mixed Berry Curd

I used frozen berries for this curd.  I wouldn't dream of trying to use fresh berries this time of year.  But by all means, make this in the summer when you can't stop going to the pick your own berry farms.  And in the winter, break of those bags of berries you froze when you just couldn't stand another berry dessert in July.  Making the berry curd will make your forget that it's gray and snowing outside for just a little while.  It's not too sweet and just a bit tangy.  Use the curd to top a simple cream scone or french toast, fill meringue cups, or dip cubes of pound cake into it. 

1 1/2 cups mixed berries of your choosing, fresh or frozen ( I used a mix of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries)

1 tbs lemon juice

1 whole egg

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

4 tbs butter

In a small saucepan, gently cook the berries until they soften and begin to break down.  If using fresh berries this will take 3-4 minutes, frozen berries will take a few minutes longer.  Set aside to cool.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the egg, egg yolks, sugar and lemon juice.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened and bubbly.  Add the cooked berries and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is very thick, about 5 minutes more.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time.  Transfer the curd to a bowl and lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface.  Refrigerate until completely cool.