Maple Cranberry Sauce

Maple Cranberry Sauce

Now that we all have had a few weeks to finish the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers I have a few more cranberry recipes to share with you!

Most people I know only consider cranberries to be suitable for Thanksgiving. I am here to tell you that is wrong!

Fresh cranberries are delicious and should be on your table more than once a year.

Cranberries are pretty and festive, and that bright red color is perfect for the holidays.

They also pack a punch! Cranberries are full of Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C. They are also a good source of Dietary Fiber and Manganese.

I made this for our Thanksgiving dinner and it was a big hit. The maple syrup gives it a nice touch of sweetness with out taking away too much tartness from the cranberries.

sauce 1 Maple Cranberry Sauce

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Homemade Strawberry Sauce

strawberry sauce on spoon

Okay so I have to be honest with you.

…I did not intend for this to be a strawberry sauce. I actually was attempting to make strawberry curd, but it never thickened up.

After seeing that it had failed to become “curd like” I tried to think of what I could do with this thick, strawberry sauce. It was nice and creamy, not overly sweet, very tasty, and a pretty pink color. But I still wasn’t sure what to do with it. So I let the sauce sit in my fridge while I pondered.

sauce in jar 199x300 Homemade Strawberry Sauce strawberry sauce on spoon 199x300 Homemade Strawberry Sauce

(Feel free to ponder while you read how to make this tasty treat!)

Ingredients

Recipe from HungryCravings.com

  • 14 0z organic strawberries
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp organic unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

To Make the Sauce (curd)

  1. Blend the strawberries, and strain the seeds.
  2. In a saucepan, bring the strained strawberries to a soft simmer.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar.
  4. While continuing to whisk, slowly (in a thin stream) pour the simmered strawberries into the egg and sugar mixture.
  5. Place the bowl with the strawberry mixture over a pan of simmering water (double boil).
  6. Continue to whisk for about 5 minutes then stir in the butter and lemon juice. – At this point it should have thickened and be “curd like” but for some reason my did not.

I made chocolate macarons a few days later and attempted to fill a few with the strawberry sauce. They were good, but it wasn’t thick enough for macarons.

IMG 9181 1024x682 Homemade Strawberry Sauce

That same weekend I went to my BF’s mom’s house and brought some to her. Of course, my BF and one of his friends came up with the grand idea to dip vanilla oreos in the sauce. This was a tasty idea! (Keep that in mind if you decide to make this for yourself.)

But there was still more left. And when it came time to top off the strawberry rhubarb crostata with something fun, I made some softly whipped cream and stirred in some of this tasty sauce. This was my favorite creation of all!

How to Make Organic Raspberry Curd

raspberries

I have a new found passion…eating curd.

But to eat curd, I must make curd.

After making my first batch of lemon curd, I was in love. The silky smooth texture and tart flavor had me hooked. Not to mention the incredibly easy recipe!

I wondered if it was possible to make curd out of other fruits. So I did a little research, and found this recipe from BeanTownBaker.com. I made a few tweaks here and there, but the recipe is a winner.

organic raspberries How to Make Organic Raspberry Curd

I am so glad I found this recipe for raspberry curd. It is addicting. Even more so then lemon curd! If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself.

Recipe note: this does not thicken like lemon curd! If you do want to thicken it up you can whisk in some softened gelatin at the end. You could also try adding a little of the liquid gelatin you can find in the canning section at your local grocery store.

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How to Make Lemon Curd

front of jar

Making lemon curd is easy if you follow my no-fail recipe. With this recipe you don’t have to worry about the eggs over cooking, and curdling in the delicious lemony mix. This curd is bright, tart, and fresh. And it’s great on bread, scones, or as a tart filling.

You can also eat spoonfuls at a time, but be careful to not eat the whole jar in a day!

close up lemon curd in jar with spoon How to Make Lemon Curd

I know I always say to use organic ingredients, but it is especially important in simple recipes like this one. As you can see the ingredient list is short, so take advantage of the pure flavor and buy the best ingredients you can find.

If you don’t want to spend the time or money buying all organic ingredients, just buy organic lemons. You can avoid zesting a layer of wax into your curd.

organic lemons How to Make Lemon Curd

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