Marrow Curd Pistachio Cake

Over the weekend, I was going  through my larder, well its not really a larder I pretend it is.  Its just space under the stairs where I store excess things mostly from the kitchen as space in the kitchen comes at a premium, so things like my Kitchenaid Food Processor and Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer (both Birthday presents from D many years back) live under the stairs.  As I was fumbling about I came across the box that contained loads of homemade jars of preserves, jams and chutneys that I made last year including a Marrow Curd.  

I decided to approach the jar of Marrow Curd in the way I would approach Lemon Curd, so this cake is really a Lemon Pistachio cake with the lemon curd substituted with homemade marrow curd.

I guess you can make this Marrow Curd Pistachio Cake with other fancy pants curds like blackberry curd, strawberry curd, clementine curd, banana curd and many others  - experiment, but then make sure you match the fruit or vegetable curd with a nut that compliments it.

This Marrow Curd Pistachio Cake was delicious, I mean really delicious.  If you look close at the above photograph, you will see a thin line of the marrow curd.    I just wish the green from the pistachio nuts came through too, but it certainly did in flavour.  

Lemon Velvet 'Marrow Cream' Curd

Wondering what to do with those monster marrows other than stuffing them with brown rice, quinoa and other grains.  Here's something that will last in your kitchen larder (if your fortunate to have one); or if your heart desires share with family, friends and Besties.   It will compliment toasts,  crumpets and even croissants.  

If you have not heard of it, let me introduce you to a different type of curd made without eggs Marrow Cream.  This is is no ordinary Marrow Cream, this recipe was bestowed to me (and other fellow bloggers but I won't say that too loudly) by one of my long term friend Nic from Nip It In The Bud who I met through blogging.  We started blogging around the same time and I have watched her and her husband grow from a loving couple into a blossoming family, first there was little Euan and now there is Luca.  

A few years ago, when I was a lot more proactive in the allotment garden, I would make a lot of homemade jam, preserves and chutneys.  One day myself and Nic decided to do a jam jar swap. You can read about it here.  I loved it, but sadly I never got round to making my own Marrow Cream then, until now when I bagged myself some marrows. 

Unlike Nic's Marrow Cream, my jar of Lemon Marrow Cream Curd is a little darker in colour which makes me think perhaps I should have called it Golden Marrow Cream Curd.  The reason it is much darker is that I used golden caster sugar, but if you want to achieve that buttery yellow colour then I would strongly advise you use white sugar.  I think this recipe can easily be made vegan by subbing the butter with a vegan alternative, but I followed the recipe this time round.  

So what does it taste like.  Like lemon curd, but not as sharp and not as super smooth,  even though I used my Froothie blender, but that does not matter, really - its adds  a bit of texture, a bit like Lemon Velvet, hence my use of it in the blog header.  Nic describes the texture in her blog post like that of pureed stewed apples and I would have to agree. 

I am sharing this Lemon Velvet Marrow Cream Curd with Inheritance Recipes co hosted by Solange at Pebble Soup and Coffee and Vanilla as this recipe comes from someone who I am proud to call a friend, not just a blogger friend and her recipe will now indeed be in my home recipe book If you have not visited her blog, please do its called Nip It In The Bud, its down to earth, honest and family oriented.  It can only warm your heart. 

As well as Nic's Marrow Cream , here are some other Curd recipes
Clementine Curd
Lemon Curd vegan from Wallflower Girl
Pink Grapefruit and White Chocolate curd by Clouds of Dream 
Strawberry Curd

Banoffee Curd Muffins

As you can see I'm not very adept at elegantly piping whipped cream on cakes.  This is something I hope to accomplish in the near future.  For now though, please just gaze at this 'Banoffee Curd Muffin' for what it is: oozing banana toffee sweetness. 

Whether you choose to serve the whipped cream on top or right in the middle, it tastes still the same - sweet!

Banoffee Curd Muffins
Makes 12
Ingredients
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
A good pinch of salt
100g caster sugar
1 egg
125g plain yoghurt
125ml whole milk
75g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
160g - 180g Banoffee Curd.  Follow here for recipe.
Optional: Whipped cream for serving.

Method

Line a muffin tray with 12 large paper cases.
Preheat oven to gas mark 4.
Put the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk lightly to aerate and combine.
Mix the egg, yoghurt, milk and melted butter together in a jug. Pour them into the dry ingredients and mix lightly until well combined. Please try not to over-mix as this will result in dense and cakey muffins.
Spoon some mixture into each muffin case and top with a generous teaspoon of Banoffee Curd. Then cover the Banoffee Curd with the remaining muffin mixture. It doesn't matter if you see some oozing out, its part of the charm and when baked will be more toffee like.
Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. These are best eaten on the day you bake them.  Serve with some whipped cream.

Serve with some whipped cream.  Recipe based around Hugh Fearnely Whittingstall's Lemon Curd Muffins.

Banana Toffee aka Banoffee Curd

I may be very good when it comes to eating my fresh vegetables, but when it comes to fruit its a completely different story. 

The one fruit you will always find in my fruit bowl is bananas, albeit spotted dark skinned ones.  And like many home cooks when I see ripening bananas I often make a banana bread, banana cake and even banana muffins, but not today.  I remembered bookmarking a 'Banana Curd' recipe in one of my cookbooks by Ursula Ferrigno, but whilst blog reading I came across a version that used less eggs in the recipe.  Ursula's recipe uses 4 eggs, and this one used 2 so for obvious reasons I changed my mind. 

In the past I've bought Banana Curd from a reputable company (see below).  Here I want to show you the difference in colour between the two.  My jars are much toffee like in colour and the other jar, the colour is reminsce of thick set honey. When I looked closely at the ingredients of the bought jar I noted that there were no bananas in the recipe, just banana flavour - now that was disappointing to discover. Well fear not, my home made Banoffee Curd is made with real bananas, sugar and eggs - no artificial colouring and no artificial flavouring.  The colour really is a deep natural caramel; and the texture thick and luscious, as for the flavour, oh my goodness this Banana Curd is extremely sweet - a word of caution - a little goes a very long way. 

I think there is a real possibility that we will be having Waffles tomorrow morning for breakfast.

This Banoffee Curd would be excellent smothered between two cakes sponges, swirled in Greek yogurt or on toast.
Banana Toffee aka Banoffee Curd
Makes 2 x  245ml jars
Ingredients
260g - 280g soft light brown sugar
2 bananas
50g unsalted butter
2 eggs, beaten
Method
Make sure you have 2 sterilized jars and lids ready.
I used my second hand bain marie for this recipe, but if you don't have one - use a heat proof bowl.
Using a fork or potato masher thoroughly mash the bananas with the sugar.  Then transfer either to a bain marie or a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Chop the butter into small cubes and stir it into the banana-sugar mix until it has melted.  Then with a wooden spoon gently stir in the beaten eggs. Turn heat low and simmer gently until cooked, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens like double cream, this may take up to 30 minutes.  You know when its ready when the mixture thickly coats the back of a wooden spoon.  Carefully pour the banana curd into sterilised jars, leave to cool before sealing and store in the refrigerator.  Consume within one month or so.  Recipe adapted from here, but you can also find a version in Real Fast Vegetarian Food.  If you like this recipe, you may also like my Strawberry Curd and Clementine Curd recipes.

Luscious Strawberry Curd

Last summer when my strawberries were at their most abundant at the allotment plot, I had made my first ever jar of strawberry curd. I was so pleased with myself and with the luscious texture of the curd. With a big smile on my face, I carefully poured the curd into a jar and stored it away in a dark place. Then one weekend, we decided to the strawberry curd with some home-made waffles. With much excitement and a little trepidation, I opened the jar only to be disappointed. I found a blue skin had formed on top of the surface and the curd had turned to a milky dew. Sadly it had to be washed down the sink.

At the time, I didn’t know if I did something wrong, or whether I should have put a waxed disc over it, but whatever I did wrong, it put a dent in my confidence especially as I was still new to preserving, especially with curds. Later I realised, once cooled the jars should have gone into the fridge as the curd has a short shelf life. Well these two jars are definitely not destined for the sink. One has been designated to our fridge to be opened and enjoyed this weekend. The other has been given to our neighbour as a 'Thank you' with the instructions 'keep refrigerated. Once opened, enjoy within the week'.

If you don't fancy the idea of strawberry curd. There are a number of other strawberry recipes on this blog of mine that you may enjoy such as Strawberry cream muffins, strawberry cheesecake muffins, strawberry almond slices and finally a strawberry sorbet, that I pretentiously called strawberry ice roses. You'll see why if you follow this link.
I'm not very artistic, so please be kind with my poor attempt at drawing a strawberry for the label, that's of course if your not too dazzled by the colour of the next picture.
Strawberry Curd
Makes 2 x 454g jars
Ingredients
250g strawberries, hulled and chopped well
185g caster sugar
125 unsalted butter
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 egg yolks
Method
Put the strawberries in a saucepan with the sugar, butter and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved. Simmer gently until the strawberries dissolve, then remove from the heat.
Lightly beat the egg yolks in a large bowl, then stirring constantly slowly add the strawberry mixture stirring in a thin stream. The mixture will thicken as you add it.
Return to low heat and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow the mixture to boil or the curd will separate. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal while hot. Curd will keep in the fridge for up to two months. Once opened the curd will keep for a week.
UP-DATED: 2013 - a version of this was made by Hannah at Home Baked.  Please follow this link.

Cranberry waffles with Clementine curd

During the summer when my strawberries were at their most abundant at my plot, I had made some strawberry curd. After all you can get blueberry curd, banana curd and even cranberry curd. I was so pleased with my strawberry curd. I carefully poured it into a jar and stored it away in a dark place. Then one weekend, I decided we could have the strawberry curd with some home-made waffles, I opened the jar only to find a blue skin had formed on top of the surface, so it had to be disposed. I don’t know if I did something wrong, or should have put a waxed disc over it, but whatever I did wrong, put a dent in my confidence especially as I was still new to preserving, especially with curds.

Anyway, couple of weeks ago whilst catching up with fellow bloggers blogs, I saw Nora the Splorer’s lush looking Clementine curd, and it encouraged me to try again, especially as I have a fruit bowl full of clementines.
I am so glad I did. Making this curd has given me the confidence to perhaps try making a Cranberry curd and even Clementine Marmalade, as I am not too keen on the 'tart' sharpness of the orange ones.

Oh so how does, the Clementine curd taste? Well I can let you know with all honestly as I tried it this morning with some home-made cranberry waffles. The Clementine curd is sweet, sharp and refreshing. I think much nicer than lemon curd.
I have decided to contribute these dishes towards a monthly food blogging challenge called “In The Bag”. Every month food blogger Julia of A Slice of Cherry Pie alternately hosts with Scott of the Real Epicurean to come up a recipe using seasonal ingredients. The seasonal ingredient in the bag for December were: Cranberries, Clementines and Nuts.
Goodness it has been a long while since I last submitted to In the Bag, my last submission was in March last year with my Welsh Glamorgan Pakora’s based on the famous Glamorgan sausages; and the ingredients in the bag at the time contained leeks, which I had growing in abundance at my allotment plot.

This time though I thought I would make some cranberry waffles made with cranberries imported from Canada and the USA; and the clementine curd. Now I can't decide between to two which to submit. So I plucked for simplicity and went for the Cranberry waffles. Enjoy.
Fresh Cranberry Waffles with pecan nuts
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of fresh cranberries, chopped in half
1/2 cup of pecan nuts, chopped
2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Method
In a bowl, mix the wet ingredients together. In another bowl, stir together the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine well. Stir in the cranberries and nuts. Add more milk if necessary. Cook according to your waffle maker instructions. Recipe adapted from Deborah Madisons Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Please don't laugh at my writing, I know it looks like a six year old has written it, but you try writing once the label has been stuck to the jar.

Oh and i haven't forgotten the Clementine curd recipe. You can find a number of Clementine curd recipes on the Internet, but below is the recipe I used. You can double the quantities of the ingredients to make 2 x 450g jars, but I decided to only made one this time.
Clementine Curd
Makes 1 x 450g jar
Ingredients
Juice and zest of 4 clementines
Juice of 1 small lemon
175g caster sugar
2 medium eggs, beaten
1 egg yolk, beaten
50g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Method
In a large bowl, add the zest and the juice of the fruits into a bowl with the sugar, eggs and yolks and mix well to combine. Pour into a large pan. Add the butter and place over a very low heat. Cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon, until the curd is thick and coats the back of a spoon, up to 45 minutes. Pour into a sterilised jar and seal. Allow to cool and refrigerate. Use within two weeks.