Easy Lemon & Elderflower Curd
Today I am thrilled to share with you my Easy Lemon & Elderflower Curd! I must have been living under a rock all this time as I have seen Elderflowers mentioned over the years on the internet but never thought that they were something that I would have growing close by. It seemed like there was a mystical air about them and that people had a hidden place where they would go to to harvest these flowers. So recently after seeing various images of Elderflowers on Instagram I suddenly realised that I had been walking past an Elderflower tree at the bottom of our road and indeed in the other direction there were a few more of Elderflower trees. However my excitement was quickly quashed when a little research told me to avoid any flowers growing near traffic fumes!
A bunch of Elderflowers, so fragrant and pretty!
Ever the optimist I was hopeful that as these Elderflower trees were growing in abundance up and down the road that they must surely be growing in our nearby parkland. So the plan was to go foraging on a sunny day as I’d read that you should pick Elderflowers on a warm, dry day. But as soon as this plan was in place it either rained or I had no-one to come with me, until the other evening when it was warm and sunny and my daughter and I decided to go for a walk. I was beginning to think that I was going to miss the Elderflower season which made me sad after finally discovering these fragrant flowers.
We made our way around the park on a beautiful evening enjoying the sight of tens of bunnies all scuttling under the hedgerows as we walked round and spied ample blackberry bushes in flower. I was beginning to give up on finding Elderflowers until we reached the other end of he park where we found a couple of trees. The first was only just in flower but all the flowers were well out of reach so venturing on a little further I came across an Elderflower tree growing in a clump of other shrubbery. Armed with a large stick that my daughter had found I managed to hook some of the branches down in order to pick some of the Elderflowers. I’d forgotten to bring a bag so my daughter offered up her thin raincoat and I tied the sleeves to make a make-shift bag (promising to wash it of course and handed over my jacket for her to wear)!
My research flagged up that Elderflowers are best picked young with some flowers not fully out and when using you want to get rid of the green stems which are bitter in flavour. I had no idea what I was going to use my Elderflowers for but as I didn’t have enough for cordial I had thought of making jam as I’d read that you just swipe the flowers through at the end to give flavour. However I had no suitable fruit in the house the following day but I did have lemons and eggs so that’s how my Easy Lemon & Elderflower Curd came to be after adapting my Granny’s Quick Lemon Curd recipe. To make the recipe as fuss free as possible I steeped the Elderflowers in the sugar, butter and lemon juice at the beginning and then sieved as sieving curd seemed like a sticky unnecessary step!
Easy Lemon & Elderflower Curd
Ingredients
- 200 g caster sugar
- 2 unwaxed lemons juice and zest
- 55 g unsalted butter cubed
- 5 Elderflower heads
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Immerse the Elderflower heads in water to remove any dirt or insects and dry in a salad spinner if you have one.
- Place the sugar, lemon juice, zest and butter into a pan.
- Snip the flowers off the Elderflower stalks into the pan.
- Place pan over a very low heat and stir until all the sugar has dissolved (do not simmer).
- Remove pan from the heat and allow the Elderflowers to steep for 5 minutes.
- Sieve the contents of the pan to remove the Elderflowers giving them a squeeze with the back of a spoon.
- Place the mixture back in the pan and place over a medium heat then whisk in the beaten egg.
- Once curd starts to boil cook for a further minute continuing to whisk (will thicken in this time).
- Pour into hot sterilised jars. (Makes 2 x 250 ml jars).
Once cool, store in fridge where it should keep for at least 3 weeks.
So it just remains for me to say that this Easy Lemon & Elderflower Curd tastes just wonderful, the delicate Elderflower flavour works so well with the lemon, a match made in foodie heaven. For more Elderflower recipe inspiration you might like to try Elderflower & Lime Cake, Elderflower & White Chocolate Cupcakes, Elderflower Cordial or Elderflower & Mint Cocktail.
As this curd is so thrifty and uses foraged seasonal Elderflowers and 2 lemons that were languishing in my fridge I am entering it into:
Credit Crunch Munch which I run with Fuss Free Flavours and this month hosted by Lovely Appetite
Simple and in Season run by Feeding Boys
No Waste Food Challenge run by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary and this month hosed by Utterly Scrummy Food for Families
How long will this keep in the fridge please?
Hi I have now updated the post for you, so I’ve put about 3 weeks, I haven’t really ever left it longer as it soon goes in our house! Opened jars won’t last as long as sealed ones.