Pumpkin Curd

Peel the pumpkin and cut it into large chunks. Microwave until completely soft, about 5–7 minutes (if any liquid releases, drain it off). If you don't have a microwave, you can roast it in the oven instead. Or place it in a saucepan with a small amount of water and simmer until completely soft, then drain in a colander to let all the liquid run off. I use the microwave — it's the quickest and easiest method. Blend the pumpkin into a smooth purée using a blender. To get 150 g of purée, you'll need about 1.5 times as much raw pumpkin — in this case, 250 g of peeled pumpkin should be enough.

Zest the orange using a fine grater (avoiding the white pith). Juice the orange and the half lemon. I ended up with 200 ml of juice.

Combine the zest, juice, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla sugar in a bowl. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to taste, and depending on how sweet your orange and pumpkin are.

Whisk everything together thoroughly and let it sit for 10 minutes so the zest has time to release its aroma.

Be sure to strain the mixture, then place it on the stovetop. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the first bubbles appear. The egg yolks need to be fully cooked through and will thicken the mixture slightly. However, it won't thicken the way a classic lemon curd does — where the cream coats the back of a spatula — since the ratio of egg yolks to liquid here is quite small.

Add the pumpkin purée.

Now for a little trick to thicken our curd: dissolve a slightly heaping teaspoon of starch in 2 tsp of water and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the saucepan while stirring, and heat until thickened. Add the butter and stir until melted. For extra smoothness, it's a good idea to blend the finished curd once more with an immersion blender.

Let the finished curd cool completely in the refrigerator. By the way, the curd doesn't have a pronounced pumpkin flavor, so even people who aren't fans of pumpkin will enjoy it! This is the lovely, medium-thick consistency I ended up with!

The curd has an incredible aroma, a vibrant color, a silky texture, and a wonderfully unique flavor! Pumpkin curd pairs beautifully with cottage cheese pancakes, casseroles, crêpes, fritters, and so much more! In the photo I have mine served with granola — it goes amazingly well with that too!