Kumquat Curd-Filled Cakes with Kumquat Curd Whipped Cream

I think Kumquats are my latest must haves. On a recent ?I am starving trip? to Trader Joes, my eye caught a lovely display of the citrus family member. Like that, they were in my basket, with the random myriad of food items.

Have you seen them in the stores, but never tried because of the unknown factor? Quick to grab your oranges, limes, and lemons, but bypass the Kumquats? Well, ignore no more. Their close resemblance to oranges makes them easy to try, along with their edible flesh.

November through February is the peak season for kumquats, so I guess I am at the tail end?well, past the tail end. But, I will never tell; will you?

When buying kumquats, decorative stem and leaves, or not, avoid the ones that have damaged/bruised skin and that feel soft. Remember, the rind is edible, tender, and sweet, but the flesh might be a bit drier and kinda of sour. Kumquats are usually eaten raw, candied, marinated, prepared as marmalade, added to fruit salad, poached, or preserved ?.oh! the possibilities. And, they are cheapy calories, only (about) 12 calories per lil? thing, and (of course) a good source of Vitamin C.

*Recipe fixed! :) I forgot to add a step or two...sorry!

Kumquat Curd
3 large eggs
1 cup kumquats, pureed
Juice of ½ lemon
¾ cup granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Cut the butter into small pieces and set aside. In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, pureed kumquats, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (similar to a hollandaise sauce ? aim for about 160 degrees F). The process will take approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Whisk butter into the mixture until the butter has melted. Let cool. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately to prevent a skin form and refrigerate for up to a week. Yields about 1 ½ cups.

Kumquat Whipped Cream
from Joy of Baking

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 cup Kumquat curd

In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and wire whisk in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When chilled, beat the mixture until stiff peaks form. Carefully fold in the curd until well mixed.

Filling the cakes: If I am filling cupcakes, its very fast and easy just to use a tip to hollow out the center. But, I also have a great apple corer that works really well.

Usually, I don't worry about filling the top back in, especially if the filling is thick, and then topping with a butter cream. However, my curd didn't come out as thick as I would have liked. (After cooking 100s of pounds of food at work this week, my arms got tired a lot earlier than normal when whisking.) So, I trimmed the "holes" and topped these cakes.

Kumquat Curd-Filled Cakes are for Weekend Herb Blogging (#224). Weekend Herb Blogging, managed by Haalo, hosted this week by Huan from Eat.Read.Live.The rules are simple, but be sure to check out the details here. Next week's host will be Yasmeen from Healthnut. Send your posts to Healthnut AT gmail DOT com with a photo sized: 350px wide.