Blood Orange Curd Pie - Week 3

Blood Oranges to brighten your January in a pie produces a different result.

Did you know that blood oranges are in season?

Blood oranges w/a lemon on the
lower left and a handy-dandy squeezer. 

The availability is from January to March and they keep best refrigerated rather than in the fruit bowl. Pick ones that are firm and not spongy to the touch. They are smaller than a a typical orange and have a tart, almost berry taste.

I wanted the pie selection for each week to match what was in season, and when I saw an older recipe for orange pie, which I never recall having, I decided that would be a perfect way to brighten the month of January.

However, even with the best intentions this uncommon pie just turned out unusual. I do feel that it does have some redeeming qualities; so follow through with me.

The crust was definitely our favorite part of this pie. It is a simple shortbread crust that would fit well with other pie filling. I'm definitely going to hang on to it for another time. It is even a pat-in crust that may be a good fit for bakers that don't care to use a rolling pin. 


Ingredients – Shortbread Crust:

1 cup Flour

1/3 cup Powdered sugar

½ t. Salt

½ cup Butter

½ t. Almond Flavoring

1 Egg Yolk

Directions – Shortbread Crust:

Mix ingredients well and press into pie plate. Bake empty shell 8 minutes at 375 degrees just until puffed slightly. Let cool while making curd.

When you are patting it in, it tends to be extremely sticky; so I used a little bit of cooking spray on my fingertips to help with that. After that you will want to stick it in a freezer for a few minutes to have it set up nice before baking it.

Ingredients – Orange Curd:
2 t. blood orange zest
1 cup Fresh Blood Orange juice, (about 4 oranges)
1/4 cup Lemon juice
1 cup sugar

4 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup Butter,

cut into 1/2” cubes

Directions – Orange Curd:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high to high heat, whisk together the orange zest, blood orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and egg yolk. Cook the curd, stirring constantly with spatula, for about 10 minutes until it starts to thicken and coats the spatula being careful for it not to curdle. If it does curdle, you can remove the curdled bits after wards if needed. Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes. Pour the cooled curd into the shell, and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until filling is set on edges, but inside filling is not. Let cool and then refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.

I had some difficulty with the filling. In fact, it was not at all like I thought it would turn out the first time; so I tried it a second time. And, it produced 2 completely different results.

The first try, I was too cautious about burning or curdling my filling; so I took my time and cooked it over medium-low heat, and it would never set up. But, I figured it would finish in the oven and it remained soupy and I kept on baking it and eventually burnt the crust and it was still runny. However after a night in the fridge it was setup the next day. With the overbaked (burnt) crust, it was a disappointment.

The second attempt, I made in a personal size pie dish and halved the recipe; so that is why it looks like a miniature piece of pie.

I wanted to make sure I did not have a runny filling; so I cranked up the heat to high (I used a double-boiler, since my saucepans are very thin and not the heavy saucepan as the recipe recommends.) And I made sure I cooked it for the full 10 minutes. This time, it was almost too set, and was hard to spread in my crust. It had the curd look and taste that the first attempt did not have.

I can't say that this would ever be a favorite of mine, but I think if the cooking method was perfected it would be pretty tasty. I am definite that my Attempt #3 would turn out different yet. My husband actually liked the first one, but agreed the crust was burnt. My son didn't like it and wouldn't even eat it after I tried to convince him it tasted just like an orange soda.

I think I should have tried this later in the year when I was more confident with different pie fillings. I would love to have someone share their end result of this pie, or if someone has made this type of pie to leave a comment below.