Reduced-sugar Blood Orange Pâte de Fruit
This pâte de fruit is more intensely orange and less sweet than the usual pâtisserie kind. It's made with half the sugar so it takes significantly longer to set than traditional pâte de fruit recipes.
Servings: 64
Calories: 12kcal
Ingredients
- 1 whole blood orange ~160 grams, washed
- 166 grams freshly squeezed blood orange juice
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- 7 grams unsalted butter
- 85 mL liquid pectin I used 1 pouch of Certo brand liquid pectin
- granulated sugar to coat the squares of pâte de fruit
Instructions
- Grease and line an 8x8-inch square pan with parchment, making sure that the parchment runs up the sides. I like to use metal 8x8-inch square pans like this one on Amazon. Open the liquid pectin packet and stand it up in a mug or a glass by the stove for later.
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil, and boil the whole orange for about 10 minutes to soften the peel. Let cool slightly, then cut the boiled orange in half. You will only need one half for a batch of pâte de fruit—I suggest you make a quick jam with the other half.
- Cut the boiled blood orange half in large chunks, removing any pits along the way. Place the grapefruit in a food processor and blend for at least a full minute to completely purée the fruit and to chop all the fibers/skin. You may need to add a little of the fruit juice to the processor to really finely grind the fruit.
- Transfer the fruit purée to a large pot, along with the juice, and granulated sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil on high, stirring constantly. Monitor the temperature with a digital candy thermometer (like this probe thermometer from Thermoworks).
- When the mixture hits 118ºF (48ºC), add the butter, and continue to stir and cook the mixture until it hits 223—224ºF (106ºC).
- When you reach the final cooking temperature, immediately take the pot off the stove and dump in the liquid pectin. Stir well to make sure it gets evenly mixed in, then transfer the hot mixture to the prepared pan.
- Let the pâte de fruit set overnight, uncovered, until it is completely set throughout. Unmold the pâte de fruit, and cut it into 1-inch squares with a large, oiled kitchen knife and, just before serving, toss the cubes in granulated sugar to coat them. Store the uncoated pâte de fruit between parchment sheets.
Nutrition
Calories: 12kcal
