You can make this silky and tangy homemade lemon curd with only 4 ingredients! The perfect filling for cakes, tarts, etc.
I love the tangy flavor of the lemon curd.
Its tangy flavor, silky and smooth texture make me want to eat lemon curd anytime. I don’t need anything to accompany my lemon curd because I can eat it straight out of the jar with a spoon.
Lemon curd can be used as fillings for tarts, cakes, cookies or cupcakes. You can even use it on your plain yogurt as well. You can spread it on toasts.
The Ingredients of Homemade Lemon Curd
The best part of making the lemon curd is the ingredients in it. They are so easy to reach:
- Lemons-Freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest give its beautiful tangy flavor. I love my lemon curd not too sweet so I can feel all the tanginess.
- Eggs-works as a thickener. I use whole eggs in my recipe. (In some recipes you can see lemon curd with only whole eggs as well, in others you can see a combination of egg yolks and whole eggs, and in some recipes, you can see egg yolks only.)
- Sugar-balances the tart flavor
- Butter-gives the final silky touch
Can you believe that you can eat such a rich-delicious flavor with only 4 ingredients?
In this recipe, I use the bain-marie method while making my lemon curd which prevents curdling with an even heat. I talk about bain-marie in detail below.
How to Make Lemon Curd
I start by mixing lemon zest and sugar in a medium heatproof bowl. This is the method I use in my Lemon Slice-and-Bake Cookies. It helps the zest’s oil and sugar combine and increases the lemon flavor.
Then I add in the eggs and lemon juice(I sieve the lemon juice after squeezing) and whisk them. I set aside the bowl.
How to Make a Bain Marie
I use a saucepan that is large enough to hold my heatproof bowl and fill it with 2 inches (5cm) water and place it over med-high heat and bring it to a simmer.
Once it simmers, I reduce the heat to medium and place my heatproof bowl over the saucepan and start to whisk. Make sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the simmering water. This is very important. If the bowl touches the water, it means something is wrong.
Later I whisk the mixture continuously and gently for a creamy texture and even cooking. It becomes thick in 10 minutes.
How to Test the Thickness
You can test the thickness by placing a spoon into your mixture. If the mixture coats the back of a spoon, and if the line is visible when you run your finger through the mixture, it means that your mixture is thick enough.
Once the mixture is thick, I remove the bowl from the heat and add the cubed butter. If your butter is softened, you can add them all together. They will melt in seconds.
Once they all melt, I sieve the curd into a clean bowl and have smooth lemon curd. The curd looks very smooth but still, you have to sieve it. Believe me, it is not nice to have zests in your lemon curd. Don’t skip this step!
I immediately cover my lemon curd with a plastic film, I press the plastic film so it touches the curd and prevents a skin when cooling. Then I store it in the fridge. You can keep it in the fridge for up to a week.
I look forward to sharing delicious recipes using my lemon curd. Enjoy!
If you like lemon as much as I do, you should check my other recipes:
- Lemon Curd Mousse
- Lemon Coconut Bars with White Chocolate Ganache
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Slice-and-Bake Cookies
- Healthy Lemonade with Honey & Mint
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Homemade Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 105 g (½ cup) sugar
- 80 ml 80g or (⅓ cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice, sieved
- 75 g (⅓ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
- Put the lemon zest, sugar in medium heat proof bowl and mix. Add in the lemon juice and eggs and whisk to combine.
- Place a saucepan -which is large enough to hold the heat proof bowl- over med-high heat, filled with 2 inches (5 cm) water. Once the water simmers, reduce the heat to medium heat,and put the bowl over the saucepan. Whisk continuously and gently for a creamy texture and even cooking.
- When the mixture is thick-almost in 8-10 minutes, take it from the heat and add the butter and mix well.
- Sieve the curd into a clean bowl. Immediately cover with plastic film by lightly pressing the lemon curd, so the plastic film can touch the curd when covered and prevent a skin forming on top. Store in the fridge. You can keep in the fridge up to a week.
Notes
Nutrition
