Lemon Curd

This homemade lemon curd recipe uses just 4 ingredients to make the most mouth-watering lemon curd you’ve ever had. Use it to make lemon bars, cookies, cocktails, and more!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Dessert

Keyword citrus curd, curd, lemon curd

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Needs to set 1 30

Total Time 20

Servings tablespoons

Calories 75kcal

Author Elaine Benoit

Equipment

Ingredients

4 lemons (3 of which you zest, juice all, mine yielded 1 cup of lemon juice)
3 tablespoons lemon zest (zest the lemons and whatever it yields - use that amount)
5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar (same amount as the juice you use)
.5 cup butter (cut into pats)

Instructions

In a sauce pan, add yolks and whisk until combined
5 egg yolks
Add sugar, lemon juice and zest
1 cup sugar, 4 lemons
Turn the heat on medium and whisk all the contents together
Keep whisking until the lemon curd thickens, it takes about 10 minutes. Do not let it come to a boil
Check thickness by putting a tablespoon in the lemon curd. It should coat the back of the spoon
Remove from heat
Add 2 pats of butter at a time and mix until melted. Continue adding butter until it is all added and melted
.5 cup butter
Pour into glass container
Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on counter for 1/2 hour
Cover the jar and place in fridge and let it sit for at least an hour before eating or using
Spoon some in your mouth
Smile
Enjoy

Notes

I won't add the time it needs to set (on the counter or in the fridge) But if you need to know, add another 1.5 hours

Tips on Making Lemon Curd:

Be sure to wash your lemons before zesting.
To wash them, place the lemons in a bowl with three cups of water and 1 cup of white vinegar. After 10 minutes, remove the lemons and run them under cold water, using a brush to scrub the skin.
The way to pick a great lemon at the market is to first heft it in your hand. The heavier lemons have more juice than the lighter ones.
When picking a lemon, smell it too. The more lemon fragrance, the fresher the lemon.
Try to gauge the thickness of the rind. The thinner the rind, the more juice it will yield.
Before juicing the lemon, roll it between your palm and a hard surface like a counter. Doing this will help release the juice.
Use as much zest as three lemons yield.
Here's a tip on separating the yolks from the whites. You can use a fancy egg separator or you can just crack the egg and use your hands. I place the egg in my hand with my fingers just a tiny bit apart and let the whites drip into a bowl to save for another use. I transfer the yolk back and forth between hands until all the whites have been separated.

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