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Lemon Curd

[heart_this] · Apr 5, 2017 · 29 Comments

Lemon Curd

Cool, smooth and creamy lemon curd; perfect for spreading on toast like butter and so much more!

Where has lemon curd been my entire life? Seriously! How did I just have it for the first time recently? Oh, the missed opportunities…
Lemon curd (or other fruit curds) is a soft, smooth, intensely flavoured spread or sauce and as soon as I had tried it I knew that I would have to make it myself and it could not be easier to do! Lemon curd is made with four simple ingredients: lemons, sugar, eggs and butter that are all heated until it thickens into a decadently smooth and creamy spread like consistency, rather like room temperature butter, only lemon-y and so much better! Now that I am armed with a few jars of fresh homemade lemon curd, he ideas on what to use it in and on are swirling through my head! Simply spreading it on butter or a nice fresh croissant seem like great places to start but I have so many more ideas to try, that is unless I eat all of it by the spoonful before I get the chance to!

Lemon Curd
Lemon Curd
Lemon Curd
Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd
Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Servings: 20(1 1/4 cups or 20 1 tablespoon servings)

Cool, smooth and creamy lemon curd; perfect for spreading on toast like butter and so much more!

ingredients
  • 4 lemons, juice and zest (~1 cup juice)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
directions
  1. Heat everything in a bowl over a small sauce pan of water simmering over medium-high heat, whisking continuously until thickened, about 10 minutes.
Note: You can cook the lemon curd directly in a saucepan rather than in a bowl on top of the saucepan with the simmering water but there is more of a chance for the egg to cook and produce little white flecks in the otherwise smooth and creamy curd.
Note: If some of the egg does cook and turn into little white flecks in the curd, you can push the curd through a sieve to remove them!
Note: Let cool and store in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 67, Fat 4g (Saturated 2g, Trans 0.1g), Cholesterol 46mg, Sodium 14mg, Carbs 6g (Fiber 0.3g, Sugars 5g), Protein 1g

Nutrition by: Nutritional facts powered by Edamam
Use in:
Lemon Poppy Seed Ricotta Scones with Strawberry Sauce
Dutch Babies with Lemon Curd and Blueberries
Lemon Curd White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cheesecake Cookies
Japanese Souffle Pancakes with Lemon Curd and Blueberries

Similar Recipes:
Caramel Sauce
Dulce de Leche
Strawberry Sauce
Chocolate Avocado Pudding
Baconnaise (aka Bacon Mayonnaise)
Lemon Loaf
Blueberry Lemon Loaf

6 Ingredients, Breakfast, Condiment, Dessert, Food, Recipe

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maria Lichty says

    April 5, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    Im a sucker for lemon curd!

    Reply
  2. LuisaCA says

    April 5, 2017 at 9:18 pm

    It freezes extremely well. Then you can use it in a nearly instant tart recipe.

    Reply
  3. Becky Bailey says

    April 6, 2017 at 5:29 am

    Does'nt your arm get tired? Would Love to try it…..

    Reply
  4. Terry says

    April 6, 2017 at 12:36 pm

    Do you have to whisk, or could you use an electric beater at the lowest speed? I know nothing about curd. What are some other suggestions for its use?

    Reply
    • Chef Zee says

      April 21, 2019 at 12:43 pm

      You can use on pound cake or make a batch of short bread cookies With a thumb size indentation in center. Then after cookie cools you can fill w/ curd and top w/ fresh raspberry & shaved white chocolate. It is also wonderful with scones or biscuits. Or if you’re like me, you can just eat it by the spoon full.

      Reply
  5. Cheryl says

    April 6, 2017 at 2:00 pm

    i use it for filling in thumb print cookies.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous says

    April 6, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    is this like a lemon pie filling? can it be used for a filling in a cake or used in a pie? need recipes for using this. thxs.

    Reply
  7. marla {Family Fresh Cooking} says

    April 6, 2017 at 4:00 pm

    Perfect timing for Easter & spring!

    Reply
  8. G. Parker says

    April 7, 2017 at 5:12 pm

    I know right??? We made it for the first time this past week, and lemon is my favorite thing. The minute we tried the lemon curd my daughter whipped up, I was trying to figure out what it would be good on. Cheesecake!! lol

    Reply
  9. Beeje says

    April 7, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    IMHO the best way to enjoy lemon curd is with warm, freshly baked gingerbread!

    Reply
  10. Anonymous says

    April 10, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    The only thing that makes this lemon curd better is using Meyer Lemons instead of Eureka. Oh my!

    Reply
    • Poppy Teel says

      February 9, 2020 at 8:23 pm

      How much lemon juice? Our Meyer Lemons from our tree are huge and each makes about 3/4 to a full cup of juice.
      Thanks!

      Poppy

      Reply
      • kevin says

        February 10, 2020 at 12:48 pm

        Use 2 lemons of that size! Enjoy!

        Reply
  11. Anonymous says

    April 10, 2017 at 9:18 pm

    I also like to add a tablespoon of Lemon Curd to a half cup of cottage cheese, 6 oz of plain, greek yogurt, or my oatmeal. I used it to make a lemon tiramisu as well. I've been known to eat with just a spoon too!

    Reply
  12. kevin says

    April 11, 2017 at 2:26 pm

    Beeje: Love the sound of that combo!

    Reply
  13. Helen Kennedy says

    April 17, 2017 at 12:02 pm

    Great mixed with mascarpone to make a lemon cheesecake with crushed amaretti.

    Good as a filling for cake. Years ago I made a lemon cake and filled it with lemon curd.

    Reply
  14. Shelby Law Ruttan says

    April 23, 2017 at 11:27 am

    I will never forget my youngest son, Christopher, discovering how delicious lemon curd was! It was after I made my first lemon swirled cheesecake for them and he found the leftover lemon curd in the refrigerator. His comment was similar to yours…that he could just eat it by the spoonful, and so could I! I still love your blog and your recipes Kevin! I can't believe how long we have been around as bloggers and your blog is NEVER boring.

    Reply
  15. Phyllis says

    May 31, 2017 at 11:36 pm

    Kevin, can you advise how much this recipe makes? And do you agree that it freezes well? Thanks much.

    Reply
  16. Carel says

    April 7, 2020 at 5:22 pm

    Kevin, can you please advise exactly how much juice is used in your lemon curd recipe. As you know, lemons vary in size, so having a precise measurement of juice will ensure greater success with the recipe. Thanks.

    Reply
    • kevin says

      April 8, 2020 at 9:36 am

      You want about 1 cup of lemon juice. Enjoy!

      Reply
  17. Vicki Plant says

    April 7, 2020 at 6:48 pm

    Even better is Lemon or Orange Cheese. It has a thicker consistency. I fell in love with it when I lived in Europe. I have not been able to find a source or a recipe.

    Reply
    • Phyllis Bergst says

      May 3, 2020 at 5:44 pm

      Food Network has a recipe that came over from England.
      https://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-cheese-103796

      Reply
  18. elena says

    April 24, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    Kevin this is my first time I will be doing lemon curd the zest has to boil or cook cut in pieces or shredded how gets that texture or after boiling do you place everything in a blender. How do you get that creamy texture with the zest you take the juice from the lemon and place the zest in the bowl how. [email protected] please respond to my email as I do not go in to the comments and maybe I do not find the comment. Thank you!

    Reply
    • kevin says

      April 26, 2020 at 9:00 am

      The lemon zest should be very fine, using a zester (a very fine grater), and you should not notice the zest in the lemon curd. If you want the lemon curd to be super smooth you can push the curd through a fine mesh sieve/strainer to remove the zest after coooking.

      Tip: If you do not have a zester, you can use a knife to slice pieces of the peel off of the lemon, very thin pieces with as little white (pith) as possible, and pulse the lemon peel slices along with the sugar in a food processor until the lemon peel is in super small pieces, like zest.

      Enjoy!

      Reply
  19. Noreen Gamble says

    May 31, 2020 at 2:37 pm

    I made this last night for the dutch babies this morning. It is so delicious. I’m lucky there was some leftover for the dutch babies…. Lemon Heaven is what this should be called!

    Reply
  20. Vickie S. says

    April 27, 2021 at 7:05 pm

    I have made this recipe several times and it is wonderfully delicious! Do you think Lemon Curd would “can” well if I used a standard canning method?

    Reply
    • kevin says

      May 3, 2021 at 8:29 am

      I’m glad you like it! I have not tried canning it and I would have to look up proper canning methods for it.

      Reply
  21. shirley benner says

    September 4, 2022 at 6:24 pm

    Couldn’t even wait for it too cool. So delicious!!!! Love that it isn’t overly sweet. Would be fantastic even on a flip flop.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Lemon Blueberry Dutch Baby says:
    April 24, 2020 at 9:25 am

    […] cup lemon […]

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