How to Make Lemon Curd (Easy)
Once you taste homemade lemon curd, you’ll understand why the extra 20 minutes to make it is worth every second. Creamy, intensely lemony, and sweet-tart, this lemon curd is an irresistible topping for cakes, cookies, pies, scones and more.
Servings: 12 servings (1.5 cups total)
Equipment
- Medium stainless steel or nonstick saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice 2-3 large lemons
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest about 1 large lemon
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick) cut into small cubes
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract if preferred
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Use a medium saucepan that is nonstick or stainless steel (this is crucial so the curd does not have a metallic aftertaste). Add eggs, sugar, and salt. Whisk together until well-combined.
- Wash lemons thoroughly. Zest 1 large lemon and juice 2-3 lemons to yield ½ cup juice. Add zest and juice, and whisk until well-combined.
- Add butter, and turn to medium heat. Use a wooden spoon (not metal!), to constantly stir butter into the mixture until it completely melts.
- Once completely melted, continue to constantly stir over medium heat. Mixture will steam slightly but should not simmer. Curd is ready when it just coats the back of the spoon, and when you drag your finger through the coating, there is a visible line where your finger swept the coating. This will take 2-6 minutes after the butter melts.
- Remove pot from heat, and stir in the vanilla.
- Place a sieve over a bowl. Add curd to the sieve and use the spoon to push curd through the sieve, leaving any lumps behind.
- Cool at room temperature to allow the lemon curd to thicken more, before refrigerating or enjoying!
Video
Notes
- It is crucial to use a nonstick or stainless steel saucepan/pot and wooden spoon! Stay away from other metals that will infuse your lemon curd with an unpleasant metallic taste. I find metal whisks work fine to mix together ingredients since there isn’t enough exposure to compromise the taste of the curd.
- If you don’t have a wooden spoon, you can try using a silicon spatula. Be aware that the curd might slide off the spatula when performing the “wooden spoon test” in step 4, so wooden spoons are the way to go if at all possible!
- Constantly stir lemon curd while it’s cooking and do not crank up the heat.
- Keep testing the curd (wooden spoon test) after the butter melts, because overly cooked lemon curd is grainy whereas undercooked curd is runny. No thank you!
- While straining lemon curd is not imperative, there will be bits of cooked egg and lemon zest if you don’t strain it!
- How do I zest a lemon? Use a zester, grater, or microplane to remove the outer yellow part before juicing it. Stay away from zesting the white part underneath the yellow, which is bitter.
- Use whole eggs, not just the yolks! The yolks thicken lemon curd while the whites lighten it up, making it not so heavy.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (2 tablespoons) | Calories: 134kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 46mg | Potassium: 34mg | Fiber: 0.05g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 316IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.3mg