Homemade Lemon Curd (Printable Version)
Silky lemon curd with bright citrus zest and butter—ready in 25 minutes for scones, tarts, or yogurt.
# What You Need:
→ Fruit & Juice
01 - 3 large lemons, zest finely grated and juiced (about 1/2 cup juice)
→ Dairy
02 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed
→ Eggs
03 - 3 large eggs
04 - 1 large egg yolk
→ Sugar
05 - 1 cup granulated sugar
# How To Make It:
01 - In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice until fully blended and smooth.
02 - Place the bowl over a saucepan filled with gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water surface.
03 - Add the cubed butter to the bowl and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
04 - Remove the bowl from heat and press the curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any zest bits or cooked egg strands.
05 - Cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving for the best texture.
# Helpful Hints:
01 -
- It takes barely half an hour from start to finish, and most of that is just patient stirring.
- The texture is impossibly silky, nothing like the jarred version from the store.
02 -
- If the heat is too high or you stop whisking, the eggs will scramble and you will have sweet lemon eggs instead of curd.
- Straining is not optional here, because even the most careful cook will have tiny flecks of cooked egg hiding in there.
03 -
- Use a balloon whisk rather than a flat one, because it incorporates air and keeps the mixture moving evenly across the bowl.
- Meyer lemons make a softer, more floral version that is breathtaking on a shortbread cookie.