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You are here: Home / Recipes / Jams, Jellies, and Condiments / Homemade Lemon Curd

Homemade Lemon Curd

April 7, 2020 Updated April 14, 2020 1 Comment

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A simple no-fail recipe for Homemade Lemon Curd.  Deliciously fresh, buttery, and tart.  Perfect for cakes, pies, ice cream and eating with a spoon. 

 

Uses for Lemon Curd

  • Spread between cake layers
  • Blend with buttercream icing for fabulous lemon icing for cakes and cookies
  • Fold into whipped cream for a topping on cakes or filling for crepes
  • Spread on toasted brioche, baking powder biscuits, or muffins
  • Pastry filling
  • Fold into ice cream base before freezing
  • Spoon on top of ice cream
  • Or just eat with a spoon

Easy Homemade Lemon Curd

Eggs in a bowl with half a lemon on a juicer and sliced butter1
Eggs added to sugar butter mixture in mixing bowl3
Butter and sugar in mixing bowl2
Mixing bowl with blended sugar and eggs4
  1. Gather and measure ingredients.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs and yolks and beat another minute. 
  4. Mix in the lemon juice.  the mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

Cooking 

Lemon curd mixture pouring into a pot1
Wooden spoon showing thinning lemon curd3
Wooden spoon spoon stirring lemon curd in pot2
Wooden spoon showing thicken lemon curd with trail on spoon4
  1. In a medium, heavy saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. 
  2. The curdled appearance will begin to disappear as the butter in the mixture melts. 
  3. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.  It should take about 15 minutes. 
  4. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170 degrees on a thermometer.  Don’t let the mixture boil.
 
Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest.  Transfer the curd to a bowl.  Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator.  The curd will thicken further as it cools.  That’s it!  How easy was that?
 

Jar of lemon curd on white cloth and sliced lemon

How many uses can you come up with for this bottle of sunshine?

jar of lemon curd on white cloth
5 from 2 votes
Print

Homemade Lemon Curd

A simple no-fail recipe for delicious, buttery, tart lemon curd.

Course Condiment, Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Keyword Easy Lemon Curd, Homemade Lemon Curd, lemon curd
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 7 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 2 cups
Calories 103 kcal
Author Janet Barton

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and yolks and beat another minute. Mix in the lemon juice. the mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.
  2. In a medium, heavy saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. The curdled appearance will begin to disappear as the butter in the mixture melts. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. It should take about 15 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170 degrees on a thermometer. Don’t let the mixture boil.

  3. Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

Recipe Notes

  • For lime curd, substitute fresh lime juice and zest for the lemon.
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Lemon Curd
Amount Per Serving (2 tbsp)
Calories 103 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Fat 5g8%
Saturated Fat 3g15%
Cholesterol 56mg19%
Sodium 10mg0%
Potassium 21mg1%
Carbohydrates 13g4%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 13g14%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 193IU4%
Vitamin C 4mg5%
Calcium 7mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Homemade Lemon Curd was posted in 2010.  Photos, printable recipe card, and nutritional information have been added.

My Favorite Recipes Using Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd Ice Cream in bread pan with spoon
pressed flowers decorate lemon olive oil cake
stacked lemon curd ice cream sandwiches in a green tea cup

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Related

Filed Under: Dessert, Jams, Jellies, and Condiments Tagged With: easy lemon curd, homemade lemon curd, lemon curd, no-fail lemon curd

Previous Post: « No-knead Easter Bread
Next Post: No-Churn Lemon Curd Ice Cream »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Margi says

    June 5, 2020 at 6:20 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe. Lemon curd is one of my favorite things to eat and use. Love the stuff. I did double the recipe and had no problems at all. Did remove the zest but that is a personal choice based on texture for me. This has gone into my #1 spot for curd. Next up lime curd.

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Janet Barton

Hi I'm Janet and this is where I share my delicious made-from-scratch seasonal recipes that I make at home for my family every day.

I believe cooking from scratch, using unprocessed and whole foods is an important part of healthy eating. My goal is to help you create amazing recipes by providing easy step-by-step photos and instructions.

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