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
- Gather and measure ingredients.
- 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.
Cooking
- 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.
How many uses can you come up with for this bottle of sunshine?
Homemade Lemon Curd
A simple no-fail recipe for delicious, buttery, tart lemon curd.
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Homemade Lemon Curd was posted in 2010. Photos, printable recipe card, and nutritional information have been added.
Margi says
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.