What do you do when your sister sends you a big box of Arizona Lemons? No, not lemonade, but that is a good answer. The first thing that came into my mind was “Lemon Curd”. Ahh light and tart lemon curd. It’s like putting a lemon meringue pie in a jar.
Making your own lemon curd is so easy. It can be quite expensive to buy. I’ve seen it as much as $10 a jar.
I love lemon curd spread on toast, scones, mixed with vanilla yogurt for a fruit dip, spread between layers of cake. Mixed with whipped cream and used as a topping. The list is as long as your imagination.
Just six ingredients. unsalted butter, sugar, eggs and egg yolks, fresh lemon juice and grated lemon zest. Please don’t use the bottled lemon juice. Ewww.
I’m sorry this picture is a little dark. I don’t want to explain. Anyway, cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Or you can use a hand mixer, whatever you have or prefer. Beat until fluffy. About 2 minutes.
Add the eggs and egg yolks.
Beat for about 1 minute until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
Mix in the lemon juice. The creamy mixture that you once had will now look curdled. Don’t worry about that it will smooth out as it cooks.
Pour the mixture into a medium sized heavy saucepan. Cook this over low heat. Stirring constantly. You want to keep stirring so that it will stay creamy and to prevent the curd from burning.
See how the mixture looks curdled. Just keep stirring and the magic will happen.
It doesn’t take long for the mixture to start to look creamy. Keep stirring.
It’s looking better! Continue cooking on a medium heat. Keep stirring. It should start to thicken any minute now.
Suddenly it’s thick. You can tell if it’s done two different ways. One: use a thermometer and when the temperature reads 170 degrees, it’s done. Two…….
Wipe your finger across the back of a spoon and if it leaves a path, it is finished. This could take as long as 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in the lemon zest. You can do this in the pan after you remove it from the heat. I just forgot. As you can see it is beautiful and it makes about 2 cups.
My mouth is watering.
That was easy! Lemon curd. Beautiful.
Lemon Curd
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
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 mixtue 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 pathon 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.
For lime curd, substitute fresh lime juice and zest for the lemon.
White chocolate lemon scones are fabulous spread with lemon curd. The sweetness of the chocolate blends in so nice with the tartness of the lemon.
White chocolate lemon scones with a spread of lemon curd. It’s going to be so delicious.
Here are the ingredients for the scones. Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cold butter, white chocolate chips, lemon zest and buttermilk.
In the bowl of an electric mixer add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and lemon zest. Give in a stir to mix the dry ingredients together.
Add the cold butter chunks that have been cut into about 1/3-inch cubes. Using the paddle attachement begin mixing the butter into the flour mixture.
The butter chunks should still be fairly large. About half their original size.
Stir in the white chocolate chips.
Pour in the buttermilk.
With the mixer turned onto a low speed, gently mix in buttermilk. Do not over mix.
The mixture will look like this. You will be able to see chunks of the butter and the white chocolate chips.
Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Once again I’m using my pastry cloth. Love it!
Pat the dough into a 7-inch circle.
Cut the disk into quarters.
Then into eighths.
Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I really like using parchment. I use it all the time. It makes clean up so easy. Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
Bake until golden. Let cool for about 5 minutes while making the glaze.
For the glaze you will need powdered sugar, milk, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Mix the powdered sugar, milk, lemon juice and zest. You may need to adjust the liquids depending on how think or thin you want your glaze.
Oops! Almost forgot the zest.
Drizzle glaze over scones.
That’s it! Don’t these look fabulous? Carefully split the scone open and spread on a little lemon curd.
I can’t stand it any more. I’m eating it.
White Chocolate Lemon Scones
1 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
3/4 cup buttermilk
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and sugar in an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, add the butter and mix just until coated with flour. The butter chunks should remain fairly large, not less than half their original size. Add the white chocolate chips. Stir gently. With the mixer set on a slow speed add the buttermilk and mix until just absorbed. Stop mixing when the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Scrape the dough from the bowl and shape into a ball. Pat the dough into a 7-inch disk. Cut into quarters and then again into eighths. Set the scones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
In a medium sized mixing bowl add the powdered sugar and lemon zest. Stir in lemon juice and milk one tablespoon at a time. Continue to add more milk until desired consistancy.
Scone Variations:
You can make up your own scone flavors. You don’t have to stick with white chocolate chips and lemon. I have made cranberry white chocolate chip, cranberry almond, cinnamon, semi-sweet chocolate chips, poppy seed.
Once again, create your own. Let me know what wonderful flavors you come up with. I can’t
wait to hear from you.
I LOVE your blog! You are amazing!!!!
yup. i'm salivating. big time. i love lemon EVERYTHING more than ANYTHING. and your photos…amazing!! your blog is going to keep me busy cooking, baking, eating.
After living in England for a while, I'd've never thought to make my own lemon curd. But given the right fresh lemons, why wouldn't I?
And now you know how easy it is to make your own curd. Arizona citrus is THE best. I order oranges every year during citrus season. This year I had 160 lbs of oranges shipped to my home. Sorry Florida and California you don't even compare to the citrus in AZ.
I will have to try both your lemon curd and scone recipes the next time I get a large bag of lemons from my mom. Your recipes and your food styling, as well as your step-by-step instructions are fantastic! I really love your blog and the tempting way you present each dish. You also have beautiful dishes and serve ware, especially your bee plates. I remember drooling over them at Williams-Sonoma, and I wish I had made the investment in a few pieces before they sold out. I am also a fan of your Depression glass pieces. Thank you for being an inspiration to us home cooks who want to make our food special for our families.
Thank you, Holly. I anxiously await fresh lemons from my sister who lives in AZ. We can hardly wait for the winter citrus from AZ. My sister and brother gave me the bee plate collection for my birthday. Are they great or what (plates & family). My depression glass is a treasure from my grandmother. Thanks for reading my blog.
I just made this lemon curd and it's amazing!!! I will never buy it in the jar at the store again. thx! 🙂
I know! It's so easy to make and so divine. Thank you for your comment.
We have a lemon tree and it's loaded right now. I juiced a bunch of them and I went in search of lemon scones and found your blog. I just made the lemon curd last night and had it over homemade cheesecake…oh nelly! It was divine! I have these scones in the oven as I type this! Can't wait to eat them with the lemon curd. Thank you!
You are so lucky to have a lemon tree. I seriously just eat this curd right from a jar with a spoon. I'm so glad you found my blog and hope you LOVE the scones. Thank you for such a kind comment.
Stumbled on your blog from a pin on Pinterest. In love! Gorgeous recipes AND pictures. Can't wait to try one tomorrow!!!
I sound glad you stumbled upon me. Let me know if you just don't LOVE the lemon curd. You'll be eating it with a spoon…like me.
FABULOUS…..JUST FABULOUS.
My new favorite!
So are you eating the lemon curd with a spoon right out of the bowl? That's what I do.
LOL – I've done that several times to day
but just one spoon full at a time : )
Tonight my 14 year old daughter made us a batch of lemon scones so we could have
that wonderful lemon curd. We got the biggest smiles from our boys when we handed
them that pretty plate.
Its almost to pretty to eat. I cant wait to have company over so I can serve this for the after dinner treat!
My sister lives in Arizona and just sent me a huge box of lemons. I'm afraid to make the curd because I know where it will end up. I even like it spread on toast. It's great mixed with yogurt for a fruit dip and I've mixed it into the mascaropone topping for the tiramisu cake that's on my site. I even spread it on my fingers! Thank you for making your family so happy.
I'm the one who stumbled on this post on pinterest. Made both the scones and the curd today for the staff at my daughter's dance school. You have elevated me to favorite dance mom status!
I even served it all in my green depression glass (Georgian lovebird) like your beautiful pictures inspired me to do. The amazing yellow of the curd looked even more appetizing in the green dishes. These recipes are going in my recipe book – a status only given to the few "spoon-licking good" worthy!! THANK YOU!
Why thank you Emily. I feel so honored. Your comments just made my day. You are the BEST dance mom EVER!
I made 5 batches today at one time. I did tell myself that if I ruin it it will only be my fault for trying to do such a big batch, but it was just as easy to make as the single and double batch I had made before. So happy I now get to take yummy goodies back to AR this weekend to see the family.
So much fun!
Way to go. I have been doubling it and it does work just great. It's so divine.
Are you kidding me? Your blog is awesome. Blogs are often like cookbooks. One recipe attracts you, but as you start to look through the recipes you're like, I wouldn't buy this. I'd never make this stuff. Not so with yours. It's the cookbook if definitely buy… And make everything in it! You're motivating me, thanks.
You just made my day! Thank you for your kind comment. Food is so subjective, I just cook what we like and hope others feel the same.
First, a compliment: Your blog is fabulous! Today I baked this cake. She did not look as good as yours. But it tasted great anyway. Above all, the Lemon Curd. Fabulous!
Greetings from Germany
Hermann
Thank you, Hermann. I would guess that your ingredients are far superior to that products I get in the U.S. That is probably why your scones didn't look the same. I love your comment. You just make me smile.
Hi Cat, Sorry I had a few moderation problems and accidentally deleted your comment. I'm so glad you found my blog and I hope you keep coming back. I have never made clotted cream. I'll do so research and let you know what I come up with. Hopefully I can at least find you a good source.
Can we freeze the fresh lemon juice and use it later?
Lemon juice freezes beautifully.
I just came across your blog and am excited to try some of your recipes! I wanted to give you a shortcut on the lemon curd that I recently found: if you have a Vitamix blender you can dump the ingredients in and blend on high for 5 minutes (or until it reaches 170 degrees). Voila — amazingly creamy lemon curd and no standing at the stove, stirring. 🙂
Hi Lynn, Thank you so much for this fabulous idea. I do have a vitamix and will try this out. Great tip. I'm so glad you found my blog.
I made the lemon curds last night. So excite and so easy. Will go wonderful with the lemon ginger scones I made. Thank you for such a simple and yummy recipe.
Lemon ginger scones sound absolutely divine! I'm so happy you like the curd. I love it! Thanks for commenting.
Just served your Lemon Curd and Scones at work for breakfast- fantastic!- lemons bought in Arizona last week -OH what a difference! Thank you for your blog I have fun trying different recipes!
I'm so jealous about your AZ lemons. They do make a big difference and your are so lucky to have them. Thank you for your kind comment. I hope you come back.
How many lemon pies in a jar would this receipe account for
It makes just a little less than 2 cups. Perhaps an 8-inch tart.