Lemon Curd
Fresh lemon curd is smooth and creamy, tart and tangy, and has just the right balance of sweetness. Lemon curd has many uses in a pastry kitchen; use as a filling for pies and tarts, a filling between cake layers, filling thumbprint cookies or Tassies, spooned over fresh berries, folded into whipped cream, served with scones and toast, or just simply eaten with a spoon.
Recipe type: Dessert Sauce
Serves: about 1½ cups
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Recipe Notes
Equipment: Medium Saucepan Method: Stovetop Yield:1½ Cups Storage: Tightly Cover and Refrigerate
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accurate, and well worth the investment. I use my Thermapen Thermometer for checking room temperature ingredients, tempering chocolate, baking bread, making pastry creams, sugar syrup, caramel, and candy, cooking meats and fish, and deep frying. Thermapen Thermometer available here.
TheBakingPan Recommends: The BEST instant read thermometer I’ve used for cooking and baking; the ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is incredibly fast,
accurate, and well worth the investment. I use my Thermapen Thermometer for checking room temperature ingredients, tempering chocolate, baking bread, making pastry creams, sugar syrup, caramel, and candy, cooking meats and fish, and deep frying. Thermapen Thermometer available here.Ingredients
Lemon Curd:
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (about 3 lemons)
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 large egg yolks
Instructions
Lemon Curd:
- In a medium-sized heavy saucepan over low to medium-low heat, combine butter, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and egg yolks. Cook and stir with a rubber spatula in a figure eights pattern around the edge of the pan and into the center, making sure to scrape the rubber spatula across the bottom of the pan. Cook until butter is melted and mixture is thickened, about 7 to 10 minutes, or registers from 170 degrees up to 180 degrees (just below simmer,) using a candy or instant read thermometer to gauge the temperature. Important: Do not allow mixture to boil or the egg yolks will curdle. Remove pan from heat. Tip: the lemon curd will start to thicken at about 170 degrees and is fully thickened at about 180 degrees. Tip: A heat-resistant rubber spatula is best for stirring because it can scrape the entire bottom of the pot to help prevent the egg from clumping together and curdling.
- Immediately pour the hot mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl to strain out the lemon zest pieces and any bits of egg that may have curdled. Let cool, stirring occasionally as it cools, then pour the curd into an airtight container and refrigerate. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools.