This is a four ingredient easy Lemon Curd Recipe. Luscious, lemony, sunny, bright and bursting with fresh citrus flavor. Homemade lemon curd is made with fresh lemon juice and is extra creamy and smooth with the addition of butter.
It’s so simple to make lemon curd from scratch that I have to admit I’ve never picked up a jar from the store. You can find it in grocery stores alongside the jams and jellies or with the baking supplies, but as with everything, flavor would surely be compromised.
Lemon curd is a scrumptious spread for scones, biscuits or other baked goods. It’s really very easy, just requiring a little attention by stirring as the mixture heats stove-top. And the reward is absolutely worth every second spent…hardly more trouble than making pudding.
If you’re a lemon fan, and you’ve never tasted lemon curd, you owe it to yourself to take the time to make this. You only need four ingredients: sugar, lemons, egg yolks and butter. I’ve used this recipe for years, and before writing this post, I googled to see if there were other versions. There are, but not deviating from the ingredients. However many recipes call for using a double boiler. I’ve never made it that way. I’ve only used a heavy saucepan, monitoring the heat. So easy and you’ll be on your way to a very lemon dessert Summer.
While in Culinary School, we also made lemon curd without using the double boiler method. A professional touch at the end of the process included instructions to strain the curd and store it with plastic wrap over and touching the curd to keep the texture nice and shiny.
So please don’t be intimidated, it really such an easy process. It’s glorious, basically a lemony, buttery, eggy spread. The end result has an intense flavor, which is a good thing, or I’d be eating it by the spoonful.
Lemon curd can certainly be used as a pie or tart filling, but is different than most recipe’s pie fillings. Lemon curd has a stronger concentration of citrus flavor and is thickened using egg yolks and made creamy with butter. Pie fillings and custards contain little or no butter and rely on starches (tapioca and cornstarch) to thicken.
Lemon Dessert Recipes using Lemon Curd
Or These Curd-style Recipes:
Homemade Easy Lemon Curd Recipe
I hope you give this lemon curd recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite lemon curd or lemon curd filling recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
Homemade Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 8 large egg yolks
- 1 large egg
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, 1 1/2 sticks
- Zest of one lemon about 1 tablespoon
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the sugar with the lemon juice and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the whole egg and the remaining 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- Pour half of the hot lemon syrup slowly into the egg mixture while whisking rapidly. Add the combined mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the lemon-sugar mixture and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until the curd just comes to a boil, about 9 minutes; it should be the consistency of sour cream. If the curd has any lumps you can strain the curd through the sieve.
- Let the lemon curd cool to room temperature, then whisk in the softened butter until the curd is light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and mix thoroughly.
Nutrition
Why Trust These Recipes? Lea Ann Brown has lived, worked and played in Colorado for 45 years. She has immersed herself in the Colorado Culinary space, is a Culinary School Graduate and publishes her Colorado food Blog, Cooking On The Ranch.
I’m a lemon freak, so you know lemon curd is my friend. 🙂 Yours looks wonderful! And I like that tip about the plastic wrap. Super recipe — thanks.
Well I’ve never tasted it so I owe it to myself – did you add a little limoncello to it?