On a cold grey winter’s day, is there anything more lovely than a bright  jar of delicious homemade lemon curd? I whipped this up on the weekend with lemons from our backyard and we have been eating it with everything from ice cream, marshmallows, meringue and generously on toast since. This recipe is so easy to make and the end result of tangy sweet lemon curd that as smooth as velvet is amazing - I guarantee once you make this you’ll never buy store bought again. x
Click read more for the recipe.

Lemon Curd

1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon of finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice, or three small lemons
8 egg yolks - keep the egg whites for another use
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
170g butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 150°C and place the jar you will store your curd in the oven for 20min, turn the oven off and allow the jar to cool before handling - this will ensure your jar is sterilized and safe to store your lemon curd in.
In a medium sauce pan, off heat, whisk together the sugar, lemon zest and eggs until combined. Then whisk in the lemon juice and salt and continue to whisk until smooth.
Add the butter to the lemon mixture and place the pan over a medium to high heat to cook, whisking constantly until the butter has melted. Continue to whisk until the curd is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and small bubbles appear around the side of the pan - do not boil!
Remove the pan from the heat and continue to whisk until the curd cools down. Pour your lemon curd into the prepared jar and allow to cool completely before placing in the fridge.

Notes

  • The longer you whisk the curd while it is cooling the smoother and more velvet like it will become.
  • You can pour the lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest - I don’t as I like the added zest.
  • The curd will keep in the fridge for around 2 weeks and you can freeze it for around 2-3 month, allow it to defrost in the fridge before bringing to room temperature.
  • You can easily freeze the egg whites for a future use, or make meringue - just make sure to write on the label the date and how many egg whites there are
  • Most importantly, enjoy!