How To Make Lemon Curd
Me:Come on. I’ll take you to a great place for scones.
Auntie: That sounds delicious.
Me: You can put some lemon curd on them, yum.
Auntie: Lemon Curd? Ive never had lemon curd.
Me: (brief silence)You’ve never heard of lemon curd before?
Auntie:No.
Me: What do you spread on your pound cake?
Auntie: (brief silence)
Me: (brief silence) This is going to be tasty. I’ll even tell you how to make lemon curd so you can slather it on your pound cake at home.
How To Make Lemon Curd – A Rare Thing
As the above conversation suggest, it seems we just don’t experience enough curds. Curds, typically made with citrus fruits, are delicious spreads that have a variety of application, the best application being the delivery of delicious lemony goodness to my mouth and enriching scones and pound cake. A slather of lemon curd would do great things for a crumpet, too.
How To Make A Lemon Curd? First, WTF Is It?
A curd is a relative of the custard, where the cream is replaced by fruit juice, the most classic being a lemon curd. Lemon curd is essentially lemon juice being thickened with eggs and sugar into a custard like spread. Curd are typically citrus, but passion fruit or raspberry curds are definitely possible and they make for very good eating!
How To Make A Lemon Curd? The Technique
When we think about how to make a lemon curd, having some custard knowledge is a good thing as the techniques are similar, but there are a few things worth noting that can be done differently. Essentially, liquid and flavors are simmered, eggs and sugar are mixed,then the eggs/sugar are tempered with the simmered liquid and then brought to temperature in a double boiler until thickened. The double boiler is not totally compulsory with a curd (or a custard really), but a double boiler can help control the temperature. Both need to be heated to about 170-180F to be thickened. Neither should be be boiled or scrambled eggs will result. In custard making, we often see a tempering method where the milk is heated, then slowly streamed into a yolk/sugar mixture, then that mixture is brought to temperature. With a lemon curd, I mix everything together and heat it over medium heat until thickened. It is a lot less fuss and works just as well.
Another thing to note is that most custards use egg yolks only. Many curd recipes call for egg yolks only, too, but with a curd, whole eggs can be used. I actually prefer the whole eggs because the product is practically the same. The curd will be equally creamy and smooth and it saves a step of separating the eggs.
Another difference is that curds have butter stirred into them after thickening. This is both for flavor and richness.
The how to make a lemon curd video is below and the full recipe follows.
- 1 stick of butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of sugar
- ½ cup of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Cut the butter into small cubes.
- In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, zest and vanilla.
- Place the pan over medium heat and whisk constantly. Slowly bring the mixture to a simmer cooking the mixture until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. The mixture will read 170F-180F on an instant read thermometer.
- Once thickened, remove the curd from the heat . Add the butter a few cubes at a time, whisking to incorporate. Incorporate all the butter.
- Pour the curd into a bowl to cool. Cool completely in the refrigerator.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
- The curd will keep in a sealed container refrigerated for a few days.
I hope you enjoy!
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Do you know how to make lemon curd? Do you have a curd recipe to share? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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