Ever since I discovered this delicious lemon cream known as lemon curd, I’ve been craving it. It’s so easy to make. It can be used to fill cakes, cupcakes, it can also be used in layer cakes or as a spread on crepes, waffles, etc.
This is a cream similar to that used in lemon tart, but with less butter. It is made in the same way as pastry cream except that lemon juice is used instead of milk, and cornstarch is not used as a thickener.
I prefer to use only a little butter in this lemon curd, compared to the traditional recipe. It remains very smooth and velvety, yet fairly light.
You can use up to 3 times as much butter for a lemon tart, which you add off the heat. In lemon tart, you also add 10 to 15 grams (0.35 to 0.53 oz) of cornstarch or 3 grams (0.11 oz) of gelatin. There are lots of recipes I’d like to share with you on the blog.
As well as being delicious, this lemon cream is economical, requiring very few ingredients. You will need lemons, preferably organic, as we will be using their peel, eggs, sugar and a little butter. You can use egg yolks or a mixture of yolks and whole eggs.
In the video, I put a sheet of gelatin because I wanted to use this lemon curd in a rose cake and I was afraid it wouldn’t hold.
video recipe
Table of Contents
Preparation steps :
NB: For full details of ingredients, please refer to the recipe card at the end of the article, which you can print out.
You can cook all the ingredients together or add the butter off the heat, once the lemon curd is ready.
1. Place the lemon juice, zest, sugar and eggs in a saucepan and mix well before adding the butter.
2. Place over low heat or in a double boiler and let it thicken while stirring constantly.
3. Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent the lemon curd from sticking and to ensure even cooking.
4. The cream will thicken like a custard. This can take from 5 to 10 minutes. The lemon cream will thicken a little more as it cools.
5. Once the lemon curd is smooth and creamy, strain it through a sieve to remove any lemon residue.
6. Place in jars and leave to cool before closing tightly.
7. Store in the fridge for two weeks, if any remains, as it goes off very quickly.
Lemon Curd Recipe
Ingredients :
- 140 ml (4.7 fl oz) lemon juice
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 150 to 200 g (5.3 to 7 oz) sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) butter
- zest of 2 lemons
Instructions :
- You can cook all the ingredients together or add the butter off the heat, once the lemon curd is ready.
- Place the lemon juice, zest, sugar and eggs in a saucepan and mix well before adding the butter.
- Place over low heat or in a double boiler and let it thicken while stirring constantly.
- Stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent the lemon curd from sticking and to ensure even cooking.
- The cream will thicken like a custard. This can take from 5 to 10 minutes. The lemon cream will thicken a little more as it cools.
- Once the lemon curd is smooth and creamy, strain it through a sieve to remove any lemon residue.
- Place in jars and leave to cool before closing tightly.
- Store in the fridge for two weeks, if any remains, as it goes off very quickly.
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