Homemade Lemon Curd (Printable)

Silky lemon curd with bright citrus zing, ideal for spreading, filling pastries, or pairing with scones and pancakes.

# What You Need:

→ Citrus

01 - 3 large lemons (zest and juice, about ½ cup juice)

→ Base Mixture

02 - 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
03 - 2 large eggs
04 - 2 large egg yolks

→ Butter

05 - ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes

# How To Cook:

01 - Zest the lemons using a microplane, then juice them until you have about ½ cup of fresh lemon juice. Set both the zest and juice aside.
02 - In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, whole eggs, and egg yolks until completely smooth and well blended.
03 - Stir the lemon zest and fresh lemon juice into the egg-sugar mixture until evenly incorporated.
04 - Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl does not touch the surface of the water.
05 - Add the cubed butter to the bowl. Cook the mixture over the double boiler, whisking constantly, until thickened and creamy, about 7 to 10 minutes. The curd is ready when it coats the back of a spoon.
06 - Remove the bowl from heat. Strain the lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove the zest and any bits of cooked egg.
07 - Allow the curd to cool to room temperature, then transfer to sterilized jars. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It tastes like sunshine in a jar and people genuinely gasp when they realize you made it from scratch.
  • The whole thing comes together in under twenty minutes with ingredients you probably already have.
02 -
  • If your heat is too high the eggs will scramble and you cannot fix that, so keep the water at a gentle simmer never a rolling boil.
  • The spoon coating test is your most reliable indicator so dip a spoon in, run your finger across the back, and if the line holds clean the curd is done.
03 -
  • Room temperature eggs blend more smoothly into the sugar mixture and reduce the risk of scrambling.
  • Straining is not optional if you want that professional grade silky texture so do not be tempted to skip it.

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