INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Yield: 3 cups
4 lemons, zest and juice
110g/4oz butter, room temp
175g/6oz sugar
4 eggs, beaten
TIPS
Lemon curd can keep for 2 weeks in the fridge and freezes beautifully.
Mix it with whipped cream and top with fresh berries for an easy ‘pudding’.
Bake in a tart shell to make a lemon curd tart, or a tarte au citron.
STEP 1
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and juice.
Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is well combined.
STEP 2
Pour the mixture into a 2 quart saucepan and cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. It will look very loose before you start cooking it.
STEP 3
The lemon curd will thicken at about 76 degrees C, or just below simmer. When it reaches temperature, it may blurble out of the pot – be careful, it’s hot!
What is lemon curd?
Lemon curd is a type of stirred custard made from a cooked, thickened egg mixture. In the presence of heat and acid, egg proteins begin to bond to one another, transforming the liquid mixture into a smooth thick gel. In order to do this, gentle cooking is necessary to minimize the possibility of curdling.
How does lemon curd set?
The acid from lemon juice helps to transform the ultimate structure of proteins (a process called denaturation) which unravels their natural folded structure so that their side chains are exposed to react with the surrounding environment. When this happens, the proteins begin to form bonds with each other, or coagulate, in a gentle way to form a continuous network of proteins with water held between them. This is what creates the thick and silky texture of citrus curd.