Lemon Curd

Lemon curd is a rich, velvety topping for desserts. It’s traditionally made with a few simple ingredients – egg yolks, sugar, butter, fresh squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest. It’s very simple to make and takes a short amount of time to cook on the hob.

No, there’s a difference. Fruit curds are made by cooking fruit juice with sugar, rather than using the whole fruit. So, you’re left with a thick, velvety texture that makes it perfect for spreading on your favourite desserts.

Jolly old England! 

In fact, homemade lemon curd goes all the way back to the early 19th century. Back then, however, it was made by leaving lemon to ‘acidulate’ in cream, which would form curds. These curds would be separated from the whey (the remaining liquid) by sieving through a cheesecloth.

The earliest known lemon curd recipe is from the 1800s, found in The Lady’s Own Cookery Book, by Lady Charlotte Campbell Bury. 

It comes from the term ‘curd’, which is the process of thickening milk with an acid. In the case of lemon curd, it’s the lemon juice that causes the milk to thicken. Modern lemon curd is not technically a curd.

There are different schools of thought on this. Many people say to add the butter after the lemon curd has already thickened. The problem with this method is that you can end up with a slightly grainy texture.

In my opinion, it’s better to add the butter at the same time as the lemon juice, before heating and thickening the mixture. This way, you end up with a perfect velvety, creamy texture.

Again, there are different opinions on whether you need to strain it. The only reasons would be to remove the zest and to strain out any bits of egg that may have overcooked. 

In my opinion, it’s not necessary. The zest is small enough to not be noticed and, provided you follow the recipe, you won’t end up with any unpleasant ‘eggy’ bits.

Technically, yes. Although I highly recommend you use fresh lemons.

For me, the perfect balance is 25ml of lemon juice per egg. Previously, when I’d used less lemon juice than this, the flavour of the lemon curd was too eggy. Obviously, it's not what we want.

Equally, whenever I’ve used a greater ratio of lemon juice, the consistency of the lemon curd is too thin. With a ratio of 25ml to every egg (150ml to 6 eggs in the case of this recipe), we end up with perfectly creamy, luscious lemon curd.

Dip your spoon in the curd and run your finger along the back of it. If the curd holds the trail, it’s thick enough and ready.

After the jars are sealed, they are best stored in the fridge, where your curd will stay fresh for up to 3 months.

Once the jar is opened, use it within 3 weeks. I’m willing to bet it won’t last that long though!

Absolutely. If you want to store your lemon curd long term, transfer it to freezable airtight containers (allow it to cool fully and leave ½ inch of space at the top) then place in the freezer.

It’ll keep for up to a year without any significant changes to taste or texture. When you’re ready to eat it, defrost your curd in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.

Either you’ve used too much juice or not enough eggs. If you follow the recipe and are precise with your measurements, you shouldn’t have a problem.

First of all, remember that your lemon curd will thicken slightly as it cools. So, if it’s only a little thinner than expected, don’t worry.

If, for whatever reason, you end up with finished lemon curd that’s too thin, there is a way you can fix it. Whisk an egg yolk into a bowl. Slowly add a ladleful of warm lemon curd to the egg yolk mixture, continuing to whisk as you do so.

Add this mixture back into the lemon curd and keep whisking. After 5 minutes, you should notice that your lemon curd has taken on a thicker texture. 

Add a cornstarch slurry if your lemon curd is still not thick enough. It might change the colour and texture slightly, but the flavour will still be delicious.

If it’s still not thick enough, use it as a sauce or lemon glaze and pour it over your favourite cakes or add to yoghurt or vanilla ice cream.