Ingredients
Scale
- 85 g or 3 oz unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 200 g or 1 c sugar
- 2 large eggs plus
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2/3 c fresh lemon juice (about 3–4 lemons)
- 2 tsp grated lemon zest (from about ½ a lemon)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (2 minutes). Slowly add the eggs and yolks and beat for another minute. Mix in the lemon juice. Although it will look curdled and quite unappetizing at this stage, it will smooth out as it cooks and the butter melts.
- In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. Next, increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (10 minutes). Don’t let the mixture boil.
- You’ll know it’s thick enough when dragging your finger through a coating of the mixture on the back of a spoon leaves a path. If you’re using a thermometer, 170°F is the target.
- Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest.
- Pour the lemon curd into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming as it cools.
- It will be kept in a mason jar in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.
Notes
- Tip #1: It helps to zap the lemons in the microwave for 10-15 seconds just before squeezing them. The yield increases from about 3 tbsp to ¼ cup per lemon. Astonishing!
- Tip #2: use a Microplane to zest the lemon. It’ll save your fingers, and the zest comes out beautifully fine, perfect for adding to the already cooked curd.
- Note: Many lemon curd recipes call for a coarser version of the zest to be strained out at the end, just before the butter is stirred in. This recipe is dead simple. No staining, fussing or bothering. Bung in all the ingredients at the beginning and add a bit of lemon zest at the end.
- Adapted from Fine Cooking’s Classic Lemon Curd.