Homemade Lemon Curd
Homemade lemon curd is quite a treat for citrus lovers. It’s tart and sweet, lusciously smooth and creamy. And you won’t believe how easy it is to make it!
I love lemons just as much as I love chocolate and caramel.
A few years ago, I went overboard and bought a case of 35lbs of lemons!!! True story…
And I don’t regret it one bit, because I learned to make a lemon curd. Ever since then my new life motto is “When life hands you lemons, make lemon curd!” Seriously, your life will instantly become sweeter, not bitter!
What is lemon curd anyway?
Technically, lemon curd is a custard-like citrus sauce, almost like a pudding, but better. It’s smooth and creamy, tart and sweet. Lemon curd is an ideal filling for many pastries, like creme puffs, cakes and such. If you’re a true lemon lover, you’ll appreciate that tangy rich lemon bite. And if you’re like me, you’ll enjoy it by a spoonful!
You can certainly purchase jarred version from a store, but be prepared to pay a hefty price! This homemade version is easy on your wallet, but tastes 100x better!
All you need to make a killer lemon curd is lemons, sugar, eggs and butter!
And did I mention how easy it is to make this lemon curd? Seriously, it comes together in less than 15 minutes!!!
What makes my lemon curd recipe different from other 1000 recipes?
There are many lemon curd recipes out there online, and you will notice, many of them require whole eggs as well as egg yolks, or all egg yolks. However, unless I have plans for egg whites, I don’t like to separate eggs just to use egg yolks. So I tried making lemon curd with whole eggs only. And luckily, it turned out just as delicious!
So there you have it, my lemon curd recipes calls for whole eggs!
And here’re step by step photos to make the easiest lemon curd.
TIP: When zesting lemon, make sure to only zest the yellow part of the skin without going into bitter white pith.
Whisking all the ingredients in a saucepan before turning on the heat prevents scrambling the egg whites.
Turn on the heat to low and whisk away until nice and thick!
TIP: Don’t be tempted to rush through this process and cook the mixture over medium-high heat. Or you may get lemon scrambled eggs. And don’t forget to whisk constantly. No need to whisk vigorously though, just keep stirring slowly while the mixture heats through.
In about 8-10 minutes, the mixture will thicken and bubble up.
Take off the heat and add butter.
TIP: Butter adds that irresistible creaminess to the curd. It also helps to thicken it. If you want your curd to be on thicker side, you may add 1-2 tablespoons of additional butter.
For lusciously smooth texture, run the mixture through a sieve.
And lastly cover the curd with plastic wrap, making sure it touches entire surface. This prevents forming an unappealing film over the curd.
Once the curd is chilled in the fridge, it’ll thicken even more.
How to use lemon curd?
There’re absolutely endless ways to use lemon curd. My favorite and classic way to serve lemon curd is with tea and scones. Pancakes and pound cake are equally amazing! For brunches, this lemon Chantilly parfaits would be a huge hit!
If straight lemon curd is too much for you, mix it with whipped cream and fill creme puffs, tartlets, or a crepe cake.
And last but certainly not least, you can use your lemon curd in this lemon raspberry cheesecake bars (my fave!).
Why my lemon curd tastes eggy?
I admit, the lemon curd never tastes eggy to me, but I’m not particularly sensitive to egg flavor. If you feel like this lemon curd tastes eggy, try using egg yolks only, instead of whole eggs.
Why my lemon curd tastes metallic?
Avoid using reactive metal saucepan and whisk. Stick with stainless steel. Also, taste the curd after refrigerating overnight, as it may help to improve the metallic taste.
A little sneak peek behind the scene:
Photographing lemon curd is a family affair. In the photo below, my husband is a hand-model, and my son is his supervisor.
Hope you enjoy this fabulous bright and zesty curd soon!
Homemade Lemon Curd
Homemade lemon curd is quite a treat for citrus lovers. It’s tart and sweet, lusciously smooth and creamy. And you won’t believe how easy it is to make it!
Yield: about 2 cups
Prep Time:5 min
Cook Time:10 min
Total Time:15 min
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup (200gr) sugar
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 3-4 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 5 tablespoons (70gr) unsalted butter, cubed and softened
Helpful Equipment:
• Microplane zester
Directions:
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest for a minute.
- Turn on the heat to low and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 170°F (75°C), 8-10 minutes. The mixture will be thick and it’ll leave a trail if you run a finger on back of spoon dipped in curd.
- Remove from heat and stir in butter.
- Place a mesh sieve over a bowl and run the curd through it. It makes the curd silky smooth!
- Cover the curd with plastic wrap, making sure it touches the curd to avoid forming a film. Cool completely and then refrigerate.
- Store the curd in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Or freeze it for up to 2 months.
For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.
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All photographs and content on Sweet & Savory by Shinee is copyright protected, unless otherwise noted. Please do not use any of my photos without my authorization. If you would like to share my recipe, you may re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the full directions. Thank you for your cooperation!
This recipe was originally published on May 8, 2015.
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My daughter thought it was a smidge tart so we added an extra 1/4 cup of sugar. Delicious! Not sure if this will last until we make our cake – we want to devour it! Thanks for the recipe 😀
Yay, so happy you loved the recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Jes and Caroline. Hope you have enough curd left for your cake. 😉
Hello Shinee
Can you tell me how long this would last in the refrigerator and are you able to freeze it and use it later? I don’t recall seeing the quantity (cups) your recipe makes?
Thank you!
Jenny
Hi, Jenny. You can store the lemon curd in the fridge for up to 2 months. Make sure it’s in an airtight container. And yes, lemon curd also freezes well. I’ve frozen lemon curd and it’s just as great as fresh one. This recipe makes about 2 cups of lemon curd.
I was daunted by other lemon curd recipes, but yours was so easy to make. Mine came out a little too tart, but still delicious. I guess we’re used to the sweeter store-bought kind. And I confess, I screwed up because I guess I didn’t hit 170 degrees (my bad) and it didn’t thicken overnight, but I heated it in the microwave and that corrected the problem. So the recipe seems pretty fool-proof!
That’s awesome, Jen!!! So glad it worked out. Thank you for sharing your feedback.
This was really easy and tasted very good. I doubled it and made hand pies. They were great!
Hi, Michele! So glad you enjoyed the lemon curd. Hand pies sounds delicious!
I had lemon curd once on a cruise and it was just delightful, it really made me like lemon flavored things more. I wish I knew what you were doing with 35 pounds of lemons though LOL
Haha that was a bit overwhelming amount of lemons, to be honest, Carmella. But I didn’t waste a single one. We had lots of lemon meringue pies, lemonade and, of course, lemon curd. 🙂
Thank you so much for your recipe, I will give it a try. Mine is similar with a couple of differences. I use one more whole egg and 1/4 cup corn starch. Mine comes out a bit grainy and I think that it might be the corn starch. I have had a problem with cooking it too long or not long enough which makes it to thick or too runny. I love the idea of using a thermometer, takes the guess out. Do you think it will be thick/firm enough for a lemon tart?
PS: Meyer Lemons are fabulous for lemon curd!
Hi, Rosann! I just recently learned that cornstarch does give grainy texture to the mixture when combined with an acidic juice. Try using tapioca starch in place of cornstarch. But this curd isn’t thick enough for tart, but tapioca starch will help. And yeah, dying to try meyer lemon. Can you believe I’ve never tried it? We don’t have that around here. 🙁
Shinee,
I am so excited to make this recipe and then the lemon raspberry tartlets! I just had two questions….
The picture shows using a strainer to remove any lumps. Is this also to remove the lemon zest as well? Would the zest give it a bitter taste if left in? Just curious ????
Oops, forgot to mention that step in the recipe. Thanks for asking, Elizabeth. Straining removes the lumps, if any, and makes it even more silky smooth. If you zest the lemon on microplane, it should be pretty tiny abd it pretty much disintegrates in the curd. Also make sure to zest just the outer layer of skin, which shouldn’t make the curd bitter. If you go too far into white part of the skin, then yeah it’ll get bitter. Hope you enjoy the curt and tartlets!! Let me know. 🙂
This looks incredible! Pinned and tweeted. We appreciate you taking the time to party with us. I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm.. Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls
Thank you so much for sharing!
This looks great! I love lemon curd but haven’t made it often as I only had a recipe that used the yolks and didn’t want to waste the whites so will give this a go! Found you via the Wednesday Round Up.
Yay, so glad you stopped by. Hope you will be making more lemon curd in near future. 🙂 Thanks for visiting!
So pretty! I love a bright yellow.
I have a link party going on this weekend, I’d love to have you join:
http://www.bobijensen.com/2015/05/come-join-party.html
Thanks, Bobi
Thank you, Bobi!
I love anything lemon this would be great with scones. Pinned for later.
Ah yes, it’s perfect with scones! Thanks, Theresa, for pinning!
I had no idea a curd was this easy to make. I’m seeing so many possibilities now!
Visiting from Create.Link.Inspire and for sure sharing this!
Yes, ridiculously easy! Don’t be surprised to see ton of recipes on my blog with lemon curd this summer. Because I’m going crazy with it over here! 🙂 Thank you for sharing, Stephanie!
This lemon curd looks luscious! I can just eat it all up by the spoonful!
Luscious it is! 🙂 Thank you, Thao.
Yum! Your lemon curd looks so good! I love that it uses the entire egg. In the past, I saved the egg whites to make macarons and I always seem to forget to use it!
I know what you mean, Ashley. I have to be in the mood for macarons to make them, so it usually doesn’t strike when I’m in mood for lemon curd. 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing at the Say G’day party Pinned all and look forward to seeing you next Saturday!
Thank you, Joanne!
Your lemon curd looks so bright and fresh!!! Love the flavor of homemade lemon curd, and yours is just so simple and great!
Thank you, NellieBellie!
there is not much better than homemade lemon curd – and yours is such a gorgeous bright color!!
Thank you, Heather!
I tried making lemon curd last week and the bottom of the pan ending up burning. Oops! This however, looks super delicious. 🙂
Ooh no, turn the heat down next time and don’t stop whisking. 🙂 Hope you have better luck next time. Thank you, Jenna!
I am obsessed with lemon curd on toast- My family friend brought some back from London for my mum but I stole it. I should probably make her this now….
Haha, you’re too funny. You do owe it to you mom, but I’m sure she will enjoy the homemade version from son much better. 🙂 Thanks, Arman!
I adore lemon curd! And I might even have a pretty similar recipe coming up next week… Lol. But I don’t think you can ever have too many lemon curd recipes! This is gorgeous!
Haha that’s funny, Ashley! And no, no such thing as too many lemon curd recipes. Can’t wait to see your version.
This is perfect timing for me…my lemon tree is dropping lemons left and right, and we need to clear the tree. I can see juicing (and lemon curd) in my future!
Lemon tree?? Ah, you’re so lucky, girl!! I wish I had lemon tree in my backyard! Yes, do make lemon curd for sure. 🙂
You know what? I have never made lemon curd before! And lemons are SO cheap right now, it’s almost like this is meant to be!
I’m so jealous, Nagi! Do make lots of this lemon curd and freeze to enjoy all winter. Thanks!
Mmm!! This lemon curd looks fantastic, Shinee! I just want to grab the jar out of my screen and eat it by the spoonful! I recently enjoyed it with cream as a filling for my strawberry shortcakes and it was a great combo. I love how you used it in a cheesecake bar – that sounds divine! 🙂
Yep, those cheesecake bars are amazing! And the lemon curd with whipped cream is so good too! Thanks, Beeta!
This is one of my favorite things. Now I want to make some. And some cake to go with it.
Do it! Sooo good!
I just want to grab a spoon out of that jar and take a bite! This looks so tart and delicious 🙂
Thank you, Medha!
I love lemon curd and yours looks delicious (as do the beautiful little bows around the jars)! I’ve never made lemon curd with whole eggs, it’s good to know that it tastes just as great with the whites. I don’t like to separate eggs either cause I never know what to do with the whites other than whip up mountains of meringue…
Yeah, as much as I love meringue, sometimes I just don’t feel like it, you know? 🙂 Thanks, Nicole!
One of my all time favs as well, this looks incredible!
Thank you, Matt!