Easy Homemade Lemon Curd Recipe - My Frugal Adventures (2024)
By Charlene11 Comments
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Oh goodness do I love lemon curd. And don’t let the “curd” turn you off- isn’t that a terrible word? This is silky and smooth and velvety lemon goodness in a bowl.
It is absolutely heavenly and so delicious spread on bread, muffins, scones, as filling in cupcakes, pour on top of ice cream, layer it with cake and strawberries and whipped cream… or just eat it by the spoonful. If you make blueberry muffins – give this a whirl spread on top. Delish!
Little pops of fresh, zesty lemon in each bite. Hello summer!
For my little girl’s 5th birthday last weekend, we had a sunshine birthday party and I decided to make lemonade cupcakes.
I wanted them extra fresh and fun and lemony so I decided to make a lemon curd to put inside the cupcakes. It was wonderful!
So here is the yummy recipe for lemon curd- can you believe you can actually make this in the microwave? Yup! So easy!
A few little notes- if you can possibly use fresh lemon juice (not the bottle kind) I got a much brighter flavor. I used (4) medium lemons to get 1 cup of juice for this recipe. If you can use organic lemons for the zest that is the best bet otherwise scrub the heck out of your lemons or you can use this homemade produce spray.
I was initially confused by the instruction to “coat the back of a metal spoon” and the first time I made this I kept cooking and cooking and cooking and after 10 minutes realized I had probably overcooked it. 🙂 It should take about 2-5 minutes to cook your curd. The curd will be runny- you are just looking for a slightly thicker consistency like an egg white. If you do overcook- don’t worry. Just strain it very well and it should still be OK.
Once you remove from the micro, don’t worry if it is runny. It should thicken up as you let it cool.
And last but not least, I do suggest using a strainer to strain your curd. You will get a super silky lemon curd without any lemon zest or granules of sugar. I made this once without straining and once with and the difference was remarkable.
I really hope you like this recipe! I will be posting the lemonade cupcakes for you very soon and I also have an idea for an end of teacher teacher gift or a little hostess gift using this lemon curd recipe. I’ll post it all very soon!
This recipe made enough for that 16oz mason jar plus several generous scoops for the cook ;).
Your final product should have the consistency of pudding.
Please come back and let me know what you think of this one! And here are a few other recipes you might enjoy:
Easy peasy homemade blackberry jam
Lemon Chesecake Bites (I think this lemon curd recipe would work perfectly)
Perfect Homemade Lemonade Recipe
This fabulous lemon curd recipe is courtesy of All Recipes.
The few reasons to why your lemon curd may not be setting properly are not having enough eggs in the curd, too much liquid/ lemon juice, not enough sugar, not cooked long enough, scrambled eggs, and sometimes too much butter.
Combine lemon juice, sugar, butter, eggs, and lemon zest in a 2-quart saucepan. ...
Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling, until mixture starts to get thick and bubbles rise to the surface, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Just be sure to put it in a tightly sealed glass or plastic container so it doesn't pick up any aromas from other things in your fridge. Fresh lemon curd will keep for one to two weeks when stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container.
What happens if I over-cook lemon curd? Overcooking will cause proteins to bond too tightly, squeezing water out from between them and giving them a rubbery, lumpy texture. If you over-heat the lemon curd, the egg proteins can coagulate and you will see little bits of cooked egg.
How to fix it: To thicken runny lemon curd, put the curd back into your saucepan, place over the lowest possible heat, and stir constantly. The curd will thin out at first as the butter melts, but it will eventually begin to thicken back up.
Try again with a new starter. There are many ways to make the yogurt thicker before incubation with additives and techniques. However, straining a batch of completed yogurt is the easiest way to make it thicker without picking up an extra flavor. Unfortunately, if your yogurt is very thin, it won't strain well.
Dip a spoon into the curd then run your finger over the back of it. If it leaves a clean line in the curd, it's cooked enough and ready to cool. Curd will thicken up more once cooled completely. Spoon into a container, cover and refrigerate.
If you don't want to use lemon curd then we would suggest using an alternative flavour of fruit curd. We have seen passionfruit, rhubarb and tart orange (or Seville orange) curds being sold online in the UK. All of these flavours would go well with summer berries.
If the curd changes color, has a significant change in texture (such as lumpiness or wateriness), or if it has an unpleasant smell, you should assume that it has gone bad and dispose of the remaining curd instead of eating it.
If your lemon curd turned green, it likely had a reaction to something metal. Avoid using a copper or aluminum pan as those will react with the lemon juice and cause the discoloration in the lemon curd, and could even cause a slightly metallic aftertaste.
Shelf Life: Prepared lemon curd can be frozen for up to 1 year without quality changes when thawed. To thaw, place container in a refrigerator at 40°F or lower for 24 hours before intended use.
A metallic aftertaste is usually the consequence of the lemon curd coming into contact with a metal (especially while it's hot). This could be a metal whisk, a metal bowl, a metal (or metal-coated) saucepan, or a metal sieve.
Eggs are an important component of lemon curd, but yolks are valued more than egg whites when it comes to making lemon curd. Lemon curd has traces of yellow in it naturally, but its striking golden colour comes from the yolks.
If it does, it may mean that you've overcooked your eggs. In saying that, traditional lemon curd does have a distinct after taste which doesn't sit well with some. If you're one of those people, I would recommend trying out my eggless lemon curd. It's just as good, if not better!
Shelf Life: Prepared lemon curd can be frozen for up to 1 year without quality changes when thawed. To thaw, place container in a refrigerator at 40°F or lower for 24 hours before intended use.
If your lemon tart is runny, the mostly likely cause is not cooking the filling long enough. It should be nicely thickened when you pull it off the stove.
There are majorly two reasons that curd turns sticky, firstly the bacteria culture used to make curd can impact the taste and texture. Secondly, if you keep the curd at a low temperature, it takes a lot of time to set as well as forms a slimy texture. This is because curd needs a slightly warm temperature to set.
If your pie filling is runny, add in one additional tablespoon of cornstarch to the lemon filling, and stir over medium heat. It should thicken in 1 to 2 minutes.
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Lemon Chesecake Bites (I think this lemon curd recipe would work perfectly)
Perfect Homemade Lemonade Recipe