Maybe you have never had lemon curd in your life. I pity you. Or maybe you have had it a high tea but it came out of a jar bought at a store….and all I can say is…it is worth the time and expense to make real lemon curd at home. You will wonder how you lived without having such an indulgent rich treat, that tastes of the sun.
But it does matter on the quality of the ingredients. Buy the best eggs, butter and lemons you can. The flavor depends on it.
For our tea party I made 5 batches total. You can do a double batch pretty easily, but I wouldn’t go any higher. And for most occasions, a single batch is plenty. Unless you have children like mine, who love when I make it….
Fresh Lemon Curd
Ingredients:
- 6 large chicken eggs, room temperature
- 1¼ sticks unsalted butter (10 Tablespoons)
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ fresh lemon zest
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
Directions:
Crack the eggs individually, putting 3 whole eggs in a bowl, and then only the yolks of the other 3. Whisk together fully.
In a heavy large saucepan, preferably stainless steel, add the eggs, butter (I slice it into butter pats first), lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar.
Place medium-low heat and whisk for 5 minutes. Do not leave unattended!
Continue whisking for 8 more minutes, keeping an eye on it, if it starts bubbling, lower the heat a bit. It will slowly start to thicken as the minutes tick by.
Place a fine wire mesh strainer over a heat safe bowl, pour the lemon curd into it, scraping the pot to get it all. Use the whisk to gently push all the curd through. Use a clean spatula to scrape the underside. Don’t toss even a bit away I feel!
Discard the solids in the strainer.
Place plastic wrap over the curd, and let cool for a bit on the counter (I put the Pyrex bowl on a cooling rack to speed it up).
Once cooled down, remove the wrap and whisk smooth.
Transfer to clean mason jars (I filled 3 12-ounce and 1 4-ounce). Let cool in the refrigerator, then place lids on to store.
For best consumption use up within 2-3 weeks.
Makes about 40 ounces total.
Notes:
So how many lemons does one use to get a cup of liquid. Well….that depends of course. You never know how “juicy” a lemon will be. So buy extra. They last a long time. I used between 4 and 8 large lemons, per batch. I use a microplaner for the zesting. One tip: fill a sink with some really warm water and dump your lemons in to wash them well. The warm water will help the wax melt off. Dry with a paper towel, then you can zest.
~Sarah