Lemon Curd

I adore lemon curd. I actually prefer it to jam or marmalade. When I was living at home, my mum used to buy hers from the local WI market, so sharp that it would make your jaw tingle and then give way to a glorious flavour that was just perfect at breakfast time.

And it’s also a fantastic ingredient to bake with. I have a lemon curd Madeira cake coming up next week that seems to be disappearing rather too quickly.

I made my own lemon curd for the first time a couple of years ago but just haven’t got round to doing it again. I’m not sure why when it’s actually very easy and, unlike my issues with jam making, I seem to be able produce consistently good results.

I’ve seen lemon curd popping up around the food blogging world recently and decided it was time to get cracking and make my own again. And with the recent rather miserable weather it seemed a good way to try and encourage a bit of sunshine.

A note here about the lemons. To make sure you get as much juice from them as possible, give them a firm roll on the kitchen counter. It seems to encourage the juice to flow more easily.

You will need to sterilise your jars. I tend to do this by washing them in hot, soapy water, rinsing and popping into the oven at about 130c until I need them.

Lemon Curd

Makes 2 small, pesto sized, jars

The juice and zest of 3 large lemons, preferably unwaxed

175g caster sugar

110g butter, melted

4 large eggs, beaten

Set a bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

Put all the ingredients into the bowl. Stir the mixture frequently for 20 minutes or so until it becomes thick.

Pour into the jars; place a waxed circle on top, pop on the lids and leave to cool.

They should be kept in the fridge and the curd eaten within a month.

If you liked this then you might like:

• Chocolate bark – two ways
• Giant jazzies. Or something to do when you should be doing something else.
• Lime Curd
• Lancaster Tart
• Lemon Curd Madeira Cake

About Sian Reynolds

I'm Sian, mother to a three year old who thinks she’s a teenager and a husband who has issues with cows. Both have insatiable appetites and are rather fond of cake. And chocolate. And cheese. Freelance this and that, coffee drinker, food blogger. I seem to spend most of my time in the kitchen, with one eye on the laptop and the other watching the toddler run around with a colander on her head.

20. April 2012 by Sian Reynolds
Categories: Home made gifts, Preserves | Tags: Homemade gifts, homemade versions, Lemon Curd, Lemons, preserves | 14 comments