Lemon Curd Recipe

A Mason jar full of lemon curd is such a great gift.

5 from 1 vote

This smooth and tangy lemon curd is bursting with fresh citrus flavor. Made with just four ingredients, it's perfect for filling cookies, tarts, or spreading on scones.

Prep Time15

Total Bake Time25

Total Time40

Course: Cookies, Flavor-Matching, Submitted

Cuisine: American

Difficulty: Medium

Servings: servings

Calories: 85kcal

Author: Barbara Hall

Ingredients

¾ cup (183 g) Lemon juice
2 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Lemon zest from 2 lemons
¾ cup (150 g) Sugar white
⅓ cup (75.67 g) Butter unsalted cubed
3 (3) Eggs room temperature

Instructions

I start by zesting half of the lemons into a bowl. Then, I juice all the lemons into a container until you have the amount needed. Measure or weigh the sugar and set that aside. I break the eggs open into a small bowl.
Add the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and butter to a 2-quart saucepan and start to heat over low heat. I whisk the eggs in the bowl and add them to the pan. You want all the ingredients to come to the same temperature simultaneously, or you will end up with scrambled eggs, so I stirred almost the whole time. You may still get some small egg pieces, but they will be strained.
I turned the heat up just a little, and it still took about 10-15 minutes for it to start to thicken. Continue to cook until the curd leaves a thin layer on the back of the spoon. After you take it off the heat and strain the curd, let it cool for about 10 minutes before putting it into a glass jar.
I used plastic wrap and laid it right on top of the curd; this helps the curd not form a crust. My jar is a mason jar, and after about an hour in the fridge, I replaced the plastic wrap with the jar lid. You can keep the lemon curd for about two weeks.

Notes

If you do get some small pieces of egg in your lemon curd, no worries just use a strainer to filter them out before you pour the lemon curd into the glass jar.

Nutrition