Description
This tangy and creamy lemon curd is bursting with bright citrus flavor, made with simple ingredients like fresh lemon juice, eggs, butter, and sugar. Perfectly smooth and thick, it's an ideal spread or filling for cakes, tarts, pies, and breakfast items like scones. Homemade lemon curd offers a richer, fresher taste compared to store-bought versions and is easy to prepare in just 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
Lemon Curd Ingredients
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
- 1 lemon zested
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup butter (cold and cubed)
Instructions
- Combine Ingredients: In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, whole egg, egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sea salt until smooth with no lumps.
- Cook Lemon Curd: Heat the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until it thickens and bubbles gently.
- Add Butter: Remove from heat and immediately transfer the curd to a non-metal heat-safe container. Stir in the cold cubed butter until melted and smooth; strain if lumpy.
- Chill and Store: Cover the surface directly with parchment paper or plastic wrap to prevent skin formation. Refrigerate for about 1 to 2 hours until fully chilled and thickened.
Notes
- Use a non-metal saucepan like a ceramic-coated one to avoid any metallic taste in the curd.
- This recipe yields about 1 ½ cups (26 tablespoons) of lemon curd.
- If the curd has lumps, strain it before adding the butter for extra smoothness.
- The curd thickens more during refrigeration, so don’t worry if it seems slightly loose right after cooking.
- Perfect as a spread on scones or toast and as a filling for cakes and pies.
- Store lemon curd in the refrigerator and consume within one week for best freshness.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Calories: 48 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 33 mg
- Fat: 3 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 0.01 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 28 mg
