American Tea Party – Easy to Make Lemon Curd, 3rd in a series

I love homemade lemon curd; this recipe is so easy to make into a delicious spread. Enjoy it with your biscuits, toast and scones in the morning with your coffee or afternoons with your tea. You can find curds in the grocery store and I will admit that they will make due, however, they are no comparison to a homemade recipe.

This recipe for homemade lemon curd has a flavor that is so much like the actual fruit without all of the preservatives. You will enjoy it as much as I do. And you also get to choose the sweetness of your homemade curd, especially when you're making a lemon curd.

This is the perfect season for making this homemade lemon curd and giving it as a holiday gift. As a tea lover you can savor the lemon curd in a tart as a pastry filling, topping it with your favorite whipped creams. Or as a last minute dessert in a dish, mix the curd with whipped cream for a lighter taste; sprinkle with nuts and some fruit zest.

Technique

Making this lemon curd is simple. It’s the technique of constant whisking that is the trick to producing a smooth fruit curd. There are recipes that call for a double boiler, you don’t need to use one but you do need to watch the pot, because the curd will come together quickly.

The juices from lemons combined with sugar or honey will wake up your taste buds with the sensation of tartness from the lemon and at the same time the sweetness from the sugar. It’s the blending of these two tastes that make this fruit spread a "have to have" during any season.

If you want a thicker custard like texture to the lemon curd, than separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. And use just the egg yolks in this recipe. Don't throw out the eggs whites, set them aside and use them to make a meringue topping for a lemon tart or dessert.

The butter adds not just a rich flavor to the lemon curd, but also the creaminess to the mixture. Cut the butter into pieces and add it into the mixture progressively while you are stirring the lemon curd.

Fresh lemons are always great to use in this recipe. But during the lemon season I tend to collect more lemons than I can use from the tree. Here's a great tip to help keep the freshness of a just squeezed lemon in July that you're going to use in November.

Squeeze the juice and pulp from fresh lemons into your ice trays and bag up the lemon cubes for use later. I use these in drinks to add some lemonade flavor to a martini or iced teas. I let them the cubes melt and use them in my lemon curd recipe; I even use them to make lemon sauces for fish dishes.

Ideas

Lemon is the most popular of curds; while you are thinking about the holiday gifts, add this recipe into the basket along with a sample of your creation. Enjoy it as an everyday snack, between freshly baked cookies or as a spread between the layers of a cake.

Here's another tip, save your old jelly jars and reuse them for storing your lemon curd spreads. Covering the lids with some colorful holiday foils and you're done – the perfect lemon curd in a pretty package.

Lemon Curd Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup of sugar (120ml)
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice – fresh squeezed (120ml)
  • 3/4 stick of butter – cut the butter into pieces

Preparation:

Heat your sauce pan on low medium, add in the sugar, juice and eggs. Using your whisk, stir everything and as the sugar begins to clarify, turn the heat down to low.

Test taste the sugar mixture, this is where you can add more sugar if you want a sweeter lemon curd. Watch the pan and begin adding the butter pieces into the mixture, whisking constantly until you have the first bubble.

The mixture should be thick, creamy and hot! Be careful.

Pour the mixture through a sieve to remove any lumps. Then pour the lemon curd into a bowl to chill and place a piece of plastic wrap on the curd, it will prevent a curd skin from forming.

Serve:

Top your morning toast and enjoy the flavor with coffee. Or indulge your afternoon tea scone with some homemade lemon curd.

Enjoy!