Lemon Curd

Awww so easy peasy lemon squeezy! Lemon Curd is such a lovely zingy, refreshing treat. It has so many uses form spreads, fillings, toppings, and glazes. If I am making this for a dessert recipe, I usually try to make a second batch for scones on the weekend. It keeps in the fridge for at least a week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Lemon Curd is also a must have when ever we have a family Tea Party. You can buy it in the store as it is quite common, or even buy a powdered pie lemon pie filling, but nothing beats the fresh taste of this recipe.

overview

• Total Time: 1 hours
• Makes: one deep dish pie filling

ingredients

6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temperature  

1 cup sugar  

2 large eggs  

2 large egg yolks  

⅔  cup fresh lemon juice  

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

directions

Wash lemons before squeezing them. After you have squeezed the juice use a strainer to remove any seeds or pulp.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a candy thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest.

If using as a pie filling, pour into baked deep dish pie shell.

If needed for later use, transfer the curd to a bowl. Place plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, keep in the refrigerator if not using right away.

tips & tricks

With the left over egg whites you can make the meringue for  lemon meringue pie. Or just save them ad add then to the next days scrambled eggs or omelet.