How to Make Simple Lemon Curd

by jen7714 in Cooking > Canning & Preserving

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How to Make Simple Lemon Curd

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Lemon curd is tart, tangy, and a perfect addition to any dessert or sweet. What's not to like? While it takes exotic-ly unique, it only uses  five ingredients. I love spreading it on my favorite butter cookies or drawing a lattice pattern on a freshly baked cake. It is so simple to whip up and the results are definitely rewarding. This recipe is a perfect addition to some other recipes, such as Puffy Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes or Homemade Croissants. Lemon curd is a nice addition to any dessert...or just as tasty when licked off the spoon :)

Enjoy the recipe! I hope you try it out.

Simple, delicious, tangy, sweet. Lemon curd is a perfect addition to any dessert...or on its own.

Ingredients

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Ingredients:

- 3  eggs

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice: 2 to to 3 lemons would probably suffice (and believe me, freshly squeezed lemon juice yields much better results than store bought lemon juice)

- 4 tablespoons (or half a stick) unsalted butter: make sure the butter is at room temperature and cut into cubes

- 1 tablespoon lemon zest: use a grater with the smallest holes and be sure not to get the white pith

Tip: Before juicing the lemons, zest them first. Grating the lemons are easiest when they are cold from the refrigerator. On the other hand, squeezing the lemons is the easiest when the lemons are a bit warmer. 


Combining the Ingredients

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In a medium sized metal bowl, whisk together the 3 eggs, the sugar, the lemon juice and zest until thoroughly combined. Begin setting up for the next step, by bringing water in a medium  sized saucepan to a simmer. Make sure the saucepan is big enough to hold the bowl. 

Heating Up

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On medium heat, place the bowl of mixture into the the simmering water. Do not pour the contents in :) Continuing whisking the mixture until it starts to thicken. It should resemble thicker salad dressing or hollandaise sauce. If you are technical, a candy thermometer should read at 160 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The entire cooking process should take around 10 t 15 minutes. 

Be patient! :)  

Finish!

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Once the mixture has finished cooking, take the bowl off the heat.  Whisk in the butter until melted along with the lemon zest. Cover the lemon curd and refrigerate. It should last about a week and a half. 

I hope you try out this recipe. It is truly delicious and versatile recipe to make. Maybe lemon curd will appear next to your strawberry preserves soon :)