Homemade Lemon Curd

Homemade Lemon Curd

5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (from 2-4 lemons, depending on size)
lemon zest from 2-4 lemons
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pats and returned to the fridge


Fill a medium saucepan with water to 1” up the side. Place water on med-high heat. (This is for a double-boiler, so make sure you have a metal mixing bowl that is big enough to sit in the saucepan without touching the water.)

In the bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth, about 1 minute, then whisk in lemon juice and zest.

When the water reaches a steady boil, reduce the heat slightly and place the bowl on top of the double boiler. Continue whisking on the heat for approximately 8 minutes, or until the mixture is a light yellow and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon thickly.

Remove from heat and drop in the pats of butter one at a time, whisking until each is completely melted and incorporated before adding the next.

Pour into a container and refrigerate for at least one hour, covered with a sheet of plastic wrap placed directly on top of the curd. Lemon curd keeps 2 weeks covered. (Recipe from Alton Brown's Good Eats.)

Mike used this as the filling between the layers of my fantastic birthday lemon layer-cake. It would be nice with any sponge/white cake, and whipped cream frosting is lovely and doesn't make a cloyingly sweet cake. With so many Meyer lemons about right now, we've got to use as many as we can!

You could also...
spread it on a hot buttered scone
layer it with Greek yogurt and blueberries in a parfait
fold some into whipped cream to top a fruit dessert or tart
stir it into vanilla ice-cream
layer it in a trifle with lady fingers and fresh fruit
or use the lady fingers to make little lemon-cream sandwiches for an easy dessert…
lots and lots of uses to keep you from simply eating it from the container with a spoon!