A velvety lemony topping of the gods! Somehow it manages to be both rich, and bright. It takes some skill to make, but once you master it you will be rewarded. Only 4 ingredients, but endless possibilities of what you can do with it. The recipe is here, and pictures of the process are below.
This is a small batch recipe, feel free to double it!
Ingredients:
1/3 cup white sugar (70 g)
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon zest (4.5 g)
3 egg yolks (~53 g)
¼ cup + ½ Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (50 g)
¼ cup cold salted (or unsalted) butter, cut into smaller pieces or cubes (56 g)
Directions:
Combine the yolks, sugar, and lemon zest in a heatproof glass, Pyrex, or stainless steel bowl. Whisk until light in color and thicker, about 2 minutes.
Gradually add in the lemon juice while whisking, until fully combined.
Bring a medium pot to a simmer on low-medium heat with about 1-2” of water.
Put bowl over the simmering water and whisk constantly, slowly cooking the mixture.
Note: The cooking is slow, but don’t be tempted to boil the water in the double boiler to speed it up or the eggs may cook too fast and scramble.
You will know the mixture is ready because the bubbles will disappear, it will begin to thicken, the whisk will leave a trail when it is ready, and it will reach 165°F. It takes about 10-15 minutes, a stainless steel bowl will cook faster than Pyrex/glass/ceramic.
As soon as the curd is thickened and ready, remove it from the heat.
Whisk in the cold pieces of butter until completely combined.
Optional: Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove lemon zest. I don't do this.
Cover and chill in a refrigerator, preferably in a glass or Pyrex container or jar. I use a mason jar but wrap the metal lid with plastic wrap so the acid in the curd doesn’t react with the metal.
Leftovers are good for 2-4 weeks in the refrigerator.
Ideas for using lemon curd: in sandwich cookies, in thumbprint cookies, in cakes and cupcakes, mixed with vanilla ice cream and graham cracker crumbs, on bread, and so much more!
Makes about 1 cup.
The ingredients I used.
Cut up the salted butter and keep it in the refrigerator.
Add the yolks, lemon zest, and sugar to a bowl.
And mix together until lighter in color and smoother.
Then whisk in the lemon juice gradually.
Place over a double boiler with simmering water. And begin cooking while whisking.
About halfway through the cooking process, it is getting thicker.
Done with the cooking process! It's thick and it up to temperature, so I took it off the heat.
Add the butter.
And mix in.
Place in a jar, or other sealed container, and chill completely. If it has a metal lid I recommend lining with plastic, like you see here, so the metal doesn't react with the lemon acids!
And once chilled, enjoy! Whether with bread, cookies, on cake etc!