I make curd often. It’s usually lemon, or passionfruit and lime. I’ve been evolving the recipe over time. The recipe I developed back in 2011 for Edinburgh Foody was a good one, but this is the easiest version yet!

A jar of lemon curd and lemons — Lemon curd, ready to eat

My lemon tree gives me a small crop of lemons. I love using them for making curd – very fitting I think.

Fresh lemon curd has a limited life, it’s well worth freezing it.

How to eat? We love to add it to a tart, use as a filling for cake or simply on toast.

Lemon curd: Quick and easy recipe

Danielle Ellis

Lemon curd is one of those delicious things that you assume will be tricky to make. I did too, until I developed the 'all in one' recipe. Do measure out all the ingredients before you start so everything is to hand. You’ll need a heavy bottomed saucepan (eg Le Creuset),a digital thermometer (an absolute must) and a jar or box to store the curd in. You may prefer a sweeter or more tart taste. Once you’ve made it once, you’ll soon feel confident to experiment a little.

Always use untreated lemons. These are easy to find in most supermarkets. You'll need a digital thermometer to make this successfully.

Passion fruit and lime is a great alternative. You get very little juice from passion fruits. Aim to use at least 6 plus two limes

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Course Afternoon Tea

Cuisine British

Equipment

1 Saucepan cast iron is ideal
1 juicer
1 zester or microplane
1 sieve
1 Large bowl eg mixing bowl to cool the curd
1 digital thermometer
1 wooden spoon
1 Medium size mixing bowl
1 Jam jar or covered box

Ingredients

3 large lemons zest and juice. Make sure that these are untreated
70 grams butter salted or unsalted
3 large eggs
200 grams of caster sugar Adjust to taste

Instructions

Half fill your large mixing bowl with water. You'll use this to cool the curd.
Take the zest off the lemons with a zesting tool or microplane. Set aside. Juice the lemons
Measure out the butter and cube.
Mix the eggs, sugar and juice together in a bowl.
Put into the saucepan and gradually heat stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick. Do not let the mixture go over 80°C/ 175?
Take off the heat and strain through the sieve into the original bowl you used. . As you are using whole eggs, there will be some bits you don't want in your finished curd.
Beat in the butter and the zest. Return the mixture to the first bowl and place this bowl in the mixing bowl half filled with water to cool.
When cooled, pour it into a jar for storage. It will be fine for about a week. You can freeze it too.