Mmm sweet, sweet lemon curd. I was brought up on this stuff. Whether it was a lumpy egg white version given to us from a relative or a thick and creamy version home-made by my mum or a family friend, we usually had a jar of this on tap. And straight to the jar with a spoon we would go! (Bad habits taught to me and my siblings by my dad - yes dad, I'm blaming you).
I've been at home crook this week and something inside me told me I needed lemon curd - nothing like a little nostalgia to make you feel better. I had never made it before, perhaps because it was always in the fridge or maybe I had been put off by people telling me how tricky it can be and how impossible it was to not to get the white lumps. Those people were wrong. It's surprisingly easy, especially if you use a little trick, my mum taught me.
All you need is:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
200g butter, diced evenly
4 eggs, gently whisked to combine
- In a pot, combine sugar, juice and butter. Place over a medium heat and stir until butter has melted. Bring this to the boil.
- Prepare a larger pot of water to the boil.
- Add the eggs to the butter mixture and whisk like crazy.
- Place this pot on top of the larger pot of boiling water and stir until the lemon curd thickens. Once cool, pour into jars. It keeps in the fridge for 10 days.
Makes 2 cups.
If you have the pesky white bits showing from the eggs, you can sieve the curd to get rid of them - a handy hint from my mum.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this velvety goodness, here are a few ways you can eat it:
- Smothered on toast (esp. yummy with bananas and yoghurt)
- As a topping on ice cream
- Stirred through a creamy un-sweetened yoghurt
- A filling in sweet pies e.g. lemon meringue pie
- Getting your paws straight in there with a spoon (or no spoon...)
Yum!! Thanks for the recipe!
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