Spring is coming, spring is coming! And my thoughts and tastes are naturally changing with the seasons to lighter, brighter flavors. As a result, I've been on a bit of a lemon bender lately and it all began with this lemon curd. Have you ever made homemade lemon curd? It's from a completely different universe than store bought. There really is no comparison. Store bought lemon curd is thick, hard, almost like jello, and wayyyy too sweet. Oh, and usually loaded with food coloring and preservatives. Yuck. Homemade lemon curd on the other hand is soft, silky, light and creamy and my version is super tart and considerably less sweet than many recipes I've seen. It's all about the lemon and that natural, sunshiny yellow.
On a whim, I decided to toss in a bunch of fresh thyme while making this lemon curd and I'm not sorry. It adds just a hint of herbal flavor and thyme and lemon are a match made in food heaven. Totally optional, of course, but really fun and elegant.
Ways to use lemon curd
You can smear this on
- biscuits
- scones
- toast
- pancakes
- waffles
- make cookie sandwiches
- fill doughnuts
Or you can use it to make the most delicious Lemon Curd Ice Cream. Recipe linked here: Lemon Curd Ice Cream
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Lemon Curd
Homemade Lemon Curd is soft, silky, light, creamy and super tart and mine is much less sweet than many. It's all about the lemon and that sunshiny yellow.
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: about 12 ounces
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- zest from one full lemon
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice, plus one tablespoon to add at the end
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, cut into 16 small cubes
- optional: a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
Combine powdered sugar, zest, and lemon juice in saucepan. If using thyme, add that now as well. Stir to combine and place over medium heat.
Crack eggs into a medium bowl and whisk vigorously until light and frothy, about 1 minute.
When lemon juice mixture is very hot, take a small ladle and slowly drizzle hot mixture into eggs while whisking constantly. Add slowly, one ladle at a time, until it is all combined. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until you have a thick, pudding-like consistency that coats the back of your spoon.
Pour mixture through fine mesh strainer set over a clean bowl. Push or whisk mixture through the strainer and discard any solid bits, including thyme, left in the strainer.
Add one small cube of butter at a time, and whisk until it is completely combined before adding another cube.
Once all butter is combined, add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and whisk once more to combine.
Place in jar with tightly fitting lid, or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Make sure plastic lies directly against the surface of the lemon curd to prevent a skin from forming.
Store in refrigerator for up to a week.
You can smear this on biscuits, scones, toast, pancakes, waffles, make cookie sandwiches or fill doughnuts. Or you can use it to make the most delicious ice cream. Recipe linked here: Lemon Curd Ice Cream
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: lemon curd, sauce
- Method: stovetop
Nick says
Should we use unsalted or salted butter?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Hi Nick. It is great with salted or unsalted butter. The small amount of salt will not make a noticeable difference in a recipe like this. 🙂
Doubleualt says
You use the whole egg opposed to just the yolk?
anita | wild thistle kitchen says
Yes, whole eggs. I hate trying to figure out what to do with the whites. I also use whole eggs in my ice cream recipes now too! Still just as creamy and no wasted whites. 🙂