Homemade lemon curd is sweet, creamy, tangy, and can be made in about 15 minutes. This lemon curd is fabulous as a dessert topping, spread, or pie filling.

Homemade Lemon Curd Recipe: easy and simple | Kitchen Cents

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When I can get my hands on beautiful fresh lemons this recipe is a go-to for me… along with my super easy no-bake Lemon Cream Pie and Lemon Eclairs.

This homemade lemon curd is fast, easy and so good. It’s creamy texture, sweet-tart intense lemon flavor and smoothness makes it a lemon lovers dream.

Lemon curd is a fantastic dessert topping, spread or filling. This recipe is great in lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, or even Lemon Ice Cream.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE LEMON CURD:

This recipe only takes about 15 minutes to make and requires simple ingredients.

You will need:

Egg yolks – save the egg whites and make something delicious like Pavlova or Angel Food Cake
Sugar
Lemon juice – I know, surprising right? *wink*
Lemon zest
Butter – unsalted is best and highly recommended

LET’S MAKE IT!

In a sauce pan or double boiler, add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice and zest.

If this is your first time making lemon curd, I highly recommend using a double broiler. This helps insure consistent and slow heating to avoid scrambling or overcooking the mixture.

You will heat the mixture on low-medium heat whisking constantly to avoid scorching. (about 5-7 mins) The mixture should reach 170°F when ready. Don’t overcook it, trust me on this one.

When the correct temperature has been reached remove the mixture from the heat and add butter. Stir until the butter is absorbed. The lemon curd will be thin when hot but will thicken as it cools.

I like to pour it into a jar. Make sure to store in the refrigerate or freezer. Storage tips can be found below.

Q&A:

CAN I USE BOTTLE LEMON JUICE?

Yes BUT… fresh is best. Bottled lemon juice will alter the fresh flavor of the curd. To get the purest lemon flavor, use fresh.

WHY DOES MY LEMON CURD LOOK CHUNKY?

Yikes! It curdled. Take a breathe because it can happen to the best of us.

Curdling happens when the lemon egg mixture is heated too high or the eggs in the mixture heated too quickly. This causes the eggs to scramble. To help avoid this, you can use a double boiler.

A double boiler helps the curd come to temperature more slowly and consistently. This helps the mixture thicken without curdling. When lemon curd is brought to temperature slowly it will turn out rich, smooth, and creamy.

WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THE EGG WHITES?

Leftover egg whites? Don’t throw them away. Consider making one of these or try my Ginger Lemon Mini Pavlovas… you already have the curd. They are a magical texture-freaks dream. Seriously!

Egg white omelet
Pavlova Cookies
Meringue pie
Angel food cake

STORING HOMEMADE LEMON CURD:

Store homemade lemon curd in a mason jar or airtight container in the fridge for up to 1-2 weeks.

Homemade lemon curd can also be froze for later use. This recipe will freeze for up to 1 year. You can either freeze it in a freezer bag or mason jar such as you would with freezer jam.

HERE’S THE FULL PRINTABLE LEMON CURD RECIPE. ENJOY!

Homemade Lemon Curd

Name: Homemade Lemon Curd
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 6 large egg yolks; 3/4 cup sugar; 1/2 cup lemon juice, fresh; zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons; 4 Tbs butter, unsalted

Yield: about 2 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

A sweet, creamy, tangy lemon curd that can be made in 15 minutes. This lemon curd is fabulous as a dessert topping, spread, or pie filling.

Ingredients

6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice, fresh
zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons
4 Tbs butter, unsalted

Instructions

Add egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest to a saucepan or double boiler.
Heat on low-medium heat whisking constantly to avoid scorching. (about 5-7 mins) The mixture should reach 170°F when ready. Don't overcook.
Remove from heat, add butter and mix until absorbed. The lemon curd will be thin when hot but will thicken as it cools.
Pour into a jar and refrigerate.

Notes

To avoid curdling from too high of heat or heating too quickly, make lemon curd in a double boiler. If the egg mixture heats too quickly to is overcooked this can cause curdling (chunky lemon curd).
IDEAS FOR EGG WHITES: make an omelet, pavlova, and my personal favorite - Mini Ginger Lemon Pavlovas (this recipe will use your egg whites and some of the lemon curd).
Lemon curd needs to be refrigerated. It will last up for 1-2 weeks in the fridge or up to 1 year in the freezer. Store in a mason jar, freezer bag or airtight container.

Homemade Lemon Curd