Yield: 3 c. lemon curd // Total Time: 30 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links. //
Zesty, tangy & sharp lemon curd that’s ridiculously easy to make!
Easy Lemon Curd
Why you’ll love this easy lemon curd
1. It uses whole eggs. Lots of curd recipes use only egg yolks, or a majority egg yolks and just a few whole eggs. We’re using whole eggs here to eliminate any extra egg whites sitting in your fridge.
2. No tempering required! There’s no need to take some hot liquid and temper the eggs before adding them to the saucepan. We’ll cook all of the ingredients together in a saucepan to make the process super easy.
3. It’s delicious & stores well. Of course, I’m biased, but this curd is delicious. It’s zesty, tangy, sharp & perfect for scones, brioche, toast, and really anything! It keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks as well.
Note: this curd is looser than jarred thick lemon curd. If you need thick lemon curd this might not be the best for you!
Recipe tips
Weigh your ingredients
- Weighing your ingredients is important for getting the recipe perfect and getting consistent results. Not weighing your ingredients can lead to adding too much or too little of an ingredient and can easily throw off a recipe. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale. This one is super cheap and worked well for me when I was starting out!
Avoid metal utensils when making the curd
- It’s possible for the curd to take on a metallic taste if you are using a metal bowl or whisk, so to be safe I would recommend staying away from those when making the curd.
Constantly whisk the curd
- When you’re cooking the curd, it is essential that you constantly whisk it. This will ensure that you don’t end up with any cooked egg in the curd! It’s not the *biggest* deal if you do have a little bit of cooked egg at the end because we’ll strain it regardless, but, it’s better to avoid it!
Room temperature ingredients
- It’s best if the butter is at room temperature so that it is more easily incorporated into the lemon curd. Take the butter out at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hr. 30 minutes before starting the recipe. Cut the butter into cubes so that it incorporates better and comes to room temperature faster.
Ingredients and substitutions
For the lemon curd:
Lemon: the star of the show!
Granulated sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the curd. I would recommend against trying to cut the sugar here as it would effect the flavor/texture too much.
Egg: necessary for thickening up the curd.
Salt: for balancing and bringing out the flavor and sweetness of the curd.
Unsalted butter: helps thicken the curd and make it creamy. You can substitute in salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the curd! You can also use your favorite dairy-free butter stick as a substitute.
How to make easy homemade lemon curd
Here are the steps to follow to make this lemon curd. You can find the complete recipe (which is printable!) at the end of this blog post.
1. Zest the lemons. Zest the lemons, then juice them into a separate bowl.
2. Add the ingredients to a saucepan. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, egg, and salt to a saucepan. Whisk the ingredients together until all the egg has been broken up before placing it over the heat. Continue to continuously whisk the mixture until it thickens.
3. Strain the curd. Pass the curd through a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest and any unwanted egg.
4. Whisk in the butter. Immediately whisk in the cubed butter until it melts and the mixture is smooth.
5. Enjoy! Transfer the lemon curd to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
Easy lemon curd Q & A
Can I make a smaller batch of this recipe?
- Of course! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight since it makes the process a bit easier. I’d recommend cutting the recipe down by the # of eggs, so you don’t end up needing a fraction of an egg. For example, if you want a super small batch with 1 egg, the recipe would be: 1 egg, 42g lemon juice, zest from ~1 lemon, 50g sugar, pinch of salt, 19g butter.
How should I store lemon curd?
- You can store the lemon curd in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Why do you measure in grams?
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!
Lemon Curd Troubleshooting
My curd isn’t thickening!
- If the curd isn’t thickening that just means that it hasn’t been cooking long enough. Just continuously whisk the mixture and eventually, it will thicken. For reference, it took me about 10 minutes for this to happen.
There is cooked egg in my curd!
- Nothing to worry about here! A little bit of cooked egg in the curd happens to the best of us. Passing the curd through a fine mesh sieve after cooking helps eliminate the zest, as well as any unwanted egg!
The curd is runny!
The curd is quite runny right after cooking since everything is still hot. Once it goes in the fridge it will thicken up a bit, but this lemon curd is definitely more loose than thick overall.
Tools and ingredients
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
Did you make this easy lemon curd?
If you made this easy lemon curd I would love to see it and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!
Easy Lemon Curd
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 6 eggs
- 250 g lemon juice ~5 lemons (9 oz.)
- zest of 5 lemons
- 300 g granulated sugar (1 ½ c.)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 113 g unsalted butter room temperature, cubed (½ c.)
Instructions
Lemon Curd
- Rinse and zest 5 lemons. Juice the lemons into a separate bowl or cup.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and egg to a medium sized saucepan. Whisk the ingredients together vigorously until all the egg has been broken up.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat and constantly whisk until the mixture thickens and reaches at least 170°F / 76°C. (This took ~8-10 minutes for me)
- Remove the curd from the heat and pass it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the zest and any accidental cooked egg.
- Immediately whisk in the cubed butter until it has melted and the mixture is completely smooth.
- Place the lemon curd in the fridge to cool down.
- Once the curd has cooled down, transfer it into an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Use it in your bakes, on your ice cream, on its own, etc.! Enjoy!