Never buy lemon curd from the store again! No really, don’t, it’s gross. And making it at home is so easy! This lemon curd is creamy, tart, and perfect for topping your toast. Or topping your spoon. Originally published July 10, 2015.
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Last night Eric and I were sitting around the dining room table eating ice cream with his family. There was a lull in the conversation, so Aunt Joy poked her 9-year-old son Blake. “Tell us a joke, Blake.” Mumble mumble mumble. “What?”
“They wouldn’t be appropriate for the table.” 9 YEARS OLD MY FRIENDS.
Speaking of inappropriate jokes, we were at my sister-in-law’s wedding reception last week, and I went over to Nana and Bumpa (Eric’s 85-year-old grandparents) to get them on the dance floor. Uptown Funk was playing. I was singing. The first time I said “Uptown funk don’t give it to you,” Nana gives me this shocked look and says, “Oh!” with her mouth hanging open. “No, no, no, Nana, FUNK, not the other one, you know, funk, like funky music.” It was a lost cause from the start.
This recipe for Lemon Curd is so tart and creamy!
What is lemon curd?
Lemon curd is a smooth, sweet, buttery lemon spread. It’s made with four simple ingredients: lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and butter. The consistency is like pudding, but it’s less creamy. It’s cooked (no raw eggs) and usually served cool or cold on top of or inside other things (like gingerbread, toast, or cupcakes). I personally eat it warm, with a spoon (and put it on everything in my kitchen).
Now, have you bought lemon curd at the store? That stuff is like pure corn syrup plus gelatin I think, and I’m not even talking about the cheap brands. The homemade stuff is absolutely incomparable. It is perfectly tart and creamy and gives you that little zing in your mouth that is a must for any citrus dessert.
It’s a super easy recipe, too. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool down in the fridge, although I certainly wouldn’t say no to a nice hot spoonful of lemon curd.
Best Lemon Curd ingredients
Here’s a quick shopping list to help you gather your ingredients. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients and instructions!
- Lemon zest (optional)
- Lemon juice (3-4 lemons)
- Sugar
- Eggs (7)
- Butter
How to Make Lemon Curd
Here’s a quick overview of how to make this recipe. Full instructions can be found in the recipe card below!
- In a small saucepan, stir together lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Set over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat together 3 eggs and 4 egg yolks. Whisk very well.
- When the liquid on the stove is ready, slowly pour some of it into the bowl with the eggs, whisking constantly.
- Return the pot to the stove and add the rest of the eggs while stirring. Continue to whisk pretty constantly over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. When you drag your whisk over the top of the mixture, it should leave marks.
- Pour the curd through a mesh strainer into a bowl. Stir the chopped butter into the lemon curd until it’s completely melted.
- Press a square of plastic wrap directly on top of the lemon curd and refrigerate until cold, about 2-4 hours. Transfer to a Tupperware.
Easy Lemon Curd Recipe tips
How to thicken lemon curd
Lemon curd will thicken as it cooks. If you haven’t cooked it long enough (meaning that a whisk dragged across the top doesn’t leave marks), no worries–just keep cooking it. Remember that it will thicken more as it cools, especially after you’ve added the butter (a solid at room temperature).
Can you overcook lemon curd?
Yes, you definitely can. The goal is just to cook the lemon curd until a whisk dragged through the curd leaves marks. After that, you risk scrambling the eggs in it. Now, if you overcook your curd (you’ll know because it will have little lumpy egg bits in it), don’t despair! You can put it in the blender or food processor and blend it until the egg bits are gone.
Best Lemon Curd Recipe storage
Lemon curd can be kept in any regular storage container–plastic Tupperware, fancy jam jars you’ve washed and saved, whatever you like. Just keep it in the fridge so it won’t spoil.
How long does lemon curd last?
Lemon curd lasts for 1-2 weeks in the fridge. You can also freeze it for several months (perfect for early Christmas prep to give out as neighbor gifts).
Best Lemon Curd uses
I made several batches to get it just right, but originally I made it to use as a filling for a layer cake. Here are some other ideas:
- spread it on toast
- top ice cream
- Use it as a filling in this Coconut Layer Cake
- stuffed cupcakes
- filled donuts
- top pancakes
- Throw it in a pie shell and top with whipped cream
- fruit dip (I love it with bananas, strawberries, in a bowl with blueberries or raspberries)
- Stir into plain Greek Yogurt and top with granola and/or fruit
- Fold into whipped cream and top a cake with it
- Top a bagel or breakfast pastry
- Top a pavlova
- Fill crepes
- Spoon a bunch on top of softened cream cheese and serve with crackers
- Spread on gingersnaps or these Soft Ginger Cookies
Good luck with all these suggestions, by the way. When I make lemon curd I hardly ever make it past the spoon.
Lemon Curd Recipe FAQs
Lemon curd is a great topping or filling for anytime you want some of that tart-sweet magic.
As a topping for:
Toast
Ice cream
Pancakes
Greek yogurt
Bagels
Pastries
Gingersnaps
As a filling in:
Coconut Layer Cake
Cupcakes
Donuts
Crepes
Soft Ginger Cookies
Lemon curd is made of lemon juice, sugar, butter, and eggs. It’s a bit like a lemon custard.
Sometimes lemon curd can turn green if it comes into contact with something made of copper or aluminum. Weird right?? You can just avoid this by not using a pan or bowl made with those materials. If you didn’t use metal and your lemon curd turns green, it’s probably aliens. Or the lizard people.
If your lemon curd is eggy tasty (or eggy textured), you might have overcooked or scrambled the eggs. Also, you might not have stirred and whisked when you were supposed to. This is one of those recipes where it’s really helpful to read the instructions through before you begin (I’m sooo guilty of not doing that sometimes!). That way you’ll have all the tools you need at the ready to keep the eggs from rebelling on you.
You might like these recipes too!
Gingerbread Pancakes << lemon curd would be AMAZING on top of these.
Meyer Lemon Tart << ever had Meyer lemons? They are so uniquely delicious!
Cinnamon Honey Butter << this makes another fantastic neighbor gift.
Raspberry Lemon-Glazed Muffins << if you love lemon like I do…you’re going to love these muffins.
Coconut Syrup << make an ultimate Hawaiian breakfast with this homemade syrup.
Lemon Curd Pound Cake from Cookies and Cups
Easy Lemon Tarts from Crazy for Crust
Lemon Curd Stuffed Cupcakes from A Side of Sweet
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Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, optional*
- 3/4 cup lemon juice, fresh, 3-4 large lemons
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs , + 4 large egg yolks
- 4 tablespoons butter, 1/2 stick, chopped**
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, stir together lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Set over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat together 3 eggs and 4 egg yolks. Whisk it very well.
- When the liquid on the stove is ready, slowly pour some of it into the bowl with the eggs, whisking constantly. I usually pour in about half, but you can do more or less. This is called tempering the eggs.
- Return the pot to the stove and add the rest of the eggs while stirring. If you don’t stir you may curdle your eggs.
- Continue to whisk pretty constantly over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. When you drag your whisk over the top of the mixture, it should leave marks.
- Pour the curd through a mesh strainer into a new bowl (or the same one, washed). Unless you are an expert curd maker, you will probably have a few solid egg pieces in there, which is totally okay! Just strain them out.
- Stir the chopped butter into the lemon curd until it’s completely melted. This is a good time for a large spoonful of hot lemon curd.
- Press a square of plastic wrap directly on top of the lemon curd. If you just cover the bowl, you will get a film on your curd.
- Refrigerate until cold, about 2-4 hours. It will thicken up some as it cools.
- Transfer to a tupperware. Keeps for 1-2 weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe is amazingly easy and so delicious! Thank you. I’ve always loved the “idea” of lemon curd, but store bought versions are always so sweet and leave a weird coating on my tongue. This is perfection. PS..I also use it as a filling for a vanilla cake.
Yeah what is it with the weird tongue coating, right Melissa?? Must be the preservatives they use. And they are always oddly gummy too. So glad you’ve found a recipe you love!
Is delicious and you are correct, it is better than store-bought. What I was surprised by was how easy it was to do. The whole process from zesty to juicing the lemons etc. took no more than 20 minutes. Definitely will make again. I did as you suggested I took a tablespoon full of it before I put it in the fridge. Yummy
Hi
I was wondering what I could use instead of butter, my sister is gluten and dairy free
Hi Susan, check through all the comments, I think some people have made this successfully with vegan butter substitutes! Try earth balance? Haven’t tried it myself.
This sounds absolutely delicious! I want to make a fruit and dip tray for a Thanksgiving appetizer. I need to keep sugar down so can you replace the sugar with Stevia? Thanks!
Hi Linda! I would be nervous about that! Not sure how it would turn out. Maybe try half and half and see how it goes? Let me know what you try!
Love the lemon curd..
Perfection!! Thank you😊
I would like to make a lemon curd “sauce” – that is a thinner lemon curd that is somewhat pourable – like on top of a cake. Do you have any idea how I could make the curd thinner?
Question!! Does this curd ooze when used in a layered cake?
Hi Monica! Great question! The lemon curd is too thin to be layered on it’s own between a cake. You will want to pipe a dam of frosting (or whipped cream) around the perimeter of your cake and then fill the center with lemon curd. Hope this helps! Enjoy your cake!
Fantastic! I had bought some English lemon curd from Amazon. It was excellent, but this is fresher and better! I know what is in it and it came out perfectly. First timer in making curd and I had NO lumps. I may have missed my calling ;) Thanks for sharing the recipe.
So happy to hear the recipe worked out for you John! There really is something about fresh curd!
I live in Arizona and am always on the receiving end of the bonanza from my friends’ lemon trees, so lemon curd is something I’ve made a lot. There are a whole bunch of good recipes, and every one of them is better than the highest quality store-bought. But this recipe is my new fave. I didn’t strain it (I live the tartness of the zest) but it is still incredibly smooth and rich. I’ve never added butter before and thought it tasted great without it, but oh my! that butter does add a whole new dimension of flavor and texture. This one’s a keeper!
Bring on the tart! What’s the point of lemon curd if it’s too sweet I say. And yes, the butter is a game changer! I’m so glad we agree Deb! :)
Hi I have a question about the lemon curd recipe; do you use salted or unsalted butter? Dying to try this recipe.
I have some lovey scones just for the occasion!
Thanks,
Diane
Hi Diane! I always use salted butter, but either kind will work great. you can always salt to taste afterward! Enjoy your scones!
This was my first time making lemon curd and it was so easy to make. Thanks for posting the how to pictures. This is far superior to the best commercial lemon curd that I’ve had (from Fortnum & Masons, and they know how to make lemon curd). I bought a bag of Meyer lemons from Costco and wanted to try them. I used the zest of regular lemons and the juice of the Meyer lemons. Delicious!! I’ll be adding the curd to a lemon cheesecake mousse that I’m making for Christmas dessert. This will add an extra lemon punch to the cheesecake.
Ooh i love the idea of using meyer lemon juice!! That sounds amazing. Thanks so much for the great tips!
I haven’t made this yet, but I will once my Meyer Lemons are ripe. I make Lemon Curd and I’m excited to try this one. The lemons are just starting to turn yellow so I will have to patiently wait 1 more month.
So hard to wait!! I hope you enjoy them both!
Best cure recipe!!! Easy and foolproof! It my go too.
Hey Athena! I’m so glad you like the lemon curd! It’s so easy right? Thanks for the comment!
I hated lemon curd as a child and very soon I learnt to just say no thank you. As an adult I bought some and yes it was yukkie! Out it went into the garbage. A friend of mine made her own and persuaded me to try some, wow! It is now one of my favourite recipes to make when lemons are in abundance.
The difference between store bought lemon curd and the homemade stuff is astonishing, right?? It’s like they are just not even the same thing. I’m so glad your friend convinced you to try it again!!