Sunday, July 20, 2008

Lemon Curd


I’ve never made lemon curd before, and I’ve only eaten it once to date – and that was over 20 years ago. I might be making this up, but I’m pretty sure that my one and only encounter with it was when I was about 7 years old.

A family friend who lived in Switzerland (and therefore frequently traveled all over Europe) always brought us Swiss chocolate and some other treat, and that one time, he brought us a jar of lemon curd from his travels to England. I thought it would be really sweet and creamy – perhaps like lemon pudding – and so I shoved a big spoonful of it into my little mouth, only to be shocked by its bracing tartness. I think I immediately spit it out.



Well, now that I’m older and my taste buds are a bit more mature, I can appreciate lemon curd's silky smooth texture and intense lemon flavor. It tastes wonderful on its own (I totally swiped a few spoonfuls of it right after I made it), but it’s also an excellent foil to baked goods, particularly to a silky meringue buttercream. It’s also really easy to make – it takes only about 15 minutes and requires no significant skills in the kitchen. So don’t get the kind that comes in the jar – although I can’t quite remember exactly how it tasted, I’m pretty sure that the fresh stuff tastes way better.

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Lemon Curd
(makes approximately 2 ½ cups)
6 large egg yolks
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 5 small lemons, 4 regular ones would probably yield the same amount)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into small chunks and slightly chilled

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Add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest to a small saucepan and whisk well. Set the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon, about 6-7 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. While stirring continuously, add the butter a few pieces at a time, adding more butter when the previous addition has been fully incorporated.

After all the butter has been added, cover the lemon curd with a large piece of plastic wrap, making sure to press the plastic wrap onto the surface of the curd so as to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to thicken.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

yummm!

Meghan said...

oh god... do i loooove lemon curd... course I'm a huge citrus girl...

im so glad you posted.
:)

Anonymous said...

it was good to have cake again. damn you for moving away!

malini said...

You are making me a sweet addict Roopa. I can't stop eating the cake and the cookies since Friday!

Anonymous said...

Yum. You know what else is good? LIME curd. It's hard to find, but it's AWESOME!!!

John said...

I'm such a doofus - I thought that was a big bowl of mustard when I first saw the picture. The lemon curd sounds delicious!

Pigtown*Design said...

For years, my dad, who was british, made this as christmas presents for people. he'd collect beautiful jars and use them. people would return their jars to be filled again the next year.

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