When Jamie and I were chatting about what our next recipewould be, he said that we should do a lemon curd recipe. To which I then looked at him like “huh”?
If Im being brutally honest, I had no idea really what lemon curd was, what it tasted like or how its used. Well let me tell you, I can now say that I LOVE lemon curd.
If youre like how I was and youre not 100% what lemon curd is, simply put, its a spread or topping used for desserts or even breakfast items. Think, apple butter. Lemon curd was originally called lemon cheese because the acidity from the lemon juice was literally used to separate the curds from the whey in cream.
Its such an amazing topping and our recipe makes for the perfect, velvety-smooth texture that is achieved through combining sugar and butter with eggs and lemon cooking it slowly over a gentle double-boiler until the eggs coagulate. It is basically an intense lemon-flavored custard without the cream.
Despite its palatability and versatility, lemon curd seems to be one of the forgotten breakfast condiments. Everyone talks about jams, jellies and butters but curds never seem to be viewed in the same light. Perhaps it is because of how intimidating making it can be.
But really, the intimidation is in no way justified. The recipe consists of 5 simple ingredients:
While perhaps not the preferred method, you can eat lemon curd by itself like I do (told you that I am now obsessed), you can spread it on toast like you would with apple butter or berry jam, you can bake it into pastries such as lemon bars or danishes, you can use it to make pies such as lemon meringue pie or you can even serve it on french toast or pancakes. The options are plentiful!
The procedure may be even less complicated than getting the ingredients together. Basically, you put everything into a heatproof bowl and cook it over a double-boiler or DIY your own, on a medium heat while stirring continually. Once the mixture reaches 170 F, you cool it down and are good to go
âIf you dont know what a double-boiler is, its essentially a pot and pan in one, in which a more shallow pan sits inside a saucepan. Its used to cook things gently and youll see it being used for dessert recipes, such as melting chocolate. Its so easy to make your own double boiler though by simply using a heatproof bowl and sitting it on top of your pot with water.
Let us know how you used this lemon curd recipe! Did you eat it with a spoon like I did??
A velvety smooth, egg-enriched lemon curd that can be used for various sweets and breakfast dishes.
While curd resembles pudding or custard, the difference lies in the way it’s thickened. Custards and puddings rely on cornstarch, milk and cream, while eggs are the primary thickener for curd, making it lighter and brighter.
Baking terrifies me, as I’ve mentioned before (see: Rite of Passage: Pralines (prah-leens)). Cooking is about finesse and nuance. But baking? Baking is patience
Sugar and cornstarch over medium heat, when stirred constantly with water, makes a sweet paste. This was supposed to happen in 3-4 minutes but of course it took about twice that long. Nearly 8 minutes over the heat and nothing was happening. Then all of a sudden the mixture began to boil and became something else entirely. Thicker and less glossy than a glaze, the sugar and cornstarch thickened to what would be the beginning of my curd. I removed from the heat and whipped about half of a cup of this mixture with lightly beaten egg yolks. Folding the eggs back into the sauce pan, my curd base was done. I was making a lemon curd so I flavored the sugar base lemon zest, lemon juice and butter. The same can be done with limes or oranges. A curd can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. I made mine the day before and just stirred it up a bit before assembling my cake.
Amid all my stirring, I got to wondering what the difference was between a curd and a custard. I was delighted to find making a curd didn’t involve actually curdling anything. I came up with a few complicated hypothesizes mostly involving ratios between sugar and eggs. But come to find out curds and custards are essentially the same thing except a curd has a stronger flavor and is eaten as a spread or filling rather than a desert on it’s own. Now you know!
Unfortunately, these are the best pictures I got of the cake. Fortunately it tasted amazing! I like lemon cakes because they are so light and sweet. The cake part didn’t have an overpowering lemon flavor, which worked well with the very tart yet creamy curd filling. There was only one piece left at the end of the party. I call that a success.
And that’s what makes baking so scary–you’re ordered to stir constantly at every step, yet they don’t tell you what will happen if you stop stirring. If I have to scratch my nose, will the sugar burn? What if I get a cramp? Will the eggs scramble? Every imaginable scenario ends with a sticky scorched pot and starting over from square one without eyebrows. And sugar does weird shit. Given heat and time it will change from one weird stage to another. I’ve never made a curd before, so I read the recipe all the way through at least 5 times. Then I got my ingredients in the ready, re-read thrice more and dove in. The first step was to make sugar do something weird.
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Lemon Curd
FAQ
What is lemon custard made of?
Is lemon creme the same as lemon curd?
What is the difference between lemon curd and lemon filling?
Why does lemon curd fall into the custard family?
What is the difference between lemon curd and lemon custard?
And you can find my full recipe for lemon curd HERE. Lemon custard is a lot faster to make than lemon curd, and it’s a lot thicker in texture as well. You make custard by mixing together sweetened condensed milk and water and then adding in a pudding mix. This mixture will go in the fridge for about 5 to 10 minutes to set.
What is curd?
The curd is a food obtained through the fermentation of milk and which promotes several health benefits. Protein source, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium and vitamin B12.
What is the difference between custard & lemon filling?
Lemon filling or custard is usually thickened with cornstarch and can be cooked in a regular saucepan. Lemon curd is richer, with more egg yolks and lots of butter, no water or cornstarch, and is usually made in a double boiler. They can be used pretty interchangeably. Fill a layer cake. Serve it in a bowl with a dollop of whipped cream.
What is the difference between lemon curd and lemon pudding?
The primary difference between lemon curd and lemon pudding is that curd uses egg yolks as its main thickening agent, whereas most lemon pudding recipes use cornstarch. There are some additional things that make each of these beloved sweets unique, including how they came to be, what the taste differences are and more.