Easy Lemon Curd (5 Ingredients)
An Easy Lemon Curd recipe made with just 5 ingredients. It's smooth with just the perfect tartness, and buttery. Plus it's thick and spreadable to use on cakes, cupcakes, and in tarts. Make a batch ahead of time, it keeps in the fridge for weeks.
Servings: 3 ½-cup servings
Calories: 586kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 large egg yolks
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Once butter is melted, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and sugar. Whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the egg yolks until smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens, 5 to 6 minutes. Don't let the mixture boil.
- You can use the classic trick to check if the mixture is thick enough: dip a wooden spoon into the curd and draw your finger across the spoon; your finger should leave a path and the curd won't run to fill it in.
- Immediately pour the curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Use a rubber spatula to force all the curd through the sieve, leaving just the zest and any cooked bits of egg in the sieve. Scrape the bottom of the sieve to retrieve all the curd.
- Transfer to a jar, cover and refrigerate until thick, about 4 hours. Or cover the top of the curd in the bowl with plastic wrap and let cool in the fridge to use for cake filling.
- Curd will keep in the fridge up to two weeks.
Notes
*Nutrition is for ½ cup of curd.
*Recipe makes 1 ½ cups total
This thick curd can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Use this curd for a cake filling. Try my Lemon Cake For Lemon Lovers.
Nutrition
Calories: 586kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 450mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 1436IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg
