Lemon curd: the original English lemon cream, the perfect ingredient for the Lemon meringue cake, together with Italian meringue. The lemon curd, also known as “lemon cheese,” is a traditional English dessert made with lemon: a silky cream with a delicate flavor, typically used to fill cakes, tarts and various desserts, and excellent on toasted sandwich bread or the traditional scones served during the inevitable 5:00 p.m. tea. The basic ingredients of lemon curd are simple: eggs, sugar, butter and lemon, which, when gently cooked to form an aromatic cream, give us a dessert with a perfectly velvety consistency, just like the Orange curd. Prepared in small quantities since, unlike jam or preserves, it cannot be stored for long, lemon curd will amaze you with its delicious and extremely delicate taste. Of course, as with any recipe, there are several versions of this indulgent cream; today we’ll make the classic lemon curd recipe, slightly diluting the lemon juice with a bit of water and a little orange juice to get an exceptionally good result: trust me, you’ll love lemon curd at the first bite! As always, before you head to the kitchen, I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here), and if you love English desserts you can try the famous Lemon poppy seed cake.
Take a look:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: about 16 oz (approx. 1 lb)
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: European
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 Eggs (medium)
- 7 tbsp Butter
- 1/4 cup Lemon juice
- 4 tsp Water
- 4 tsp Orange juice
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2.5 tbsp Cornstarch (Maizena)
Tools
- Whisk hand
- Blender / Mixer immersion (handheld)
- Pot heavy-bottomed
Preparation
In a small heavy-bottomed pot, beat the eggs with the sugar and the grated zest of two lemons (be careful not to include the white pith). Add the cornstarch and stir well.
Add the lemon juice mixed with the orange juice and the water (for a tarter taste use only lemon juice).
Place the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring continuously and quickly without stopping, until the cream has thickened. Turn off the heat before it reaches a full boil, otherwise it will curdle. You must avoid the eggs curdling at all costs, so never stop stirring and never let it boil; if you don’t trust your stove, cook over a bain-marie, still stirring constantly.
Once cooked, add the cold butter and stir. Transfer the lemon curd to a glass bowl and let cool.
When completely cool, blend for a few seconds with an immersion blender; the cream will become glossy and velvety.
Our lemon curd is ready; it will be perfect for spoon desserts, tarts and cakes…
–Dark chocolate cream with orange aroma;
–Quick microwave pastry cream;
Storage and tips
Lemon curd keeps in the refrigerator for 3-4 days at most, well sealed in an airtight container.
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