Lemon Curd is the closest that we have to sunshine in a jar, don’t you
think? It’s sweet and tart and adds a delicious zing to many desserts. Layer it
in a cake or top your breakfast pancakes with it. Or serve it along with scones
for a variation on the English Cream Tea.
Fill up little tart shells with it or use it as an éclair filling. Or simply
slather it on toast! It’s such a versatile spread and it’s very easy to make. I
have waxed eloquent about lemons in one of my earlier posts and it’s true – I just can’t get enough of them! I
have used Nigel Slater’s recipe to
make this lemon curd and as he says “my kitchen came alive with the stinging
hit of freshly grated lemons”!
I posted a picture of the
lemon curd on Twitter and it got a stamp of approval from the man himself :)
You’ll need:
- Zest and Juice of 5 Lemons
- 200gm powdered Sugar
- 100gm unsalted Butter
- 3 medium Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk
- Boil water in a pan and then set it to simmer. Place a bowl above it, taking care that the bottom doesn’t touch the water. Put the lemon zest, juice, sugar and butter in this bowl.
- This is a bain-marie / double boiler technique. Two things to remember – the water in the pan must be simmering, not cold and the bowl should be set above the pan of hot water, not in it.
- Stir gently with a whisk till the butter has melted.
- Mix the eggs and the egg yolk together and add to the lemon mixture.
- Allow the curd to cook, stirring regularly. It will take about 10 minutes to turn into a thick custard-like curd.
- Remove from the heat and cool, stirring occasionally.
- Transfer to a jar and refrigerate. It will keep for a couple of weeks, if it’s not polished off earlier!!
I have
posted a recipe for a Lemon Cake earlier. I merely slit the cake horizontally,
slathered on the lemon curd in between the layers, made a lemon frosting to
top it off and 'garnished' with some lemon zest. It was a delicious lemony treat, perfect for a potluck dinner.
