Meyer Lemon Curd

5 from 7 votes

This Meyer lemon curd is creamy, tart, and delicious. This curd has only 5 ingredients and is so easy to make you'll never buy store-bought again.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Chilling Time2

Total Time2 25

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: English

Servings: cups

Calories: 903kcal

Author: Cheryl Norris

Equipment

Medium-sized bowl
3 Quart Saucepan
Instant-read thermometer
Fine-mesh strainer
Medium whisk
Plastic wrap

Ingredients

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon zest
3/4 cup (180 ml) fresh-squeezed Meyer lemon juice
2 large (100 grams) eggs
4 large (80 grams) egg yolks
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter room temperature

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place a strainer over a medium-sized bowl near the stove.
Place the sugar in a small bowl and zest the lemons onto the sugar. Use your fingers to rub the sugar and zest together. Juice the lemons until you have 3/4 cup of juice.
In a nonreactive 3 quart saucepan, combine the whole eggs, eggs yolks, and sugar and whisk until well blended. Stir in the lemon juice and butter.
Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture is thickened. As you cook the mixture the butter will melt. When the mixture has thickened and reached a temperature of 185 degrees F pour it into the strainer. Press the curd through the strainer with a spatula to remove the solids.
Cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap, gently pressing the plastic wrap onto the surface of the curd. Place the curd in the refrigerator and chill.
The lemon curd is good in the refrigerator for 2 weeks and can be frozen for up to 1 year. If freezing the curd package it in a freezer container after it has chilled. When ready to use place it in the refrigerator to thaw for 24 hours before intended use.

Notes

Zesting the lemons. When citrus fruit is zested the oils are released and a lot of the flavor and scent are in the oils. Zesting the fruit directly into the sugar ensures that you are capturing as much flavor as possible.

Curd didn't thicken. If the curd hasn't thickened after chilling it in the refrigerator, you may not have cooked it long enough and to the right temperature.

Use a non-reactive saucepan. A non-reactive saucepan is a stainless steel pan or a cast-iron pan coated with enamel. These materials will not react with the acid in the lemons. Do not use an aluminum pan. Aluminum will react with the acid in the lemons and produce a metallic taste.

Do not walk away. Once you've started cooking the curd do not walk away while you're cooking it or it will burn. If you have to walk away for some reason, remove the pan from the heat.

Dairy allergy. If you're allergic to dairy, you can leave out the butter. There will be a difference in texture, but the curd will still be creamy and tangy

Nutrition