Stephanie Alexander’s Lemon Curd

This is delicious as a spread for toast or scones, to sandwich together a sponge cake or as the filling for small tartlets. A pot of home-made lemon curd is also a lovely gift. It keeps for weeks if well sealed and refrigerated after opening. Almost every recipe for lemon curd tells you never to boil the mixture or it will curdle. If lemon curd is cooked directly over medium-high heat (not slowly or in a double boiler) it can be brought to a boil without mishap and the shorter cooking time results in a fresher fruit flavor. The large amount of sugar needed to balance the acidity of the lemon juice prevents the egg proteins from tightening and forcing out the liquid, as happens when a standard custard is cooked too fast. There is no need to press plastic film onto the surface of lemon curd, as it does not form a skin. However, to prevent flavor transfers it is necessary to cover the curd when refrigerating.

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients 4 egg yolks…2/3rd cup castor sugar…60g unsalted butter…2 teaspoons grated lemon zest…100ml lemon juice

Method Whisk egg yolks and sugar until well combined but not frothy. Tip into a heavy-based non-reactive saucepan and add butter, zest and juice. Stirring constantly, bring to simmering point over a medium-high heat (about 5 minutes). As soon as bubbles appear, remove from heat, still stirring. Allow to cool. Transfer to sterilized jars and seal.

Back to blog