Super Silky Lemon Curd

Hi hi! I am just popping in to share my easy lemon curd recipe with you! I have been making this for years and don't know why it doesn't have its own spot on the blog because it is so easy to make and so much better than store bought.

Homemade lemon curd is a great way to use up extra egg yolks if you have any on hand, although I also tested making lemon curd with whole eggs if you don't want to be left with whites.

Lemon curd is a great thing to have in your fridge to brighten up almost anything - I love serving it alongside my butter cake, or as the filling for my linzer cookies, but the options are nearly endless here.

I have made lemon curd a lot of times and read a lot of recipes online - my recipe is one which is properly thick, and stable enough to use as a cake or cookie filling without leaking everywhere. I've got you covered.

Whole Eggs vs Egg Yolk only for Lemon Curd

You've probably seen recipes for lemon curd made with egg yolks only, or using whole eggs, or a combination of both. Either work great and I tested the recipe both ways, so you can use whatever suits you best or what you have on hand. You can see both methods in the image below.

Egg yolk only lemon curd. This is my personal preference. Lemon curd made with egg yolks is much firmer, a little richer, and tastes a little less 'eggy' - I think that it lets the lemon flavour shine through best, and I prefer the firmer consistency as it makes it much better to use for filling cakes or cookies.

Whole egg lemon curd. This also works just as well - I made it with 3 eggs instead of 6 yolks. Whole egg lemon curd is a little looser, so works perfectly if you're looking for a lemon curd to drizzle, or to use as a lemon spread.

Basically do what you like here, both work, it just depends on the consistency that you are after (If it matters) and how many egg yolks you have on hand.

The thing to remember is egg yolks = firmer lemon curd, whole eggs = less firm lemon curd. To replace yolks with eggs, replace two egg yolks with one whole egg. Feel free to mix and match with what you have.

Don't you need to use a double boiler to make lemon curd?!

You will often see recipes which use indirect heat - where they use a double boiler (a bowl over simmering water) to make lemon curd. I found during recipe testing that this wasn't necessary - it works just fine in a pot, cooked over low to medium heat. I prefer to strain the curd before chilling it down just in case there are any cooked pieces of egg in the mix, but you absolutely can make it right in the pan - it is also much quicker!

When to add the butter - at the end or in with the rest of the ingredients?

There are two ways to do this when making lemon curd - the butter can go in at the beginning with the other ingredients, or you can add the butter at the end to stop the cooking process. Again, I tested both ways during the recipe testing process and found adding the butter along with the other ingredients gives you a more silky curd - adding it toward the end the curd had a slightly fattier mouthfeel.

A few ways to tell when Lemon Curd is done

I think this is what people struggle with a little. There are a couple of ways to test for doneness when making lemon curd:

Temperature. Look for 170°f / 76°c on an instant read thermometer.

The 'line' test. When lemon curd cooks to the correct temperature it will thicken to the point that it coats the back of a spatula or spoon, and you can draw a clean line through it with your finger.