Wonderfully luscious and creamy lemon curd made using whole eggs. Great for when you don't have a use for left-over egg whites. Makes about 1 1/2 cups of lemon curd.
1/2cuplemon juice, freshly squeezed from about 2 large lemons
1/4cupbutter, cubed *see Note 2 below
1Tablespoonlemon zest, finely grated
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Instructions
Remove the lemon zest from the lemon and measure out. Set aside. Juice the lemon(s) and strain, then measure out the required amount. Set aside.
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan (not aluminum), whisk together the eggs and sugar thoroughly. (Be sure the eggs and sugar are whisked together well before adding the lemon juice, to avoid curdling the eggs.) Add the lemon juice and whisk to combine well. Place saucepan over just below medium heat (between medium and medium low).
Cook the mixture, whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens. Do not let it boil!! The curd will set at about 170F, which is just below the point at which it would start to simmer. Once the mixture thickens, immediately remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and butter, whisking until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a small bowl or jar. Once it stops steaming, cover with plastic wrap or lid and refrigerate up to 3 weeks. Lemon curd can also be frozen up to 6 months.
Notes
1. If you'd like lemon curd that is a bit more tart, you can reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup. 2. You can use salted or unsalted butter. If using unsalted butter, you can add a pinch of salt to the pan.If your lemon curd boiled and became lumpy, proceed to add the butter and whisk vigorously to break up the lumps as much as possible, then strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the remaining lumps. Stir lemon zest into strained curd.You can find more tips on making lemon curd, as well as Step-by-Step photos above this recipe card.