Easy Lemon Curd

I’m not going to lie. I love lemons. They are probably one of my favourite ingredients to bake with, especially those sourced from my parents lemon tree in Palmerston North. I am a bit of a raider really, whenever I go home and their tree is in full-fruit-producing glory, I take more than my fair share.

So many in fact, I sometimes struggle to think of ways to use them all up and let’s face it, lemons do not last forever. A long standing favourite I make with lemons is a really moist lemon sour cream cake from the Edmond’s Cookery Book, which I often turn into cupcakes, a lemon slice from Kitchen Wench or my Mum’s lemon cordial recipe.

Recently I bought a jar of the delicious Lemon Curd from the Barker’s range. Seriously addictive stuff and I soon found there is nothing better than Lemon Curd on Vogel’s…amen. Barkers are based in Geraldine and wherever I can, I try to buy New Zealand made.

With lemon curd fresh on my palette, I wanted to see how easy it was to make my own. It proved quite difficult to find a recipe that wasn’t high in sugar, until I found this one (thanks to @Shadowfoot). This  recipe is easy enough to do while making dinner and uses a whole egg without needing to separate the white from the yolk, or find a way of using up the whites…

Easy Lemon Curd

• 1 cup Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest
• ½ cup Lemon Juice
• 50g Butter, softened and chopped into small pieces

Beat the eggs and sugar together until well combined. Next beat in lemon juice and the lemon zest.

Beat in the butter, bearing in mind it will appear lumpy and don’t try to make it smooth. Microwave on high for up to 8 minutes, until fairly thick, whisking roughly every 2 minutes. Pour into hot clean jars and seal immediately. This recipe was doubled and ended up making three jars which is plenty.

Homemade lemon curd makes a wonderful gift but if you don’t wish to make your own lemon curd, I seriously recommend trying out the Barker’s lemon curd or any of their spreads for that matter. Today I discovered a recipe for Lemon Curd Cheesecake I cannot wait to try. Until next time.