Lemon Curd Recipe on Food52 (2024)

For those of you into trying new things, I've been working on a pie filling that is kind of a cross between lemon curdfd and meringue; make the curd with just the yolks and cook in the normal manner (this recipe will do as well as another); cool slightly, whip the whites to soft peaks and fold together with the lemon curd; pour into prebaked crust and bake. I've been doing 15 min at 325, but I'm making 6 1/2" pies in a countertop oven so your timing might differ, also the temperature of your crust and filling when they go in the oven can vary quite a bit. The surface should appear dry, with some brown highlights, and it should be a bit jiggly in the center. It will rise high during baking (basically a souffle) and fall when it cools, but still be fairly puffy.

Just tried this and it is delicious! Prepared as written with three whole eggs. I had just a little more than the 1/2 c of lemon juice- my lemons were very juicy! I was a little worried at first because I saw a few white streaks in the pot when I was straining the curd. I thoughts the eggs cooked too much. But, it came out delicious. Next time, I’ll lower the heat.

Followed direction to a tee ... LOVED this .. VERY Yummy Lemon Curd!

Wow, this is so good. I had leftover egg yolks and an excess of lemons (big box store) and googled what to make with leftover egg yolks. All the results were too many steps and included a lot of extra ingredients - except this one.
So easy, no double boiler, nothing but eggs, sugar and lemon. Came out creamy with a little bit of tang, just what you want lemon curd to taste like. Just the thing for all of those blackberries and blueberries on sale that need sweetening. Thinking of toasted pound cake topped with lemon curd and fresh berries (and maybe a dollop of vanilla ice cream).

I have been remiss! If there was ever a recipe that I have used more than pizza dough or chocolate wacky cake, this is it. Long ago memorized, it's an integral part of life's lemon bag (box stores) bounty.
This recipe is not only goof proof it's delicious. Silky, fullsome yet light. Easily added to and, for my fridge at least, long keeping.
Make it a staple of your 'treat tastes'. An amazing bringer of smiles to faces.

Smaug January 7, 2022

After years of making lemon curd in a double boiler (a pretty slow process) I recently converted to a saucepan method, surprisingly little problem. I would recommend a silicone spatula for stirring (along with a whisk) to get into corners and clear the pan surface. A flat whisk also works better than a balloon whisk for corners, if your quantity is small enough. A lot of curd recipes call for adding the butter after it's cooked- this starts the cooling process to some extent; other than that I haven't seen that it makes much difference.

shush October 31, 2021

Add a pinch of salt!

This is a really good tasty recipe and a great curd to have handy. It comes together in 10 minutes once you've juiced the lemons. I used the 3 whole egg recipe to put on the Lemon Bar Cheesecake (delicious and easy!) from this site.

I made this using egg yolk version. It is a bit too sour..what can I do to improve it?

Straightforward recipe and works with ease. I only had two lemons so included one small blood orange. Worked great!

Best of all recipes I searched, meaning mid-range of ratios. Lemon curd recipes ranged from 4 whole eggs and 8 oz butter to 3 yolks only and 3 Tbps butter.
This one has excellent flavor and firms up a bit more (not as jiggly) when refrigerated. Borrowed a tip from another to use a food processor to make lemon zest sugar first, adding as instructed. It still comes out with the straining, so not sure it’s worth it, just had to wash up more items.

Rick February 4, 2017

Cooked to 170F (measured via infrared)....used 1 blood orange (for color = pink) + 1.5 lemons + zest of 2 lemons.....had made meringues & thus had 3 left over yokes, and so I went with the 3 yokes + 1 whole approach

I made the egg yolk version of this to accompany a pavlova, as a way of killing two birds with one stone: using the yolks, and topping the pavlova in utterly delicious fashion. I ended up having so much extra that I used it to swirl inside a lemon bundt cake as well. Even though I think I may have slightly overcooked the egg yolks, it was still a fantastic lemon curd. I've never made it before so this was a wonderful, easy to follow recipe for me to get into it!

Excellent lemon curd! First recipe I've found that uses the whole egg--much more convenient! Cooked up thick and creamy.

how much is 6 tbs butter in grams?

This was great, and so quick to make. I also like that I can use whole eggs. I stirred the zest in after straining. Thank you!

Rach May 19, 2015

HOT DIDDLY DANG I made this tonight and it's better than I expected. I think I used a little more lemon juice than the recipe called for (1-2 tbsp whoops^_^), and I used about a lemon's worth of zest in the pot and after straining added another third-lemon's worth of zest. My eggs were XL so I took out about a tablespoon's worth of egg white before whisking. I found this recipe after looking for an "easy" version of lemon curd (so many complicated recipes, so little time for frustration in my busy schedule). Definitely a winner.

Tastes great! Like somebody else said, I added lemon zest after I strained the lemon curd.

Could one store this in the freezer for later use?

Lo December 24, 2014

This recipe is easy and delicious.
I followed the recipe using 3 whole eggs but, did not strain, it's beautiful creamy and smooth without.
The flavor is tart, tangy, and sweet just like lemon curd should be.