Creamy and tart with a bit of sweetness, lemon curd is a treat for the Gods. I love to heap it in baked tart shells and top with a dollop of whipping cream, spread it on scones, or even eat it right out of the jar by the spoonful. Meyer lemons make this exceptionally delicious, but you can also use other lemons if you need to. Never use lemon juice from a bottle, as it won't give you a great flavor, and to make your curd extra smooth, make sure to strain it at the end.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar (or if using regular lemons, 1/2 cup)
2 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
pinch salt
6 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
Before you do anything else, put a mesh strainer over a bowl or in my case, a big 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup.
In the top part of a double boiler over simmering water, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and salt. Add the butter cubes and continue to whisk constantly over low heat. The whisking is the trick to truly creamy, smooth curd-it keeps the bits of egg from cooking and floating around in it. Whisk away over low heat, and the butter will eventually melt, even though at times it will seem to clump up and try to drive you crazy.
Once the butter melts, increase the heat to medium and continue to whisk constantly. The mixture will suddenly thicken up into a thick pudding-like consistency, and you'll know it's finished when you lift the whisk from the mixture, and the mixture "holds its shape when it falls back into the saucepan from the whisk." Immediately remove it from the stove and pour into the strainer, forcing it through by pressing with a spatula. That's when any little bits of egg white that globbed together will be weeded out of your delicious curd.
Keep finished curd in a jar in the fridge for about a week, or freeze in an airtight container.
Makes about 1 cup
Adapted From David Lebovitz
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