How to make lemon curd with just 5 basic ingredients. It's luscious and creamy, with a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. It only 15 minutes to make and is a versatile spread in the desserts world!
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What Is Lemon Curd
It is a cooked custard-like spread made of fresh lemon juice, zest, eggs, sugar, and butter. It has an amazing combination of sweet, tart, and buttery.
What to do with lemon curd? Well, it's often used as toppings, as I use in my no-bake lemon cheesecake, as fillings for tarts like in my healthy lemon tarts, lemon meringue cupcakes, or as fillings for cakes, scones, muffins, and crepes. Or, just to be simple, spread it on top of my 3-ingredient lemon mousse or even some bread. Oh, la la!
Why This Recipe Works
Because you'll get phenomenal lemon curd without even breaking a sweat! It's so easy and fast to make, and you can't go wrong with it.
This easy lemon curd recipe takes only five ingredients that you already have at home! The effort of making it homemade is nothing compared to a jar of store-bought ones. The taste is amazing, I promise!
I'm using a combination of whole eggs and yolks. Why? This brings out more of the fresh, tangy lemon flavor and balances out the unwanted eggy taste if the recipe were to only use egg yolks. Make this, and you'll see.
If you are a fan of lemon desserts, I highly recommend you give my 3-ingredient lemon mousse, lemon almond cake, and lemon almond cake a try!
Ingredients For This Recipe
Lemon juice and zest - Use freshly squeezed and grated ones, please! It's a game-changer as it gives you a beautiful fresh, intense flavor.
Eggs - Find the best ones with bright yellow-orange yolks. It'll influence the color of this curd.
Sugar - White granulated or caster sugar works great. Not a fan? Try my refined sugar-free lemon curd that uses honey instead.
Butter - I always use unsalted for this recipe.
⭐ See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Mix all ingredients. Mix sugar, whole eggs, extra yolks, lemon juice, and zest until you get a homogeneous mixture.
2. Cook until thickens. Cook the mixture in a double boiler or a heat-proof glass bowl over a pot with simmering water for 10-15 minutes. Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Whisk continuously. The curd is ready when it covers the back of a wooden spoon and when you run your finger through it, it stays separated.
3. Add butter. Remove from the heat. Immediately add butter and whisk until well combined. Cover with cling film, making sure it touches the surface of the curd, to prevent crust. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.
4. Store and chill. Once cooled, give it a whisk to get a smooth texture. Pour into a jar and start using. It'll thicken more as it sits in the fridge.
Recipe Expert Tips
- Use fresh lemons. I can't stress enough on this. Fresh ones will give a more intense lemon flavor to the curd. Never use bottled ones!
- Use low heat. To avoid the eggs from scrambling. I use a double-boiler on low heat. The water should be simmering and not touching the bowl. If you're feeling adventurous, cook the curd in a heavy-bottomed pot directly on low fire.
- Don't stop whisking. This is to avoid the mixture from forming lumps. Although if that happens, strain it later. It'll still be delicious!
- Use a heat-proof glass bowl. This will avoid the unwanted metallic taste from the reaction of the mixture cooking in a metal bowl (and even from using a metal whisk!).
- Strain, if needed. If for some reason your curd has pieces of cooked egg and lumps, or you don't like the zest, no worries. Just strain it before cooling it off. The taste will still be amazing!
How To Store And Freeze
Store - In an air-tight container, it lasts 1-2 weeks in the fridge.
Freeze - Also in an air-tight container, it lasts up to 1 year in the freezer. Yep, very long! I like to freeze in smaller jars so I just take one (smaller amount) at a time. Just thaw it in the fridge and slather it on anything you desire.
Recipe FAQs
It will thicken as it chills in the fridge. But if it still doesn't then your measurements weren't correct (not enough eggs/yolks or too much juice). But don't worry. Heat it, add cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 -2 tablespoon of juice), and mix well until it thickens.
Most probably because the mixture had a reaction to something metallic, either the bowl or the whisk. Use a heat-proof glass bowl and a silicon whisk.
With this recipe's ratio, it shouldn't taste eggy since we're using a combination of whole eggs and egg yolks. Using only egg yolks will have the risk of the curd tasting eggy.
But if it still does taste eggy, it means you've overcooked the mixture. Cook just until it covers the back of a wooden spoon and when you run your finger through it, it stays separated.
More Lemon Recipes
If you tried this Lemon Curd or any other recipe on our website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
How To Make Lemon Curd
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Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ¾ cup (g) lemon juice
- ⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter , cold, and cut into cubes
Instructions
Cook
- Whisk eggs, yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in a heat-proof bowl with a whisk until you get a homogenous mixture. Set aside.
- Cook on a pot of simmering water for 10-15 minutes, until the mixture covers the back of a wooden spoon and when you run your finger through it, it stays separated. The bowl should not be touching the water. Whisk non-stop to prevent lumps.
- Remove from the heat, and immediately add in cold butter. Whisk until the butter is well incorporated into the curd.
Chill
- Cover with a cling film while it's still hot, making sure the cling film touched the top surface of the curd. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Whisk the curd to get a smooth texture and it's ready to use. Or pour it into an air-tight container and keep it back in the fridge. Remember, it'll thicken more as it sits more time in the fridge.
Notes
- If there are any lumps, no worries. Simply strain the lemon curd.
- Make sure the bowl is heat-proof and not touching the simmering water.
- Make sure the water is simmering, not boiling. This will avoid the eggs from getting cooked too fast resulting in egg lumps. But if that happens, simply strain it, no worries.
- The lemon curd will thicken as it sits more time in the fridge.
Originally published on Apr 29, 2018. Updated with improved text and pictures on Jul 3, 2023.
Athena says
Hi there Bea! May I know how long does this curd last in the fridge? Thank you!
Bea says
Hi Athena! It'll last around 3-4 weeks in the fridge, in an air-tight container. Hope it helps!
SANA HASAN says
hi
i am from India
i am in love with your website
i am going to try each rcp one by one
and great to have your calculation tab on the recipe card.
i can surely share our traditional recipes with you too
god bless you
Bea says
Hi Sana! I'm happy that you're enjoying the recipes here. Thank you!
Kim says
Hii!! How much does this recipe make? Do you have the measurements of the ingredients if I only want to do the exact amount of lemon curd for the no bake lemon cheesecake?🥺 I don’t know what to do with the extra curd.
Bea says
Hi Kim! This recipe makes 2 cups. The curd lasts long in the fridge, so no worries 🙂
Maria says
Hi,
How important is it that the butter is unsalted? 🙄
It's difficult to get here in Denmark 😏
Live to hear your thoughts.
Kind regards Maria
Bea says
Hi Maria! Using salted butter in this will leave your lemon curd with a touch of saltiness to it. In general I always buy unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of salt that goes into a recipe (if needed). Hope it help 🙂
Thatchayani says
Hi ! can I add this lemon curd for my lemon cake as the filing? As in in btwn the cakes...
Bea says
Yes you can 😀
Yvonne says
OMG most amazing lemon curd, I've made it with the cheese cake everyone just loves it, Thank you, could I make it to set as a lemon tart if I put gelatine in, would be grateful for your advice, Yvonne.
Bea says
Hi Yvonne! I haven't tried it like that so I can't really say. Sorry!
Delia says
Por favor me podrias decir cuantos huevos son realmente.. gracias
El Mundo Eats says
Hola Delia! Son 2 huevos enteros mas 3 yemas. Un abrazo!