This lemon curd is tangy, creamy, and bursting with bright citrus flavor. It's made of only five simple ingredients and four easy steps. It's perfectly smooth and thick. The richness from the butter and eggs balances the acidity from the lemon. It's the perfect spread and filling for cakes, tarts, pies, and breakfast items like scones. If you like lemon, you will LOVE this recipe. It's so much tastier than store bought and is so easy to make too.
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🍋 Why you'll LOVE this recipe
- Easy: 5 simple ingredients (one of them is salt) and 4 easy steps.
- Thick & creamy: The texture is thick, lusciously silky, and creamy.
- Bright & tangy: The flavor is bright, citrusy, zesty, and tangy.
If you love lemon curd you should try this tangy raspberry curd! It's just as creamy and thick, but packed full of bright raspberry flavor.
📝 Key ingredients
Read through for all the tips you will need for success!
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below.
- Butter: Good quality unsalted butter will give you the best flavor and texture. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free butter substitute.
- Eggs: You will need three eggs - two yolks and one whole egg - for this recipe.
- Lemons: You'll need 2-3 lemons for this recipe. My lemons were huge so I only needed 2.
- Salt: This helps the lemon flavor pop.
👩🍳 How to make lemon curd
Step 1: In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, egg and yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Whisk until smooth and no pieces of eggs remain.
TIP: Use a non-metal saucepan like a ceramic coated one to prevent the curd from having a metallic flavor if you prefer.
Step 2: Heat on medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from burning. Cook until thickened and bubbling.
Step 3: Take the curd off the heat and immediately transfer (or strain if lumpy) into a non-metal heat safe container or jar. Add cold cubed butter, and stir. Let the butter melt, stir or whisk until smooth.
Step 4: Cover by placing a piece of parchment paper or wrap directly on the surface of the curd. This will prevent a skin from forming on top. Refrigerate until chilled (about 1-2 hours). The curd will thicken up some more.
📝 Expert fruit curd tips
- Stir the curd frequently when cooking to prevent it from burning or becoming lumpy.
- Strain the curd if you want an extra smooth curd.
- Store the curd in a non-metal container like a glass bowl or mason jar. This will prevent it from getting a metallic aftertaste.
- Press plastic wrap (or parchment paper) right onto the surface of the curd to prevent it from forming a skin.
- Chill before serving to further thicken the curd.
🥄 Make ahead and storage
Lemon curd will keep in the fridge in an airtight container or jar for up to one week.
To keep it for longer, store in an airtight container or bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for an hour. Stir until smooth and serve.
🍴 Serving suggestions
It's the perfect spread for breakfast items like toast, scones and filling for cakes, cupcakes, tarts, and pies.
Here are some fun recipes for you to try that use this recipe:
- Lemon tiramisu. Cooked curd replaces raw eggs to create the creamiest, tangy tiramisu.
- Lemon curd cookies. They're like lemon crinkle cookies with gooey curd in the middles.
- Victoria sponge filled with curd and whipped cream
- Lemonade bundt cake with a curd filling and tangy glaze
✔️ How to fix lumpy fruit curd
There are two ways to fix a lumpy curd:
- Strain the curd into the bowl once it's cooked. This will result in a thinner curd.
- Blend with an immersion blender or in a standing blender. This will result in a thicker curd.
To prevent it from becoming lumpy, whisk and stir the curd frequently as it cooks and don't cook it on high heat.
❔ Is this curd thick enough for a pie?
This recipe makes the perfect tart filling because a tart only needs a thin layer. It would make the perfect set but gooey filling.
I wouldn't use a thick layer of it in a pie because it will be hard to slice and will not hold its shape well. I recommend adding a teaspoon of cornstarch and substituting one of the yolks with a whole egg if using it for a pie.
📖 Recipe FAQs
You only need to strain it if it turns out a bit lumpy, or if you want to remove the lemon zest from inside the curd.
This recipe has the perfect thickness. It's not too thick where it's jelled up and it's not too thin where it drips off of everything. It holds its shape while still being gloopy.
To make it thicker, substitute one of the yolks with a whole egg.
You don't need to, but it will help prevent a skin from forming on top of the lemon curd. This is also done with custard for the same reason.
Yes you can. Substitute the butter with dairy free butter. Don't use a butter spread or margarine because they stay soft when chilled, and the lemon curd won't set and thicken up in the fridge.
Make sure to cook the curd until thickened and bubbling. Stir it frequently with a rubber spatula or whisk to make sure it doesn't get lumpy. Once it's cooked, add cold butter and stir until it melts and becomes smooth. Once chilled, the butter will firm up and create a thick curd.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Curd
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- ⅓ cup lemon juice from about 2 lemons
- 1 lemon zested
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup butter cold and cubed
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, egg and yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Whisk until smooth and no pieces of eggs remain. *Use a non-metal saucepan like a ceramic coated one to prevent the curd from having a metallic flavor if you prefer*2 large egg yolks, 1 large egg, ⅛ teaspoon sea salt, ⅔ cup sugar, ⅓ cup lemon juice, 1 lemon zested
- Heat on medium-low heat, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from burning. Cook until thickened and bubbling.
- Take the curd off the heat and immediately transfer (or strain if lumpy) into a non-metal heat safe container or jar. Add cold cubed butter, and stir. Let the butter melt, stir or whisk until smooth.
- Cover by placing a piece of parchment paper or wrap directly on the surface of the curd. This will prevent a skin from forming on top. Refrigerate until chilled (about 1-2 hours). The curd will thicken up some more.⅓ cup butter
Video
Notes
- Stir the curd frequently when cooking to prevent it from burning or becoming lumpy.
- Strain the curd if you want an extra smooth curd.
- Store the curd in a non-metal container like a glass bowl or mason jar. This will prevent it from getting a metallic aftertaste.
- Press plastic wrap (or parchment paper) right onto the surface of the curd to prevent it from forming a skin.
- Chill before serving to further thicken the lemon curd.
Kaiden Taylor
Hello, I was going to make some lemon curd to snack on later and realized I do not have cubed butter, only vegetable oil spread, any advice on how to make this work?
Mary
It will work, but it'll just be on the softer side because oil spreads are usually softer than butter. Make sure it isn't too salty and omit the salt in the recipe to account for that.
Mika
Hi Mary. I just bought the ingredients to make the lemon tiramisu. I'm a bit nervous with the lemon curd though, as even if I'm a good baker generally, lemon curd doesn't seem to like my hands effort for some reason. I read all tips and tricks from you.
I'm a bit unsure of how long (time wise) should I keep it on heat for. Until it thickens it's a bit vague for me, so kindly asking how long does it take you normally, so I have a general idea. Is it 2-3 minutes? Is it 10-15?
Many thanks in advance!
Mary
I let it cook until I see it bubbling! And then a minute or two after it bubbles. It will thicken a lot, and have a custard consistency. Hope that helps - you can do it!
Elizabeth
I just made this and i am OBSESSED. I used to think I didn’t like lemon curd, but I had only had store bought. This yields something that is tangy, rich, delicious and is just wonderful.