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This creamy, delicious and tangy homemade lemon curd is the perfect thing to make when you have a few lemons laying around. You only need four ingredients and ten minutes of cooking time. Smother this homemade lemon curd on buttermilk biscuits, my vanilla pound cake or on top limoncello tiramisu.
When life gives you lemons, make homemade lemon curd! (Or limoncello, if you need something stronger.) Homemade lemon curd is WAY better than the store-bought version. And it couldn’t be easier. Let’s dive in.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Homemade Lemon Curd
- Lemons. I love using regular lemons for this. Meyers don’t have enough acidity. We want that pucker!
- Eggs. This recipe uses egg yolks and the full eggs. This will give the lemon curd nice body and a rich, thick texture.
- Sugar. I like using plain, granulated sugar. We’re going for clean, simple flavors!
- Butter. The richness comes from butter too. We’re adding it right at the end and it just adds the silkiest texture.
For the exact ingredient measurements, please see the recipe index card below!
How to Make Homemade Lemon Curd
- Pour the lemon curd into a saucepan and reduce it to 1/3 cup. You can eyeball this. I like to do simmer it for about 5 minutes.
2. Beat the sugar and butter together until it looks like this:
3. Whisk in the lemon juice, egg yolks, eggs and salt.
4. Nestle this bowl atop a saucepan that’s filled with a few inches of water. And cook for about 10 minutes. It will look separated and you may scratch your head but trust the process! It will come together.
5. I like to pour it through a strainer to get any eggy bits out.
6. Press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and transfer it to the fridge to chill.
Uses for Homemade Lemon Curd
Lemon curd is so versatile; it’s so delicious on pancakes, crepes and more! Here are a few ideas to use up this lemon curd:
Recipe FAQs
When lemon curd is stored in airtight container in the fridge, it lasts up to two weeks.
Yep! Feel free to use limes, oranges or meyer lemons.
I love these lemon posssets, lemon cake, and these lemon crinkle cookies.
More Cozy Breakfast Recipes
Quick and Easy
Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
Desserts
Meyer Lemon Blueberry Cornbread
Desserts
Lemon Loaf
Homemade Lemon Curd
Equipment
- 1 small saucepan
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup lemon juice juice, (from 3 lemons)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- To a saucepan, placed over medium heat, simmer the lemon juice until it reduces by half (to about 1/3 cup). I always eyeball this and it's always a-ok! Rinse it out and fill it with a few inches of water and set it aside. We're going to use this later.
- In a heatproof bowl that fits into the saucepan, add the butter and sugar and beat together.
- Add the egg yolks and add the eggs, beating until combined. Stir in salt and add the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled and you might scratch your head and wonder if itโs right, it will be!
- Bring the water in the saucepan to a simmer and place your stainless steel bowl of curd mixture on top. Stir constantly, and heat the curd slowly enough that the sugar has time to dissolve and the whole mess becomes cohesive; this step usually takes about 10 minutes. The curd will thicken as it cools.
- Pour the curd through a strainer into a bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the curd. Transfer the curd to a container a keep in the fridge.
Notes
- Limoncello Tiramisu
- Lemon Coconut Cake
- Lemon Berry Meringue Trifle
- Black Sesame Thumbprint Cookies
- Meringues with Fruit
- Use other citrus juice in place of lemon juice such as: key lime juice, lime juice, orange juice or grapefruit juice.ย
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
