Lemon Curd
Lemon curd is a wonderful lemony, smooth, rich mixture that is used in tarts, cakes, or simply as a delicious accompaniment to scones. Traditional recipes called for a double boiler, but we found that the cooking process could be expedited by cooking over a direct flame in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Lemon Curd
| Yield: 1 pint | # of Servings: 12 | Difficulty: Moderate |
Ingredients
¾ cup (6 fl oz) fresh lemon juice
2 ¼ tsp grated lemon rind
1 cup (7 oz / 198 g) sugar
9 large egg yolks
12 tbl (6 oz / 170 g) butter, cold, cut into cubes
Special tools and equipment:
- Heavy bottomed three-quart saucepan
- Instant read thermometer
Pre-recipe preparations:
- Rinse the lemons well and let dry prior to grating the rind
Directions
- In three-quart saucepan, whisk together the lemon juice, rind, sugar, and egg yolks until well blended. Stir in the butter cubes.
- Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring continually with a heat-proof spatula, until it thickens to the consistency of thick heavy cream, about 10 minutes. It should register 185 °F on an instant read thermometer.
- Pour into a non-reactive (not aluminum) container. Press a piece of plastic film against the top of the cooked curd to prevent a skin from forming, and refrigerate overnight.
- Keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.