I was recently gifted some beautiful lemons from a lovely girl at work. She has a tree at home (that’s obviously growing a lot better than mine. Mine has one lonely little lemon. That is persistently staying green. Maybe it’s a lime?! Gardening is so not my forte) that’s growing an abundance of lemons and happily brings me bagfuls. Literally, bagfuls.
So I use them for sauces and dressings and with the rest, I make curd. To fill my cakes with, to put inside tarts, to spread on pastries, to eat with a spoon…
I gifted her a jar of curd, as a thank you for her lemons. And in doing so, I realised what a lovely Christmas gift a jar of homemade curd or preserves can make!
If you are into the sort of thing and looking for some other baked-gift ideas for the holidays, check out my scorched almond nougat, gingerbread men, or chocolate peppermint truffles.
This is my favourite way to make curd. Almost all the ingredients get heated over a bain marie, then the butter gets whizzed in with a stick blender. If you don’t have one, or are feeling lazy and can’t be bothered getting yours dirty, feel free to use a whisk, but your curd probably won’t be as pale or light.
- 220g caster (superfine) sugar (1 cup)
- 200g whole egg (about 4 large eggs)
- Zest of 4 lemons, finely grated
- 160ml lemon juice (3/4 cup)
- 300g unsalted butter (10½ oz)
- Cube the butter and place it in a large bowl. Place a fine mesh sieve over the top and set aside. Have a stick blender at the ready.
- Whisk together the sugar and eggs in a large heatproof bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice and whisk to combine.
- Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk gently but continuously, until the mixture reaches 80 C (175 F) on a thermometer.
- Take the curd of the heat and pour it through the strainer, over the butter.
- Once all the curd has been passed through the sieve, remove the sieve and use a stick blender to blend the curd into the butter until well combined.
- Place a piece of cling film over the curd, directly over the surface, and refrigerate overnight.
- Can be used in tarts, cakes, spread on toast and pastries, or gifted. Freezes well, too.
- Keep refrigerated. Makes 3 - 4 cups.
- Happy baking!
Recipe adapted from Pierre Herme via Dorie Greenspan.