Lemon Curd Recipe
Who doesn’t love delicious lemon curd? With it’s bright and zingy taste our homemade recipe is sure to tickle your taste buds.
Lemon curd makes a wonderful filling for cakes, as our baking & floral expert Janet Berry shows us how.
The History Of Lemon Curd
Lemon Curd, as we know it today, isn’t how our ancestries knew it.
Originally English and dating back to the early 1800’s, lemon curd was first made by adding lemon juice to curdled milk until it separated and the curds and whey were then drained through cheesecloth to separate both products.
The curds, (which is very similar to cream cheese / cottage cheese), would then be used for savoury and sweet dishes. In the UK the most popular dish using curd is Yorkshire Curd Tart and cheesecakes.
Fruit curds became popular in the 1900’s, there are fruit curds, fruit cheeses and fruit curd custards – so what is the difference?
Cheese – Cheeses are similar to curds, however they are cooked to a stiffer consistency and are set in small moulds
Curds- These contain eggs and butter in addition to fruit and sugar and strictly speaking, curds are not a true preserve as the temperature reached during cooking is very low and it will only keep well for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Lemon Curd Recipe
Makes about 2 1/4lb
4-5 Un-waxed lemons – 225ml / 8floz juice
175g (6oz ) Butter
550g ( 1 1/4lb ) Sugar
4 eggs ( 225ml / 8floz )
1- Wash the fruit and finely grate the lemon rind from the lemons
2- Squeeze the juice and use 8floz
3- place the butter, sugar, rind and juice into a double saucepan or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water
4- Cook gently until the sugar has dissolved, some people strain at this point, however, I like to get bits of rind in my curd
5- Beat the eggs well and strain onto the other ingredients and carry on cooking over a low heat in the double boiler until the mixture coats the back of a spoon
6 – Pour into warmed sterilised jars
Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Remember, if you are making this for a client’s cake then you must check out with your local EHO if you are allowed to use home made curds as some areas may not permit it.
Once you have tried Lemon, why not try homemade Orange, Tangerine, Apple Lemon, Lime, Mixed Fruits and even Gooseberry?
Watch out for Jan’s next recipe – Elderflower Cordial, a perfect match with this cake!
