I’m so sick of this cold, dreary weather. The sun and warmth is just starting to poke through where I live but not fast enough for me. Maybe we can entice mother nature to let spring come by making something bright and cheery. Let’s make some Lemon Custard (Curd).   

     When I was talking to my sister about making this recipe for my blog, she said “ew…curd???’.  I explained to her that that’s just what they call it and it’s really just a lemon custard. She said “Just call it that.  Curd is a gross word”. You know what? She’s right. “Curd” is not the most appetizing of words and I think it turns people off. Which is sad because lemon custard (curd) is delicious.  So don’t be scared off by the name there is nothing curdled or cheese like about this. It’s just velvety smooth and full of fresh lemon flavor. Perfect for spring.  And wait till you see what we are gonna do with it. So let’s get to the recipe!

   First thing is you are going to bring a pot of shallow water to a simmer.

    Any great recipe starts with prep.  So, let’s start with the eggs because that in my opinion is the hardest.  I really struggle with cracking eggs and keeping the egg yolks whole.  Which for what I usually do, that doesn’t matter, however, for separating eggs, it’s crucial.  Carefully crack your eggs and let them fall into a container.  Then, with your pre washed hands, gently pick up the yolk and let the white fall between your fingers and into the container. There are many other methods for separating eggs.  Some people gently toss the yolk back and forth between their hand to get out the white, some people use a clean empty water bottle to suction the egg yolk out and transfer it, etc.  There are tons of ways.  The one I would not recommend is tossing the yolk back and forth between the two halves of the egg shell.  You run the risk of piercing your yolk on the jagged edges of the egg shell this way.

    Any way you do it, just transfer the yolk into a different bowl and repeat five more times until you have six egg yolks. It’s ok if your egg yolks break once they are in the other bowl. Oh, and save your egg whites for a recipe that I am gonna show you next week. They freeze really well.

    Next we are going to zest one of our lemons. Using a grater or a zester, grate the lemon just down to the white part.  The white part is very bitter so be sure not to grate that part. Just patiantly, zest your whole lemon.  If there are a few parts that you can’t get, don’t worry about those.  You just need about a tablespoon of zest.  Don’t worry too much about the size of your zest. We are going to strain this anyway at the end so its just to impart flavor into the lemon custard 

      Now let’s juice our lemons.  You need enough lemons to get 3/4 cups of juice.  I used 5.  It’ll all depend on the size of your lemons.  Some are just juicier than of others too.

     So again,  like the eggs there are a million and one ways to do this. You could do it by hand, you could use a fork, you could use a juicer, etc. All these methods are good.  Like I said, I used a juicer but I wasn’t getting all the juice out of the lemons that I could(Not the juicers fault. I’m weak.) so I started them with the juicer than squeezed them by hand.  I also cut up the butter and added the sugar at this stage too.

      Once the water comes to a simmer, place a heat-safe bowl on the top of the pot.  I’m using a double boiler but either method works fine. Add all the ingredients all at once to that top bowl.  Stir continuously for about 5 minutes or until the butter melts. The reason that we are cooking this in a double boiler is because this, like a cheesecake, is a custard.  Custards need to cook gently because there are so many eggs.  If they cook more harshly the eggs will scramble.  Lemon is lovely, but lemon scrambled eggs? Not so lovely.

     Stir for about 10 more minutes or until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

       Turn off the heat and transfer this mixture to a heatproof bowl with a fine mesh sieve on top. Work that though with your spoon or rubber spatula to catch any seeds that could have made it into your lemon juice, the zest from the lemon and/or any egg yolk that may have cooked.  Cover this with plastic wrap touching the surface of the custard so it doesn’t develop a skin on top.  Place in the fridge for two hours to cool.

     So there you go, guys. A fresh, bright, velvety-smooth topping or flavoring for just about anything you want: Filling for cakes or pies, topping for iced cream, flavoring for cheesecakes or frostings…….. I could go on and on. The possibilities are endless.  Do some experimenting.  Don’t be afraid of food. The worst that will happen is it’s not good. No harm done.  Although, I don’t know what you could put this on that wouldn’t be good!  Till next time.  Happy Baking 🙂

Lemon Custard (Curd)

Yield: 2 Cups

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

A brown lemon flavored custard for your pies, bars, or just as a topping.

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Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice I used 5 lemons (depends on the size)
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
• 6 Egg Yolks
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 Stick Unsalted Butter

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of shallow water to a simmer. While that is coming to a boil, prep ingredients.
2. Put all ingredients in a separate bowl and place that bowl on top of the pot with the simmering water. Make sure the water is not touching the bottom of the other bowl. Use a double boiler if you have it.
3. Stir continuously until the butter melts.
4. Continue stirring until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of your spoon.
5. Turn off the heat and strain the mixture though a fine mesh sieve to get out any egg yolk that may have cooked, seeds that could have gotten in when you prepped the lemon juice and also the lemon zest. Put the sieve into a shallow container so that the lemon curd strains into that.
6. Cover the container with plastic wrap touching the surface of the lemon curd.
7. Place in the fridge for 2 hours to cool.

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Graham Cracker Crust

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