This healthy lemon curd has all the rich lemony goodness of regular lemon curd with fewer calories and a little less fat. Use it for lemon tarts, on pancakes, or as a filling for layer cakes.
I've never before attempted a custard or curd (always afraid of scrambling the eggs), but the video and clear instructions made it seem so ridiculously easy that I gave it a try. Glad I did - it IS ridiculously easy! The curd came out fantastic, with the lemon tartness coming through even better the second day. The family and I all loved it, and I'll be making this again often, although with less sugar since it's a bit sweet for my personal preference (I don't normally have sugar, so don't go by my preference - stick to the recipe!) Update 4 weeks later: I just put my fourth batch of curd in the fridge (lime this time) and now tweak it to match my personal taste (only 6 Tbsp of sugar, 2 Tbsp of butter, and 2 to 3 Tbsp of zest). This is now a staple in my house.
Read MoreNormally, I LOVE Chef John's recipe. This one, however, tanked. The metal bowl is a huge NO NO. Use a pyrex bowl and a silicone whisk for the recipe to turn out fine. If you use any metal while making lemon curd, it gives a horrible metallic flavor that you commonly find in commercially available lemon curd.
Read MoreI've never before attempted a custard or curd (always afraid of scrambling the eggs), but the video and clear instructions made it seem so ridiculously easy that I gave it a try. Glad I did - it IS ridiculously easy! The curd came out fantastic, with the lemon tartness coming through even better the second day. The family and I all loved it, and I'll be making this again often, although with less sugar since it's a bit sweet for my personal preference (I don't normally have sugar, so don't go by my preference - stick to the recipe!) Update 4 weeks later: I just put my fourth batch of curd in the fridge (lime this time) and now tweak it to match my personal taste (only 6 Tbsp of sugar, 2 Tbsp of butter, and 2 to 3 Tbsp of zest). This is now a staple in my house.
I just made this lemon curd and it turned out scrumptious! Cooling now in the frig! Lots of lemony tartness and so pretty! Mine was a lot more yellow, but I used fresh country eggs from my neighbor. Beautiful dark yellow yolks. I've been wanting to make this a long time and decided today was the day as I was afraid my bag of lemons would ruin before I could use them all. BTW, it took 4 lemons to make 2/3 cup of juice. Thought it might help others to know how many lemons to start with. Guess it also depends on how big they are, etc. Hope this helps! MAKE this recipe! You won't be disappointed.
So tart and delicious! You can't go wrong with Chef a John recipes and this is no exception. I needed to use up some egg yolks after making meringues so I used six yolks instead of the whole eggs called for and had no problems. I've never made a custard or curd before so I was nervous but this lemon curd turned out perfectly. So so lemony and tart and creamy. I needed seven large lemons to get the called for amount. I used 4 zested lemons. I had no issues with it not thickening up. I did let it set overnight. I paired it with the Gold cake from this site and a simple glaze. It is perfect, light fresh and summery.
I have never made lemon curd before, but now I make it a lot! So easy and delicious. Last year had a load of lemons and froze the juice in ice trays. I'm making this now with fresh juice from freezer.
I'm going to preface this by saying I've never had lemon curd so I don't know if this is normal but This came out VERY sweet! As it was my first time making this or any other lemon curd I resisted the urge to reduce or replace any of the sugar in the recipe and made it as written. It turned out a lovely consistency and was nice and lemon-y just too sweet.Got four stars because i am unaware if that's how it should be and because I would try again with much less sugar
I added additional zest for a more lemony flavor, and dispensed with the 'double boiler', instead cooking in a non stick saucepan with a non metallic whisk. Delish!
First of all, I'd never had lemon curd before. Truth be told, up until a couple of years ago, I was a lemon dessert hater; ever since I first tasted lemon meringue pie that my grandmother just loved... Anyhow, this recipe and and the method is flawless. No need to mix the butter with the lemon eggs and sugar in a mixer first as I read else where. I used lime instead of lemon (a little less than 1/2 cup fresh squeezed key lime juice) and added a little water (too much actually, instead of 2/3 cup liquid I accidentally used 3/4 cup liquid). Anyhow this worked perfectly, and this is coming from someone who likes to cook, but had never made lemon curd or hollandaise (sp) sauce.
I've made this recipe a few times. Love it! I use slightly less sugar. I make it in the microwave, in increments of 30 sec. and then whisk in between. Works great every time. Typically, I crumble pieces of meringue shells into a stemmed glass, top with the lemon curd, and add a few berries. Great dessert!
Normally, I LOVE Chef John's recipe. This one, however, tanked. The metal bowl is a huge NO NO. Use a pyrex bowl and a silicone whisk for the recipe to turn out fine. If you use any metal while making lemon curd, it gives a horrible metallic flavor that you commonly find in commercially available lemon curd.
I had lost my favorite lemon curd recipe. This is pretty much it. Glad I found it. Don't change a thing.
Mine did not look as creamy as the video but it still turned out delicious. I think I mixed for more than 10 minutes. Good arm workout!
Fantastic! I made it first with Lemons according to the recipe. Creamy, tart, delicious. Later I made it from an abundance of limes. I also reduced the butter to 4 TBS. Better than Key lime pie filling. Outstanding mixed with plain greek yogurt, or on an english muffin (or straight off the spoon...just sayin').
Excellent and easy to make. I used it as filling in a lemon cake. Awesome. It did take longer to thicken...but worth the time.
This recipe was easy and delicious. The texture and tartness of the curd were just right for me.
followed every direction YUCK. maybe because it as in a metal bowl in cooling stage it all tasted like metal!
I only had bottled lemon juice, and no fresh lemons for zest, and it was still great. Don't decrease the sugar or it will be too tart. I decreased butter to 4 TBSP and I couldn't tell the difference. Be careful not to cook to long or high or the egg whites will still fry.
I added more lemon juice, zest and 1 more egg and we loved it. I'll be making this again and using it in a coconut crust lemon tart!! Yumm
I used salted butter. It was still really tangy and good. My daughter liked the saltiness of the butter. Really easy to make as well.
I loved it. It has lots of flavor without being overpowering. I made the tarts from puffed pastry like his other recipe and it turned out really good too. I love the light and airy texture. I tried adding some cool whip to get a lighter lemon flavor and it was a hit as well. This recipe is a keeper.
Excellent recipe! The only change I made was cutting the butter 2 spoons, and it was just delicious =) making some poppy seed pound cake to go with this!
This is a wonderful recipe--I think it is a little more tart than other recipes and you can really taste the lemon. Love it!
It tastes really good and easy to make! But mine is more yellow colored and looks less creamy. I could not get the curd to turn pale no matte how long it was cooked. What did I do wrong?
Really good. Easier than the recipe I used before. I used a little more lemon juice as I wanted real pucker power. Wish it was a little thicker but that was probably due to the extra juice I added. You can't go wrong with Chef John.
I would give it more stars if I could. This is such a great recipe and needs no tweaks!
Wow!! I had to use 1/2 lime and 1/2 lemon juice (and, ugh, I used 2 real limes and the rest was from the little lime and lemon from the back of the fridge!). It was all I had :( ANYWAY...this is absolutely delicious and so incredibly easy to make! Just about when I was ready to give up stirring, it was ready. It tastes soooo good warm, I can barel y wait to try it cold in a parfait with whipped cream and lemon cake pieces. Yum!
Great recipe for lemon curd, but it is fairly tart so if that isn't your cup of tea have it with some fruit or as part of a desert.
I've perfected this for my home made yogurt! Make it! See pic! Best set up. Sugar 6 TBS Butter 4TBS All else same except I blended sugar and eggs, then SLOWLY added lemon juice while whisking!! delish!! I used a saucepan inside of another plastic whisk. ! I doubled recipe!!
DO NOT MAKE THIS IN A METAL BOWL. I know the instructions say specifically to use a metal mixing bowl--but please don't! It will give your lemon curd a really odd metallic taste. Learn from my mistake, and use a glass mixing bowl to avoid that weird flavor. Other than that, follow the recipe just like Chef John says, and you'll get a great lemon curd (if you use a glass bowl!).
This is awesome. I've never made anything in a double boiler before and Chef John makes everything seem so easy so I tried this recipe. It went exactly how he said it would. The result is tart and tangy yet plenty sweet, a beautiful yellow, smooth and creamy with a wonderful lemon taste. I used it this morning on Chef John's Lemon Ricotta Pancakes and loved both!
Very easy and comes together really quick. Just make sure you have everything ready/measured out before you start. I only used 6 Table spoons of sugar, and it was perfect.
So easy and was absolutely delicious. It certainly didn't taste light! I followed the recipe as is but next time I will reduce the sugar. I made mini parfaits with the curd with freshly whipped cream with no added sugar. Got raves.
I made this for the first time because I was looking for a way to use meyer lemons, which I love. This recipe used the juice of three meyer lemons. I don't know if its my zester or the lemons, but I couldn't get much zest off the meyer lemons. They have a softer peel. But it didn't matter because the curd turned out plenty lemony. I did cut back a bit on the sugar and butter, so it might be a tad more tart than it would have been, but it's still delicious. I did notice I had a few eggy bits. Is that because the heat was too high? Or because I might have paused too long during the whisking phase? Now I have to figure out how to serve all this lemony goodness! What are some of the ways you've served lemon curd?
I've tried many recipes and this is by far the absolute best - trust me, look no further! I left out the zest, as I prefer a completely smooth consistency. This is perfect for biscuits, scones, cake filling or as I like it, just with a spoon! Thanks again Chef John!
Smooth,lemony rich flavor with the right amount of tartness. Found so many uses. Perfect Easter desert starters. SRS
Sweet, tart, delicious. Use recipe exactly as written. I'm making lemon danishes tomorrow and this curd will be the star.
Made it according to the directions, turned out beautifully. An excellent lemon curd recipe
I made this to add between the layers of a lemon cake. It was really good and tart.
Very good as written. I also made it using orange juice and zest instead of lemon. I reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup and it was very good! We use it to flavor plain yogurt! Thanks Chef John!
There is a perfect collusion of the lemon trees and the holidays but there are soooooo many lemons and so little time. I hate seeing the fruit wasted and wanted a delicious easy fast and with any grace a giftable solution and this is it. I used Kerry Gold Irish butter, the 'perfectly salted' kind because I had it. It tasted brilliant. Also, my kitchen is in transition so instead of whisking things together in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water, I had to simmer water in my cast iron frying pan and use my wok to whisk together the ingredients. Worked fabulous. I plan on making it a holiday tradition, wok and all.
This was an easy recipe to make and turned out so good! I would recommend this recipe to everyone.
As usual, a perfect recipe from Chef John. I do cut the sugar a bit, just a matter of taste. I also sometimes press the lemon mixture through a fine sieve to make smooth, not a necessity. My son loved lemon tarts from La Madeleine, until he tasted this. Makes great tarts, cake filling; and spread for fresh scones.
Followed the recipe as is. Nice and smooth and tart! Used as cake filling.
Fabulous. My mouth is watering thinking about putting more in my mouth. Yum.
Very easy to make, my family and friends loved it. I would definitely make this again. Yummy good.
This was the easiest, tastiest lemon curd I've ever had. I've made it several times now (always doubling or tripling the recipe). I've used Meyer lemons when they were in season and they're my favourite. I use a metal bowl/whisk and have never had any metallic aftertaste as I read in one review. I've frozen the extra zest from the lemons, and while I can get the Meyer lemons now, I'll be juicing them and freezing the juice.
12.24.20 In a word EXCELLENT, the best lemon curd I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a few. It did take about 18 minutes to really thicken, but that could be that I had the heat way too low. I cut the sugar back from 3/4 cup to 2/3 cup, and although still sweet, it still had that traditional tartness. This will be my “go-to” for the future.
I LOVE IT! It was so delicious on my dessert. It was too watery for me, next time I would add less liquids but other than that I would love to make it again!
I made half the recipe since I only had 2 lemons. while the conversions were tricky it did work and is very tasty.
I always wanted to make a lemon curd. This was easy and tastes great. Most of the time I make something “lemon” and can’t taste much lemon. This is perfect. Trying to decide if it’s going on cheesecake, cookies, danish or just a spoon!!
WOW! Did I actually make this delicious topping? I made exactly like the recipe. If it lemony, if you are lemon shy, keep that in mind. Yumo!
I followed directions exactly and it came out perfect! the curd is a little sweet for me, but I'm used to lower sugar diet since my husband is diabetic. I'll reduce the sugar to half a cup next time. everything else was spot on. oh and it took 3 large lemons to get the 2/3 cup of lemon juice. delicious and much lower in calories than many of the other recipes I have seen.
It looked wonderful and then I tasted it. Metal. With as many recipes of Chef John's I have made with success, I guess I can't complain about 1 failure. As another review said, I will try again with a pyrex bowl or just not use an actual double boiler pan. Wish me luck!
