Sweet and sour lemon butter with a creamy and silky smooth consistency. Delicious in cakes, tarts or simply as a spread on a slice of bread.
I have always been skeptical to lemony stuff. Maybe because it reminds me of the double sandwiched lemon buiscuits mom used to buy in large packings when we were younger or maybe it is just something with lemon and baked goods that do not click together. But I was wrong and stupid. Lemon is one of the most delicious flavor you can have in cakes, cookies and other desserts. The first time I tasted lemon curd was when I was making lemon tartlets for my brother-in-law, and on that very first time tasting lemon curd, I fell in love with it.
I have tried many recipes for lemon curd in order to achieve a perfect creamy and silky smooth texture which was not runny and watery. For my very first attempt of making lemon curd, my brother-in-law was not all satisfied with the consistency of the lemon curd and the amount of sugar was also less, but all in all it was not that bad. The second time there was also problems with the consistency which did not seem to hold the shape even though I did put a lot of egg yolks and plenty of corn starch (maizena) and the color turned to be pale rather than yellowish. I tried to put some yellow coloring a few times, but the color either became too intense or too false.
I searched a lot for a good lemon curd recipe on net and in books and all the one I tried turned out to be too runny. I even had to cheat once when the lemon curd was very runny by mixing some vanilla cream to it and actually it was not a bad attempt as my brother-in-law approved it (without knowing what I did to it). Atleast it was holding the shape and had a thick consistency. After a lot of failed attempts, I still did not want to give up. I was determined to find a good recipe and achieve the perfect consistency of lemon curd. A lot of googling resulted in a video-recipe which seemed to be different in the making method than other recipes which were based on cooking all the ingredients together. This method was very different as it started with beating the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale and then adding the egg yolks until blended well just as if you were baking a cake. The creamy mixture was then transferred to a sauce pan and then heated up while stirring constantly. At first it seemed like nothing was happening, but then you can see the creamy mixture change into a creamy curd and it gets thick very quickly so it is best to remove from heat once it gets a little thick.
So was it the perfect lemon curd recipe I was looking for? Yes, this recipe did wonders. The lemon curd turned to be smooth and creamy and had a firm consistency which could be piped out without the use of any corn starch or the like. Only four ingredients (equal amount); sugar, butter, egg yolks and lemon juice, and you have the most delicious lemon curd to use as filling, topping or just on a toasted slice. Finally, I had a recipe which gave me what I wanted and I have used this recipe and method a few times now and it always gives a firm and creamy curd. And it amazes me how pretty and bright yellow color the lemon curd turned into without using any food coloring. The lemon curd was too delicious and I could not stop myself eating from it while it was cooling. However, my brother-in-law and sister thought it should be more sweet, so I will try to add more sugar next time and see how it goes. For me, the sweetness was just perfect according to my taste.
Some lemon curd recipe ask for way too much lemon juice. I have experimented a little and I think about 1/2 dl is the maximum for a recipe with 80-100 g of butter. I add little by little to check the taste and stop adding when the taste is lemony enough to please the palate. Otherwise the taste becomes too intense and too sour. Also remember to always use fresh lemon juice only as the bottled lemon juice is stronger and gives a very sour and bitter taste to the lemon curd which ruins the taste.
So, lemon curd made me fall in love with lemon as a ingedients in baking. Little did I know before tasting this delicious lemon butter that lemon could be amazing as a ingredient in baked stuff. Lemon Meringue Pie is one of my favorite pies now, I remember I ate half of the pie when I made it. So yummilicious! Recipe will come soon.
Makes enough to fill a lemon pie, about 22-24 cm
I N G R E D I E N T S
100 g butter
100 g sugar
100 g egg yolks (about 5)
0,3 - 0,5 dl lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1. Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and pale in color
2. Add in the egg yolks, one at a time, beat until blended well
3. TRansfer the mixture to a medium sized sauce pan and place on medium heat
4. Let heat up while stirring constantly and till it just starts to thicken (do not let it become too thick as it will thicken more when cooling)
5. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl or jar
Let cool and use as desired
Sweet and delicious lemond curd..
with a smooth and creamy texture
So good in cakes, pies and tarts
or just as it is with a spoon!
