I made some lemon curd this week as thank you gifts for our Thanksgiving hosts.
I like making this back in NZ, as it's feels like a good way to use up some of the lemons that would otherwise be mown over in the back yard, even though you only use up about 2 lemons and 500gm of butter (ok, that's a slight exaggeration). But it still seems a good thing to make here, as even though lemons are like buying citrus gold, the free-range eggs here are next to nothing (well, compared to home).
I forgot to bring my usual lemon curd recipe with me to Boston, but after a search high and low on the trusty www, I came across this recipe which fit the bill - i.e. unlike others didn't extravagantly use 5 egg yolks (eggs aren't
that cheap). And given that the recipe also told me the temperature to get the curd to, it gave me a good excuse to use the confectionery thermometer I bought ages ago (somehow I convinced Carl we needed one), for the very first time. Which I can report, works a treat.
Lemon Curd
3 large eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
1 tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces.
In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended.
Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. -
This stage always, always takes me about 20 mins.
Remove from heat. Whisk butter into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools.
Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.
Makes 1 1/2 cups (360 ml).
Recipe from
here
