Homemade Organic Lemon Curd With Egg Yolks

This Homemade Organic Lemon Curd With Egg Yolks is easy and simple to make with just 4 ingredients! This lemon curd uses egg yolks (not whole eggs) for a thicker, silkier texture. Cook it over a double boiler until it coats the back of a spoon (~10 min), then stir in butter and chill. You can use homemade lemon curd for so many things including waffles, pancakes, cake fillings, cookie fillings, and more.

If you love lemon as much as I do, check out some of my favorite lemon recipes like Lemon Rosemary Sourdough Bread, Organic Pink Lemonade, Lemon Blueberry Protein Cookies With Collagen, Best Meyer Lemon Pound Cake, or Meyer Lemon Pancakes.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Organic: When you make Homemade Organic Lemon Curd with egg yolks so you can feel good about pure ingredients!
• Better Than Store Bought: Making your own homemade organic lemon curd with egg yolks is fun and easy. This simple ingredient doesn't take long and it's truly a treat when you take the time to make it at home.
• Naturally Colorful: I love homemade lemon curd because it is so naturally colorful! This bright yellow and zesty ingredient brings flavor and color to any dish.
• Use on Everything: Homemade lemon curd can be used for so many things! Fill cakes, cookies, add to frostings, top pancakes, waffles, toast and so much more.

What is lemon curd?

Lemon curd is a tangy and creamy spread or sauce made from a mixture of lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and butter. It has a smooth and velvety texture with a bright, citrusy flavor that is both sweet and tart. Lemon curd is cooked on the stovetop until it thickens, allowing the eggs and butter to bind with the lemon juice and sugar, creating a luscious custard-like consistency.

Lemon curd from scratch (or store bought) can be used in many different ways, such as a filling for cakes, tarts, and pastries. You can also use it as a topping for scones, waffles, and French toast. Lemon curd adds a burst of vibrant flavor to any dish and is beloved for its refreshing taste and creamy texture.

Ingredients

• Eggs: Use large eggs, you'll just need the yolks. You can save the whites for making Green Tea French Macarons or Chocolate French Macarons, cook them up for your dog, or add to your morning scramble.
• Cane Sugar: I use organic cane sugar, which is less processed than granulated white sugar.
• Lemon: You'll need a fresh lemon for both the juice and the zest.
• Butter: I use organic salted butter, but unsalted is fine too. Just add a little pinch of salt to the lemon curd if using unsalted. And, make sure to choose a sweet cream butter which is best for lemon curd as it has a mild and buttery flavor. European butter or cultured butter can have more of a tang, which can result in a more sour flavor.

*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Baker's Tips

• Always weigh sugar for the best results.
• Use a glass or metal bowl for the double boiler. I prefer glass over metal as glass will heat more evenly and is non reactive with foods. This means no weird taste as it won't affect this as it's a food with acidity.
• You can use regular lemons or Meyer lemons, either works. Traditional lemons will give you more of a tart flavor while Meyer lemons are sweeter.
• You can also use oranges for homemade orange curd too!
• Make sure to whisk while the mixture is cooking, this will prevent clumps from forming so you have a smooth lemon curd.
• You can strain lemon curd before chilling if you are new to making this and want to ensure it's silky smooth.
• Make sure to press plastic onto the lemon curd while it's setting to prevent a skin from forming.
• Store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week (or freeze for up to 3 months).

How to Make Homemade Organic Lemon Curd With Egg Yolks

1. Juice and zest the lemon.

2. Add the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest into a heat proof bowl.

3. Fill a small saucepan a third of the way with water, and place the bowl on top. Heat on medium heat, and whisk the mixture to avoid clumps from forming. Continue to whisk until the mixture has reduced by about one third, and it coats the back of a spoon, it should take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Chop the butter into small pieces, and add into the egg mixture.

5. Stir to combine completely.

6. Transfer to a glass jar or bowl and add a piece of plastic wrap over the top to prevent a skin from forming. Make sure to press the plastic wrap directly top the lemon curd to prevent a skin from forming. Allow to set in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

10 Ways to Use Homemade Organic Lemon Curd With Egg Yolks

1. Fill Thumbprint Cookies

You can use any thumbprint cookie recipe like my Coconut Lemon Thumbprint Cookies or The Best Jam Thumbprint Cookie Recipe. The thing to remember when filling thumbprint cookies with lemon curd, is you want to bake the cookies first, do not fill them. Then, when they come out of the oven, use a teaspoon and place it into the center of the thumbprint to indent it more, (as when you bake a thumbprint with the indent but nothing inside, it can puff up). So that's a trick for you! As soon as they are cooled, you can fill them with Lemon Curd. Just be sure to store cookies with lemon curd in the fridge.

2. Use For Cake Filling

If you are using this as a cake filling, you will still need buttercream frosting. Check out How to Stack a Layer Cake with Filling for all the tips and tricks to use a soft filling like lemon curd inside a layer cake. Try it with vanilla cake and Honey Buttercream Frosting!

3. Top Toast!

Lemon curd makes an amazing topping for toast! I love toast, it is my favorite thing ever to eat, and lemon curd is amazing on top of any kind of toast or bagels. Try it with Homemade Sesame Bagels, Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, or Lemon Rosemary Sourdough Bread. You can also top it with fresh blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries for a delicious and fruity breakfast.

4. Top Waffles, French Toast & Pancakes

Lemon curd is an amazing topping for homemade waffles, French toast or pancakes. Try adding it on top of Meyer Lemon Pancakes, Homemade Blueberry Waffles Without Eggs, or Eggless Sourdough Waffles.

5. Fill Sandwich Cookies

You can use any sandwich cookie recipe you like. Just remember that lemon curd needs to be refrigerated, so if you make sandwich cookies, then they need to be stored in the fridge. Try it in place of vanilla frosting in Homemade Vanilla Oreo Cookies.

6. Add to Homemade Ice Cream

Use it in homemade ice cream. You can add it into the ice cream when it's still churning, or you can swirl it in when you're transferring it to the container.

7. Swirl into Whipped Cream

Swirl it into homemade Homemade Organic Whipped Cream, you can use it as a topping for cakes and pies, or just dip strawberries and fresh fruit into it.

8. Add to Salad Dressing

Add lemon curd to salad dressing. If you make your own salad dressing and often use lemon juice, you can also use lemon curd!

9. Use in Cocktails

Add it into cocktails. If you're looking for a light and zesty cocktail, you can use lemon curd.

10. Fill Cupcakes

You can fill cupcakes with it. If you like cupcakes that are filled, lemon curd is the perfect addition. You can use it in any cupcake recipe. Just take Ateco tip #808 and plop it into the center of the cupcakes when they are cooled, to remove the middle. Fill them with lemon curd, and top with frosting! You'll get a sweet burst of citrus when you bite into that cupcake. Try it with my Simple Vanilla Cupcakes.

Recipe FAQ's

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