Homemade Lemon Curd is a tart and lemony spread, filling, or topping made from a few simple ingredients. It has a thick and creamy consistency that adds a burst of citrus flavor to many treats and desserts! Use this recipe in my Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream.

Jar of Lemon Curd next to lemons.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Lemons: Use 3 lemons for this recipe. Zest the lemons before cutting them in half and squeezing out the juice. You will need about a tablespoon of lemon zest and 1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Butter: Use unsalted butter. Unsalted butter has a cleaner, more neutral flavor that won’t compete with the bright and tangy taste of lemon curd. This allows the lemon flavor to shine through and be the main focus of the recipe.

Sugar: In lemon curd, you will use granulated sugar.

Eggs: Eggs provide structure, flavor, and texture to the curd. Mix each egg one at a time to ensure the eggs are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

Steps for Grating Lemon, Making the curd Mixture, and then Heating Curd Mixture to Make Lemon Curd!

How to Use Lemon Curd

Don’t be ashamed if you simply enjoy eating lemon curd by the spoonful! However, there are other ways to use it, too! Here are a few suggestions:

Jar of Fresh Lemon Curd.

How to Store Homemade Lemon Curd

After the lemon curd has chilled, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will last up to 2 weeks. Or, for longer storage, freeze it for up to a year. When ready to use, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, stir the lemon curd to ensure it is mixed well.

Spooning out some fresh Lemon Curd from a Jar surrounded by Lemons.
5 from 4 votes

Homemade Lemon Curd

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Homemade Lemon Curd is a tart and lemony spread, filling, or topping made from lemon zest, lemon juice, butter, sugar, and eggs.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Grate zest from the lemons. You will need 1 tablespoon of zest.
  • After zesting, cut the lemons in half and squeeze out the juice into a measuring cup. You should have about ½ cup of lemon juice.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a bowl and using a hand-held mixer) beat butter and sugar at medium speed until blended (about 2 minutes).
  • Add eggs to the mixture, one at a time, beating each egg until it's blended before adding the next.
  • Gradually add the lemon juice to the butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended.
  • Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the lemon zest by hand. The mixture might look curdled at this point, but that's okay!
  • Transfer the mixture to a small heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan.
  • Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, for 14 to 16 minutes. Then, transfer to a heat-safe bowl. (You may not want to use a wire whisk as it could react to the acid in the curd.)
  • While the mixture is still warm, set a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the lemon curd to prevent a film from forming on the surface.
  • Chill the lemon curd in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, or until firm.
  • Store the lemon curd in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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Meet Amanda Rettke

Amanda Rettke is the creator of I Am Baker, and the bestselling author of Surprise Inside Cakes: Amazing Cakes for Every Occasion – With a Little Something Extra Inside.Over the course of her 15+ year blogging adventure, she has been featured in and collaborated with the Food Network, New York Times, LA Times, Country Living Magazine, People Magazine, Epicurious, Brides, Romantic Homes, life:beautiful, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Mail, Star Tribune, The Globe and Mail, DailyCandy, YumSugar, The Knot, The Kitchn, and Parade, to name a few.

Reader Comments

  1. Gonna make your recipe, as written, soon. Thank you, Amanda. However ….. assuming large eggs weigh about 2 ounces each, and yolks about 1/2 ounce each, could I use 2 ounces of yolks, or half the “egg weight,” and get curd with proper structure from yolks-only? A larger scale recipe I’ve made and liked very much uses about 8 ounces each of yolks, butter and juice with 2 cups, 14 ounces, of sugar and some zest. Sounds like your recipe is similar with a smaller ratio of butter. — Joe

  2. You can easily make your lemon curd in the microwave in a microwave bowl. I never use the stovetop.

  3. Another perfect recipe! This curd is the perfect balance of sweet & tart. I use it as fillings, toppings, & I won’t mention the numerous spoonfuls that go missing somewhere between the stages of setting it to cool & it’s intended use!

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