Wedding Lemon Curd
At some point in late winter, when signs of spring start to color the ground under the trees, I suddenly remember it is citrus season. This is important to me because ever since 2014 I have made seasonal lemon curd. Why this tradition you ask? Well, I would have to take you back to the summer of 2014 when I was preparing for my wedding. This was right in the middle of the “country chic” wedding trend, and I was committed to the idea of giving each one of my guests homemade jam. It started with my black pepper strawberry jam, then my blueberry rum preserves. Halfway through the process I scalded my hand for the 800th time and had a Grammy-worthy meltdown in my college apartment. I wasn’t worried what the neighbors must have heard. This was not my first performance, I have had plenty kitchen meltdowns before this one. This one however brought me to my lemon curd. I came across a recipe that read “Easy Peasy Squeezy Lemon Curd”. It was four ingredients and didn’t involve molten hot strawberries, so I was sold. I made my first batch, spread the extra on a piece of toast, and I knew I had stumbled across a forever recipe. After adding my own touches, I made three batches, canned them, and dressed them up as favors. After the wedding I got messages from my guests asking for the “wedding lemon curd” recipe. Since that day I have lovingly referred to it as just that. When it is peak citrus season I gather my lemons, whip up a batch to last me the year, and gift some to those closest to me. We use it on our drop biscuits, spread it on crusty sourdough bread, or for topping on vanilla ice cream. You can even try it my personal favorite way, simply with a spoon.
This year I was lucky enough to get my hands on some homegrown Meyer lemons. They were so juicy and smelled so sweet. Nora was my little helper, cracking the eggs and “reading” me the recipe. Who knew my recipe book also had a story about crime fighting cats. Before citrus season comes to a close, I urge you to make some of your own! You can also use a different citrus fruit. Grapefruit curd is also a favorite of mine, I use it to fill tiny tarts for Easter.
Here is my recipe!
3 sticks of butter
2 1/4 cups of sugar
1 2/3 cups of fresh squeezed lemon juice, strained
2 tablespoons of lemon zest
6 large eggs plus 1 yolk
Place butter, sugar, and lemon juice into a medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until butter has melted, turn off heat. Add the lemon zest to the mixture. In a large bowl beat all of the eggs until smooth. Very slowly ladle a stream of the lemon butter mixture into the eggs whisking constantly. This process is called tempering. You are trying to bring the eggs up to the same temperature as the butter mixture, so it will not cook the eggs too quickly. Once the egg mixture feels warm you can add it to the saucepan. Cook this mixture on low heat until thickened, this takes about 10-15 minutes. It will thicken more as it cools.
