Cook with Hannah: Lemon Curd.

Happy New Year! :)

Thought I would kick off the new year with a new look and new name on this page.

It then only makes sense to make 2018's first blog an oldie, but a goodie.

My lemon curd recipe!

This was posted my my dessert blog a looooong time ago, but here it is again.

You can still find my dessert recipes here. :)

My lemon curd doesn't have water in it [I do have another one with water in it, but it uses cornflour to help thicken it... this one is more OK for lemon tarts to help their shelf life.. the following recipe is more flexible], and I don't use a double boiler.  A double boiler takes a little [OK, a lot] longer to make lemon curd, but it requires much less attention, and is less likely to split or burn [hence why most recipes call for it].

You start by whisking eggs, yolks and sugar together in a pan, over a very low heat.

Actually, you start by juicing and zesting the lemons, and then start heating the egg mix.

Once the sugar has dissolved, add the lemons, and butter and stir. A lot.

At this point, I'm going to add a a little tip ... don't preheat the pan before putting the eggs in. Apparently it creates some kind of weird egg yolk omelette. :)

So you stir.  And stir.  And stir. 

Until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

If you do it straight in the pan, like me, make sure you stir right to the bottom to ensure it doesn't burn.

If you want a super smooth lemon curd, strain it to remove the zest [you can leave it in.. to be honest it's nice either way].

And that's it - the totally addictive guilty pleasure, I call lemon curd.

Lemon Curd.

Makes about 280-300g.. if you are making a pie, I would double/triple this [depending on the size]

Ingredients:

2 eggs, plus 2 yolks

165g caster sugar

80g unsalted butter

zest and juice of 2 - 3 lemons [how lemony do you want it?]

Method:

Step 1: zest and juice lemons into a bowl

Step 2: put eggs, yolks and sugar into a pan, mix together, and heat on a really low heat until sugar dissolves

Step 3: add lemon juice and zest, and butter, and stir continuously until thickened [until it coats the back of a spoon]

Step 4: strain if desired

Step 5: refrigerate until required

And that's it.  Make a lemon meringue pie, a zesty lemon tart, or simply just eat it all with a spoon!

Until next time.

Hx