How to make Lemon Curd with Video and Candied Lemon Peels

Lemon curd is a dessert spread and topping like a velvety custard, usually made with citrus fruit, zest and juice of lemons or even limes, oranges or tangerines, butter, eggs, corn flour (starch) and sugar.  It can be eaten as it is, or served as a spread on bread or biscuits or as a filling for pies, tarts or cakes or even in a Greek Galaktoboureko!

 I have also made it with oranges.

 

 

I love the taste of lemon and I have been wanting to make lemon curd for ages.  However, butter and eggs was the reason that kept me from making it.

However, even if I have been avoiding eggs and butter as much as I can, I still want to make a few things at least once and since I could not avoid the eggs, I used a becel proactive margarine (which is supposed to lower cholesterol levels) instead of using butter.

When I went to the supermarket I bought some lovely organic lemons, especially for this reason.

 

I google searched to find more about how to make it.  I read  a lot of recipes but in the end,  since I understood the concept of the recipe, I made it my way, just as we make avgolemono sauce.  I boiled the lemon juice and put the remaining ingredients in a bowl, which I whisked with a hand mixer.   I thenmadded the hot lemon juice to temper the eggs.  I poured the mixture back in the pot I heated the lemon juice and mixed until it set.  I let it cool for a while and then incorporated the butter, a little each time.

I don't like wasting anything, especially when it involves lemons.

So, the first time I made it, before cutting and squeeing out the lemon juice, I peeled the lemons and used them to make candied lemon peels.

You can also grate the lemon and put the zest in ice cubes in the deep freezer.  I use them whenever I make a cake or a pudding

Update:  16th April, 2018

This year our lemon tree gave us the first seven wonderful large lemons, which of course are organic.

Here you can see our lemons compared to an ordinary lemon and compared to an orange.

The peels are nice and thick so they are already being made into a fruit preserve.  Recipe will hopefully be posted soon.

Yesterday I used some of the juice and zest to make the lemon curd.  This time I used butter as I have stopped using margarine a long time ago!

 

How to make Lemon Curd

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Makes:   about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 5 – 6 juicy lemons)
• 2 tbsps grated lemon zest
• 25 grams (about 1 heaped tbsp) corn flour (starch)
• ½ cup  (1 stick  or 125 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into smaller pieces

Directions:

1. Zest the lemons with a box grater and then juice them.

2. Put the lemon juice in a pot and bring to a boil.

3. Put the eggs, sugar, corn flour and lemon zest in a bowl and whisk with a hand mixer to combine.

4. Add the hot lemon juice to the mixture and keep mixing in order to temper the eggs.

5. Transfer the mixture back in the pot and using a balloon whisk, mix continuously until it sets.

6. Set aside until it becomes lukewarm (about 5 minutes).

7. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and add it a piece at a time, mixing until incorporated and continue until all the butter is added.

8. Cover with cling film (so that a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.

 

How to make Candied Lemon Peels

Preparation time:  10 minutes

Cooking time:  about 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Peels of 3 organic lemons (not waxed)
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, remove peel from lemons in long strips (yellow part only).
3. Place in a pot and add enough cold water to cover them.  Bring to boil, drain and repeat blanching 2 more times.
4. Bring sugar and water to boil in another pot, stirring until sugar dissolves.
5. Add lemon peels and simmer for about 20 minutes or until soft.
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer peels to the prepared sheet.
7. Sprinkle 1 cup sugar over and toss to coat.
8. Let dry at room temperature for a few days, mixing regulary.
9. Transfer candied lemon peels to an airtight container or in a jar. Store peels at room temperature.

Useful Information:

• Pour leftover syrup into a clean sterilized jar and store in the refrigerator for future use. It can be used to wet sponge cakes, biscuits to be used in desserts or in any other recipes using syrup.
• Leftover sugar used to coat lemon peels can be used in other desserts.
• When boiling the lemon peels, you may use the third lemon water to boil and flavour rice.
• The lemon curd may be stored in sterile jars up to a week in the refrigerators.  A few uses of lemon curd are: on bread and toast, just like we use jam, in tarts, between biscuits, on pancakes, to glaze cakes or thinned down as a sauce.
• Below you will find a few recipes using these ingredients.

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My cookbooks "More Than A Greek Salad", and "Mint, Cinnamon & Blossom Water, Flavours of Cyprus, Kopiaste!" are both available on all Amazon stores.

 

Other relevant recipes:

Eclairs with Lemon Curd

Lemony Galaktoboureko

Orange Curd

French Buttercream using a Pâte à Bombe Base

Lemon Posset

Spiced Ginger Cake

Kopiaste and Kali Orexi,