If you glance at my Instagram feed at the moment, you can easily surmise that lemons have come back in season here in Northern California.

So far, I’ve started a few jars of preserved lemons, made fermented lemonade, started lemon extract, and last night—at 2am—made the lemon curd in this post. And took the pictures. Isn’t that the logical thing to do when you can’t sleep during lemon season?
Lemon curd is a dessert spread you eat in the same way as jam. It tastes sweet, intensely lemony and has a velvety smooth, custard-like texture.
The last time I made lemon curd, I used it as the basis for the filling in and frosting on Charlotte’s 8th (or 9th?) birthday cake. (She turns 17 next month.) The cake tasted incredible. The kids wouldn’t touch it but all of the parents (including this one) inhaled it. I will have to dig out that recipe.
My daughter MK posted the recipe for this on her blog, The Plastic-Free Chef, a few years ago. While the curd cooled down, I texted her to ask if I could please repost (steal) it. She lives on the East Coast and so could have been awake at 2am my time. She wasn’t. But later this morning, she said sure, go ahead.
This lemon curd is extremely easy to make, otherwise I wouldn’t have attempted it in my bleary-eyed state. You can whip it up in mere minutes.







Lemon Curd
Yields a generous 2 cups
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup lemon juice of (approximately 2 medium-large lemons)
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized chunks
Directions
1. Combine lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and eggs in a small saucepan.
2. Turn on heat to medium-low and add butter. Whisk constantly until butter melts. If you don’t whisk it constantly, you’ll get chunks of cooked eggs.
3. Continue whisking until thickened, about five minutes.
4. Transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator. It will thicken more as it cools.
5. Eat on everything (bread, crumpets, pancakes, cake, cookies). Or simply eat by the spoonful. MK likes to add some to yogurt.
Notes
1. I buy organic eggs that come from pastured hens—hens that go outside and peck around in the dirt and do what chickens do. I also buy organic butter made from milk produced by pastured cows. I do not buy industrial eggs and dairy and am happy to pay exorbitant prices for pastured since I know the animals are treated well.
2. I don’t eat fruit peels that have been treated with pesticides. Look for organic citrus.
3. Store-bought lemons—even if organic—often have been coated with food-grade wax. You cannot completely remove this. The farmers’ market is the best place to find lemons not coated in wax. I’m extremely lucky to have a lemon tree.
I love Lemon Curd and I’ve lost my favourite recipe for making it – so your recipe is much appreciated. Thank you!
I’m happy to be of service. I hope you like this version 🙂 ~ Anne Marie
You are so lucky to have fresh lemons. We are buried in snow here until March. Have you every tried lemons? We love our dehydrator. Slice the lemons about 1/8″ or 1/4″ thick and put in the dehydrator at 110 F. They look like little stained glass windows. Then you can put them in your tea.
Hi Catherine. I know it! I love having fresh lemons. I haven’t tried drying any. I don’t have a dehydrator but I could try it in my oven. I have access to a solar dehydrator but that works best in summer when lemons are out of season. Thanks for the idea. I have piles of lemons and need to find uses for all of them. It’s like a part-time job at the moment. ~ Anne Marie
Thank you for this marvellous recipe! Made it last night, easy and bloomin’ delicious 😍
My pleasure, Mel. I’m glad you liked it. ~ Anne Marie
If using Meyer lemons, do you need to adjust the amount of sugar?
Thanks,
Angela
Probably a dumb question – how long does it keep?
You can also whisk the mixture in a bowl over a pot of boiling water to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
How ling will it keep in the fridge?