Quick, easy lemon curd recipe with only 4 ingredients. It's sweet with a subtle tartness and can be used as fillings, toppings, spreads.
This is a simple recipe you can make with ingredients you already have at home. The sweet and sour combination makes for a great summer treat used in many different baked goods or even a refreshing ice cream. If you enjoy lemon as much as I do, you will want to check out this Lemon Glaze and Lemon Frosting to add to your favorite recipes.
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How to make easy lemon curd recipe from scratch?
- Zest and juice- All the lemons.
- Add in- Lemon juice, lemon zest, butter, sugar, and egg yolks in a nonstick saucepan.
- Whisk together- This mixture over heat until it thickens.
- Mix in- Lemon extract and food coloring.
- Pour in- A jar and allow to cool. Enjoy!
Classic homemade lemon curd uses
- Use it as a topping- On Blueberry Pancakes, Blueberry Waffles, toast, Cranberry Orange Scones, ice cream, and Crepes.
- Lemon cupcakes- Just fill the center of each Lemon Cupcakes with curd and top if it off with buttercream frosting.
- Lemon cheesecake- Prepare this delicious New York Cheesecake and when it sets up, pour lemon curd topping on top. You can also swirl it into your cheesecake batter and then bake it for an incredibly zesty dessert.
- Lemon cookies- Bake a batch of Soft Sugar Cookies and sandwich curd between 2 cookies.
- Lemon muffins- Either fill the center of each Blueberry Muffins with curd OR thin the consistency of the curd with some water and use that as a drizzle. You can even use it as a spread on top.
- Lemon cake- Bake Lemon Cake and once it cools down, slice it in half and fill it with curd and cover in buttercream icing.
- Lemon tart- Bake a Pie Crust and when it cools down, fill it with curd and top it off with meringue topping or Whipped Cream. You can also use it in this Lemon Meringue Pie.
- Breads- Use it as a filling, swirl within the dough, or use it as a topping. Try it out with this Orange Cranberry Bread.
Lemon spread ingredients
- Lemons- Use fresh lemons, not bottled lemon juice.
- Eggs- You will only be using the egg yolks.
- Butter- Use unsalted butter to avoid a salty curd.
- Sugar- Add that sweet flavor with granulated white sugar.
What is the difference between lemon custard and creamy lemon curd and lemon pie filling?
The main difference is that curd uses egg yolks as a thickener and pie filling typically uses cornstarch as a thickener. Also, the flavor of curd is more intense and "zesty" compared to pie filling.
Variations
Use the same recipe for other citrus fruits- To make orange curd, tangerine curd, grapefruit curd, blueberry curd, blueberry lemon curd, and more delicious concoctions!
Use other sweeteners- You can use coconut sugar, sugar-free sweeteners, or other options to meet your needs. Keep in mind that agave, honey, or syrup will thin out the mixture.
Substitute the egg yolks- You can use a few tablespoons of corn starch to thicken up the curd, if needed, but I prefer the taste and texture of the egg yolks.
Cook in microwave- Instead of using a saucepan to cook over the stove, you can place ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Be careful not to overcook. I prefer over the stove top myself.
Add a little bit of lemon extract and yellow food coloring- Because this will enhance the appearance and flavor.
Tips and techniques
Use nonstick saucepan- Because it helps to prevent curd from sticking or burning.
Use fresh lemons- Because store bought lemon juice in bottles doesn't work well at all. It's not as fresh and there's no zest in it.
Curd thickens upon cool down- So don't worry about trying to thicken it more while it is still cool.
Use this recipe to prepare canned lemon curd- If you know how to do this, it is a great options because then the curd can be enjoyed for a longer time.
Use unsalted butter- Because otherwise your curd will be very salty.
Storage
Fridge- It can be kept in a sealed container or sealed jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freezer- Place in sealed freezer bags or a sealed freezer container for up to 3 months. To thaw, remove container from the freezer and place it in the fridge for 24 hours or until it softens and defrosts completely.
More lemon desserts
Recipe
Lemon Curd Recipe
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Ingredients
- 4 Lemons Large
- 5 Egg yolks
- ½ cup Butter Unsalted
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Lemon extract Optional
- Yellow food coloring Optional
Instructions
- Zest and juice all the lemons.
- Add lemon juice, lemon zest, butter, sugar and egg yolks in a nonstick saucepan.
- Cook at medium heat, while constantly whisking until the mixture thickens. This takes about 10 minutes.
- Add lemon extract and a couple of drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly.
- Pour it in a jar and let it cool down.
- Once the curd has fully cooled down, store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Dee
I have never made curd before, but this looks so delicious! I love that it's so versatile too!
Abeer Rizvi
You really have to try it... you will be instantly hooked!
Michelle De La Cerda
Lemon curd is so yummy! It is so quick and easy to make. Great for a gathering.
Abeer Rizvi
I agree completely!
Meg
I could eat this all day long!
Abeer Rizvi
Me too!!!
Joanie
I love lemon curd and could eat it by the spoonful.
Abeer Rizvi
I am with you... it's one of the most refreshing Summer desserts!
Amanda
Is it bad that I really want to lick the side of that bottle where the lemon curd is spilling over?
Abeer Rizvi
HAHAHAH! I totally did that after finishing the photoshoot
Tina Robertson
oh my goodness Abeer, I made your recipe and it is to absolutely die for!!!!!
I'm making it again tomorrow to impress company...lol but I don't have large lemons that are fresh, I only have the small ones.
Can you estimate about how many of the small ones I need? I'm trying to estimate...
Thank you for this wonderful recipe
Abeer Rizvi
Yayyyyyy! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! It's always a hit.
And oh man! I have no idea how many smaller lemons you would need to use.. maybe 5 or 6??? But, since I haven't tried it myself, I can't be sure. If you do give it a shot with smaller lemons, please let me know
Cindy
How long will this lemon curd be good for in the refrigerator
Abeer Rizvi
I would say 1 week. It might be good for a few days longer but it never lasts longer than a week in our house...lol.
Cindy
Is the butter melted or in pieces?
Abeer Rizvi
The butter will melt when you cook the mixture. So, it does not need to be melted beforehand.
Paula McCallister
Can you freeze lemon curd?
Abeer Rizvi
Yes, you can for up to 1 month. I usually don't freeze anything for longer than that. Just make sure you package it in sealed freezer bags.
Mona Young
Approximately how much lemon juice should 4large lemons give? Lemons vary in that amount! Is it a good idea to heat or roll the lemons to give more juice? Thank you!
Abeer Rizvi
I believe it's about 1/2 cup. I usually roll them but I never heat them, although that's a very good idea.
Tanya
I am going to fill cupcakes with this. Do they need to go in the fridge or will they be ok at room temperature?
Abeer Rizvi
Any time I use fillings in my cupcakes, I chill them. I feel like it prevents the center from becoming soggy.
Kendra
Love this recipe. I remember the first time I made lemon curd. I was rushing (only had three hours to bake cupcakes, get them filled, and then frost them) the stress of the time limit apparently got to me and I added the egg whites and not the yolks! I couldn't figure out why it just wasnt coming together lol. So after cooking and cooling, and it being a lumpy mess, I tossed it in my blender and it ended up being okay I only found out where I went wrong when i found your recipe! It turned out great this time, no egg trouble. I used small-medium lemons and just rolled them around quite a bit and it worked great
Abeer Rizvi
So happy you liked this curd! Any time I make a mistake baking or cooking in the kitchen, I realize there are probably others who have encountered the same problem. So, I include all the potential problems and solutions in my posts now.
Sarah
Delicious! I used 6 clementines instead of the lemons and it turned out wonderfully! It will be used as the filling in my 4 year old’s birthday cake. So easy compared to other curd recipes I’ve seen. Highly recommend this!
Samantha
Does this recipe do well with sugar alternatives (splenda, etc)?
Abeer Rizvi
I haven't tried that to know how it would affect the recipe. If you try that, I would love to hear what you thought.
Suzann
I have tried to use half sugar and half stevia. It does not thicken. Use regular sugar only.
Abeer Rizvi
You are only supposed to use granulated sugar in this recipe. I have not even tested it with Stevia. The results will be different when an ingredient is changed.
Misha
Hello there i am making mini lemon tarts for a babyshower and was cirious can the lemon curd sit out at room temperatire for a few hours or will it go bad?
Abeer Rizvi
It can sit out at room temperature for 3-4 hours without going bad.
Carl Tribett
Can you substitute stevia (cooking grade) for the sugar and still get the same results?
Abeer Rizvi
I would recommend using another recipe that uses an alternate sugar that you want. Since I haven't tested the recipe with Stevia, I can't know for sure how the end result would be overall.