How to make lemon curd – tips and mistakes (2024)

How to make lemon curd – tips and common mistakes

Vibrant yellow, silky smooth and a beautiful tangy sweetness that keeps you coming back for more - lemon curd is like summer sunshine poured into a jar. And there's no end to the ways you can use it, drizzle over a pavlova, dollop onto cake or simply spread over toast, it's always fantastic.

With a good recipe, lemon curd is so simple to make. This recipe for lemon curd only requires 5 ingredients, and with these easy guidelines you can ensure that you don’t make common mistakes and you always get a vibrant and flavourful curd!

Easy lemon curd recipe

How to make lemon curd – tips and mistakes (1)

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
  • 2 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
  • 80ml (1/3 cup) lemon juice
  • 80g unsalted butter, chopped

METHOD

  1. Place yolks, sugar, lemon rind and juice in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Place in a small saucepan with butter.
  2. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. When it comes to the boil, take off heat and strain through a fine sieve. Refrigerate until cold.

GET THE RECIPE: Classic Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Kiwi Fruit by Australian Eggs

What to do if lemon curd doesn't thicken?

If your lemon curd hasn’t thickened, it may not have been heated enough. It can take up to 30 minutes of constant stirring to cook lemon curd, especially if it’s a large batch. Remember that curd will thicken more once cooled.

If your cooled curd is not thick enough, you can reheat it to thicken. Put it over a low heat, stirring constantly. Ensure it coats the back of a spoon before taking it off the heat.

To make a thicker curd, you can also add another egg yolk to the recipe, or a teaspoon of cornflour mixed into a tablespoon of water and cook until thickened.

How to thin lemon curd?

You can make lemon curd thinner by adding more juice, or reducing the amount of egg.

Can you overcook lemon curd?

Yes, overcooked lemon curd will become lumpy instead of smooth. See how to avoid lumps below.

Why is my lemon curd lumpy?

Lemon curd may become lumpy because it hasn't been continuously stirred or the eggs have cooked in the mixture. If there are only a few lumps in the curd, you can sieve them out.

To avoid lumpy curd:

  • Stir continuously through the whole cooking time.
  • Cook curd in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler). Ensure the bowl is not touching the water. This technique can take longer to cook the curd.
  • If your curd has gotten too hot, continue stirring and lower the base of the saucepan into a sink of cold water.

How do you know when lemon curd is cooked enough?

Dip a spoon into the curd then run your finger over the back of it. If it leaves a clean line in the curd, it’s cooked enough and ready to cool.


Curd will thicken up more once cooled completely. Spoon into a container, cover and refrigerate.

How thick should lemon curd be?

This depends on what you’re using your curd for and your personal preference. A thick curd is great for spreading on toast, filling cakes and tarts.

A thin, pourable curd is great for decorating pavlova, drizzling over pancakes or pouring on ice cream.

Is lemon curd made with whole eggs or yolks?

Lemon curd can be made with whole eggs or just egg yolks, or even a combination of both. A higher ratio of egg yolks will create a more vibrant, yellow and rich curd than whole eggs.

If you like extra thick curd, you can add an extra whole egg or egg yolk to your recipe.

If you want a thinner, more pourable curd, reduce the amount of egg in your recipe.

Does lemon curd need to be strained?

To strain or not to strain... straining the curd before cooling to removes the zest for a silkier texture, however you can omit this stage if you prefer the taste and texture with the zest.

Can you make curd with other fruits?

Yes, instead of lemon juice try lime, orange, pink grapefruit or passionfruit – or try a combination!

Passionfruit seeds give curd has a crunchy texture, but you can strain them out and just use the pulp if you prefer.

How to make lemon curd sweeter

When making curd, the sweetness of it can change depending on the tartness of the fruit. If you’re unsure, start with less sugar and add more if needed.

Before sweetening your curd, consider what it will be used for. Very sweet desserts like pavlova, a rich cake or ice cream are best with a tarter curd, and vice versa.

You can also sweeten your curd with honey, agave, coconut sugar and even rapadura sugar. Note that these will give a different flavour and colour to your curd.

How long will lemon curd last?

Lemon curd will last up to 4 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

To put it in jars to store or give as gifts, sterilise the jars in hot water or the dishwasher.

Pour in the warm curd and close while still warm. You can also freeze lemon curd.

How to freeze lemon curd

Lemon curd can freeze for up to one year.To freeze:

  1. Fill airtight containers in useable portions, leaving a 1-2cm gap at the top for expansion.
  2. Cover the surface with cling wrap and secure with an airtight lid.
  3. Label and date.
  4. Thaw curd by placing in the refrigerator one day before you plan to use it. Stir and use from cold.

Other types of fruit curd

You can make curd with almost any other fruit, watch how to make pineapple-lime curd, strawberry curd and passionfruit curd below.

GET THE RECIPE: Pine Lime Curd by Australian Eggs

GET THE RECIPE: Strawberry Curd by Australian Eggs

GET THE RECIPE: Passionfruit Curd and Coconut Meringue Jars by Australian Eggs

Use passionfruit instead of lemon juice and you can create beautiful passionfruit curd, treat it the same way you treat lemon curd.

How to make Curd in a Microwave

GET THE RECIPE: Easy Microwave Lemon Curd by Australian Eggs

How to use lemon curd

If you're wondering what lemon curd goes well with, check out some of the recipes below.

GET THE RECIPE: Classic Pavlova with Lemon Curd and Kiwi Fruit by Australian Eggs

Make a pavlova with egg whites and use the extra egg yolks to make lemon curd to go on top!

How to make lemon curd – tips and mistakes (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my lemon curd get thick? ›

If your lemon curd hasn't thickened, it may not have been heated enough. It can take up to 30 minutes of constant stirring to cook lemon curd, especially if it's a large batch. Remember that curd will thicken more once cooled. If your cooled curd is not thick enough, you can reheat it to thicken.

Why is my lemon curd not yellow? ›

Use Sufficient Egg Yolks

Lemon curd has traces of yellow in it naturally, but its striking golden colour comes from the yolks. Also, incorporating whole eggs is not preferred since the egg whites cause the lemon curd to become lighter.

How to prevent lemon curd from tasting eggy? ›

Always beat the butter with sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and zest before cooking. This will prevent the curd from tasting eggy. Use a pan with a heavy bottom when cooking the curd. Stay away from aluminum pan.

Why does my lemon curd taste like metal? ›

Why does my lemon curd taste metallic? A metallic aftertaste is usually the consequence of the lemon curd coming into contact with a metal (especially while it's hot). This could be a metal whisk, a metal bowl, a metal (or metal-coated) saucepan, or a metal sieve.

How to fix a runny lemon curd? ›

Problem: My Lemon Curd is Too Runny
  1. To thicken runny lemon curd, put the curd back into your saucepan, place over the lowest possible heat, and stir constantly. ...
  2. Alternatively, heat the curd until it's warm to the touch, then remove from the heat and whisk in another few tablespoons of butter.
Apr 2, 2024

Why does my lemon curd have foam on top? ›

Between the heat and whisking, lemon curd gets foamy while it's cooking. As the curd begins to thicken, the foam will start to settle down, and then the addition of the butter at the end of cooking eliminates the foam. So don't panic when you see foam, just keep whisking and cooking.

How to tell when lemon curd is done? ›

Lemon Curd should thick enough to coat the back of a spoon when it's hot and should thicken up to pudding-like consistency when it's chilled. The curd can take up to 10 minutes to thicken to the consistency of pourable pudding, so be patient (remember it will thicken more once it cools).

What happens if you overcook lemon curd? ›

Overcooking will cause proteins to bond too tightly, squeezing water out from between them and giving them a rubbery, lumpy texture. If you over-heat the lemon curd, the egg proteins can coagulate and you will see little bits of cooked egg.

Why does my lemon curd have white bits? ›

If you have your heat too high you will curdle your eggs and have white bits in your curd. If you do, don't worry too much about it, you can still eat it as is, and you won't really notice a difference in the flavor, you just won't have that perfectly smooth texture.

Why did the butter separate from my lemon curd? ›

It's because butter is an emulsion, when boiled, it separates into fat and water, causing the curd to do the same.

Why does my lemon curd taste grainy? ›

Top tips for perfect lemon curd

Keep the heat low: There is no need for a double-boiler – this can be made directly in a saucepan but I recommend using a heavy-based saucepan and keep the heat very low so you don't scramble the eggs. Also, overheating curd can make it turn grainy on setting.

How do you make lemon curd without metallic taste? ›

Processed white, granulated sugar have the tendency to make lemon curds metallic. So, if you find that your curd have a slight metallic flavor, you can try substituting process sugar for raw sugar, like cane sugar.

Why did my lemon curd turn green? ›

If your lemon curd turned green, it likely had a reaction to something metal. Avoid using a copper or aluminum pan as those will react with the lemon juice and cause the discoloration in the lemon curd, and could even cause a slightly metallic aftertaste.

Why is my lemon curd bitter? ›

Caution: Make sure that no white pith gets into the curd mixture, either from peeling the zest, (cut any white pith off the backs of the peeled strips with a pairing knife if necessary), or from juicing the lemons (don't squeeze too close to the pith). Either of these things could cause the curd to be bitter.

Why is my lemon curd separating? ›

Curdling in lemon curd can occur if the mixture is heated too quickly or if the eggs are cooked at a very high temperature.

Why is my curd not thick? ›

Not heating the milk enough results in lacey/gooey/stringy Dahi. Using Low fat milk or skim milk may result in Dahi that's not firm enough. Use starter from a good quality Greek Yogurt that contains good bacteria strains. Be wary on ingredients like thickeners or any other additives.

Why is my curd thin? ›

The temperature is too low. If the temp is below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the cultures will not ferment properly and the milk will stay runny. The temperature is too high. If the temperature is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the yogurt will ferment too fast and will also render the yogurt runny.

How do you add curd to thicken it? ›

Simply add a small amount of yogurt, like a spoonful, at a time. Stir your yogurt into the curry and keep adding a little more at a time until it reaches your desired thickness. This is great for Indian-style curries as a cream substitute.

Why won t my orange curd thicken? ›

You need to keep a low heat and stir constatntly. The time it takes for the curd to thicken can vary accoding to the size of the pan and the heat used. To test if the curd is cooked properly, dip a spoon into the mixture then run your finger through the mixture on the back of the spoon.

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