Yolks Only Lemon Curd
Yolks Only Lemon Curd! I think you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make this versatile recipe. When it’s time to use up those extra egg yolks, this is what you’ll want to make!
Lemon curd is one of my favorite go-to ingredients for a wide variety of desserts.
Lemon and other fruit curds are great as a cupcake, tart or pie filling. They can be used as a filling for shortbread or to sandwich French Macarons. Lemon curd is traditional on a scone with clotted cream and is insanely decadent warmed up and poured over ice-cream.
Tips for making and storing Yolks Only Lemon Curd:
- You can use this recipe to make Meyer Lemon Curd. Meyer lemons usually have more juice so make sure to measure the juice.
- Always combine the sugar with the yolks before adding the lemon juice. If you add the juice to yolks without the sugar, the acidic juice will “cook” the yolks.
- The zest has lemon oil which adds a full lemon flavor. After cooking the zest can be strained out since it has already added the flavor.
- It’s not necessary to cook the curd on a double boiler. You can cook the curd directly on the stove as long as you keep the heat on medium-low and stir constantly to avoid burning.
- When the curd is ready it should coat the spatula or spoon.
- The curd will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator and can be frozen for several months.
- The recipe can be adapted for other citrus fruits. See the notes section of the recipe card.
Try these other fruit Curd recipes:
Still got extra yolks? Check out this collection of recipes that use extra yolks for some more great ideas.
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Yolks Only Lemon Curd Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz granulated sugar (1 ½ cups)
- 6 egg yolks
- 4 oz lemon juice (½ cup (3-4 lemons))
- Finely grated zest from all the lemons
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 oz unsalted butter (4 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Thoroughly whisk together the sugar and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Add the lemon juice, zest and salt.12 oz granulated sugar, 6 egg yolks, 4 oz lemon juice, Finely grated zest from all the lemons, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Place the butter in a heat proof bowl. Put a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and keep it near the stove.2 oz unsalted butter
- Heat the yolk/juice mixture over medium low heat, stirring constantly. You must be sure to keep stirring across the entire bottom and corners of the pot so the custard does not have a chance to stick. The mixture will start out opaque with a fine white foam over the surface. As it heats up the curd will thicken, become more translucent and the foam will disappear.
- Cook until the curd will coat the back of a wooden spoon and just begins to boil. Don't allow it to come to a rolling boil. One or two bubbles is all you need to see.
- Immediately remove from the heat and pour through the sieve over the butter.
- Stir until the butter is melted and thoroughly incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and cool a bit before putting in the refrigerator.
- Refrigerate until completely cooled.
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Notes
Meyer Lemon, Lime, Orange, Blood Orange, Pink Grapefruit,
- 1/2 cup of juice (about 2-3 meyer lemons, 3-4 limes, 2-3 oranges, 1 grapefruit)
- 1 1/4 cup (10 oz) granulated sugar
- Zest from the fruits
what is the yield on this? “12 servings” isn’t…terribly helpful
I have to define the number of servings for the nutrition information. Sorry if that isn’t helpful. If you add up the listed ingredients it comes to about 2 1/2-3 cups of curd. It should be enough to fill a tart shell.
This recipe is SO great! Such a bright and beautiful, tangy flavor. I was skeptical about the amount of sugar at first but it’s perfect for my taste. I whisked it constantly and added melted butter slowly towards the end and finished cooking it together and it came out beautifully. I’m using it to layer in between vanilla cake for Easter. Thank you!
If you don’t have fresh lemons for the lemon zest, would using the juice from a bottle work as well?
It would work. It probably won’t taste as nice. Taste the bottled juice to make sure you like the flavor.
I made the yolk lemon curd with 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup stevia, trying to cut down on the sugar. It was absolutely delicious and easy! I’ll try again with more stevia to see how it works! Thank so much for the recipe!
Isn’t stevia a lot sweeter than table sugar? The stevia didn’t make the curd overly sweet?
Brilliant recipe! After making two pavlova’s I needed to use up a lot of egg yolks. This recipe produced a wonderful lemon butter with perfect consistency.