Deep in winter when the trees are dripping with lemons, one fabulous way capture the fresh tang of lemons is lemon curd. This lemon curd is intense, lemony, creamy goodness. Meyer lemons work best here because of their balance of sweet and tart. You can use Eureka lemons (standard supermarket variety) as well, just increase the sugar.
Recipe from ‘My Pantry Shelf"
Makes 4 Cups
Ingredients
4 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar (increase to 1 1/2 cup if using Eureka lemon juice)
1 cup fresh lemon juice (5 of my lemons produced 1 cup juice, but this will vary dependent on size and juiciness of your lemons)
Grated zest of 6 lemons
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Directions
Zest the lemons using a microplane or fine grater. Take care not to include the white pith which will taste bitter. Cut each lemon in half and juice. Compost the peels.
In a saucepan, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar melts. Add the butter and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and will coat a wooden spoon.
Once the curd is thickened, pour it through a sieve into a clean bowl. Discard any chunks.
To preserve in jars:
Spoon curd into sterilized jars. Wipe rims with a clean, damp cloth. Screw on sterilized lids and rims. Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes (for 1/2 pint jars). Label jars and store in a cool, dark place for up to one year.
To keep in refrigerator:
Place bowl of lemon curd in a larger bowl filled with ice water (to speed the cooling). When cool, cover in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator.
To serve:
Serve lemon curd on toast, crepes, waffles, as a cake filling (especially good with sponge cake), or on a pastry shell for a fruity tart.