Best Lemon Curd

Zesty, tart and silky smooth lemon curd – easy to make with a secret ingredient that takes it above the rest! Perfect to spread on toast or step up a dessert. 

Best Lemon Curd by Giraffes Can Bake - tart, flavourful lemon curd that is silky smooth. It's so easy to make, you'll never go back to store bought again!

Today is the UK’s general election, well technically it’ll be yesterday by the time I post this but let’s not get picky! I voted this morning, I would say I feel happy and proud to take part in democracy but mostly I’m just stressed and anxious! With the way the country is these days and the governments we’re offered, it doesn’t really feel like any vote is the right vote! But I have had my say and I just hope I don’t regret my decision. If a certain party get elected though I may very well move to France and live off pastries – sounds like a good plan whoever gets elected actually! I’m probably going to stay up and watch the results come in, I’ll be doing some live tweeting on my personal no doubt so just be glad you don’t follow that (if you want to feel free to ask, but I’ll warn you now – non baking me has some pretty strong, rambly opinions haha!) 

Best Lemon Curd by Giraffes Can Bake

 

One strong opinion I have is that this is the best lemon curd – a bold statement to make with all the many lemon curd recipes out there I know! Maybe there is a better recipe out there, all I know it’s the best one I’ve made or eaten – and I’ve had my fair share of lemon curd, both homemade and store bought. I guess there’s only one way to find out if you think it’s the best and that’s by making it and trying it out 😉 

Best Lemon Curd by Giraffes Can Bake

Lemon curd is not only delicious, it’s easy and quick to make – making you’re own is definitely the way to go, it’s so much tastier than store bought! The two things that I think make this the best curd is I start off with a lot more lemon juice than I need, then I boil it to reduce it down to the amount I do need – that way you end up with a much more concentrated lemon flavour. The other is cardamom – cardamom and lemon are a great flavour combination but don’t worry if you’re not a cardamom fan, you can’t taste it, it just gives the taste a nice boost. I’ve tried it with and without the cardamom and it’s definitely better with! It’s kind of like putting vanilla in chocolate, you can’t taste it but you can tell it’s there!
Best Lemon Curd by Giraffes Can Bake

With all that concentrated lemon flavour this is one tart, zesty curd! Spreading it on toast is one way to wake you up in the morning, waking up through your taste buds is the best way to wake up if you ask me! I would recommend starting off with a thin layer and going from there, depends how tart you like things! You could always add a little more sugar to cut through that tartness if you prefer things a little on the sweeter sides, but personally I like my curd to be nice and tart! How many times can I say tart in one paragraph?! 

Best Lemon Curd by Giraffes Can Bake

 

Best Lemon Curd
Zesty, tart and smooth lemon curd - easy to make and perfect for spreading on toast or adding to desserts!
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Ingredients
  1. 5 lemons, juice and zest
  2. 1 large egg
  3. 1 large egg yolk
  4. 115g caster sugar (super fine granulated sugar)
  5. 60g unsalted butter
  6. pinch of salt
  7. pinch of ground cardamom
Instructions
  1. Zest the lemons and set aside for later.
  2. Juice lemons, strain to remove any stray pulp or seeds. Pour into a medium saucepan and heat on low. Leave to simmer and reduce. Reduce down to 125ml, normally takes about 10 minutes but I tend to check every couple minutes. Add the zest to the reduced juice and leave to cool.
  3. Rinse and dry the saucepan. Make sure it's cool to touch and add the egg, egg yolk, sugar, salt and cardamom to the pan. Whisk to combine. Add the butter and slowly whisk in the cooled juice (it doesn't need to cold, just not hot).
  4. Cook over a medium heating, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. About 15 mins.
  5. Strain through a wire mesh sieve to remove the zest, to make it extra smooth pass it through the sieve twice . Leave to cool completely, transfer to a jar and chill. The curd will thicken considerably as it cools.
Notes
  1. This recipe makes approximately 230g curd
  2. You can start off with 125ml lemon juice and skip the reducing step if necessary, but your flavour won't be as intense.
  3. Will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 1 week, it will last much longer if you store it in a sterilised jar.
  4. For a sweeter curd, increase the sugar to 160g
A Tipsy Giraffe https://www.atipsygiraffe.com/

 

I used this curd to fill some Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes and I’ll be sharing that recipe with you very soon – it’s a yummy one! But for now you can use this curd however you like, it’s great spread on toast which is always popular but the possibilities are endless! You can fill cupcakes like me, you can dollop it in a meringue nest and top with sweet fruits, you could use it top ice cream, you could swirl it in yogurt, you could put it in a pastry cake and make a tart – lemon curd is so versatile and yummy, it’s a good thing it’s so quick and easy to make!

Best Lemon Curd by Giraffes Can Bake

You can also swap out the lemons for any other citrus of your choice, just this week I used this recipe to make a very special lime curd! 

Have you guys been following the UK election? If you’re in the UK, did you vote or did you decide to opt out this time (I know a lot of people are making that decision, I personally think it’s important to vote no matter how apathetic the government makes you feel these days, but I completely understand why some people don’t)? I’m gonna be nervously watching the results tonight and keeping my fingers crossed for my country! 

Best Lemon Curd by Giraffes Can Bake

 

I’m gonna bring this delicious curd along to Fiesta Friday this week, I’m definitely going to need a party after the election results no matter what the results are! I’m sure there will be plenty of yummy desserts to enjoy this curd with too. Thanks to Angie for being our ever gracious host, and our lovely co hosts Jess and Caroline

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20 comments

  1. Hilda says:

    Thanks for the tips on how to make the best lemon curd. I’ve never tried it with the cardamom before but can believe that it would make a difference.
    I hope you are not too disappointed with the results of the elections – quite an interesting election I think. However, probably whoever wins, they will just carry one as always.

  2. Amanda @ The Chunky Chef says:

    How? How did you know that I was literally just thinking of finding a great lemon curd recipe for some cupcakes I wanted to make? LOL, well I don’t need to search for one… this one is IT! I love that you reduced the lemon juice to make a super concentrated flavor 🙂 Happy FF!

  3. Dini @ Giramuk's Kitchen says:

    I saw the election results (and your non baking self’s reaction)! I totally get it though! I always keep track of elections in NZ and Aus and the last elections in Aus got me really angry!
    This lemon curd looks amazing Michelle! love that you concentrated the lemon juice! I usually have the creamy looking lemon curd, but I love this beautiful almost translucent version! It looks delicious!! I’ll be trying this next time 🙂

    • Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake says:

      My non baking self’s reaction was actually pretty mild – well not as angry as I thought it was gonna be anyway haha! I let out all my anger on my tumblr I think lol. Yeah, from what I see of Aus politics, you guys aren’t much better off! The next US elections should be pretty interesting though!

      Thank you 🙂 I’ve never made the creamy looking curd before, I’ve actually always wondered what makes it creamy looking because every curd I’ve ever made has been the almost translucent version haha

  4. tentimestea says:

    We had an election recently as well (it was my first chance to vote so I was pretty excited) but I also had that feeling that there was no obviously right choice. Anyways, some interesting things happened for the results and even now I have no idea whether it’s putting us in a good direction!
    I love the lemon curd–I was very intrigued when I first saw it because the colour was so deep…and now I see why! The idea of a reducing the lemon juice is so clever–it must have such an intense taste! The addition of cardamom sounds so great as well!

  5. Stephanie says:

    I totaaalllyyy saw this on Pinterest and pinned it, and I didn’t even know it was yours! I’m always drawn to your recipes though so it’s no surprise. You’re so good at cooking recipes suited for the time of year! 🙂

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