Lemon curd always reminds me of little old ladies and overly sweet treats. I feel like all of my friends grandmothers used to make little cakes with lemon curd piled on top when I was growing up, and it’s one of those foods that always makes me smile. I haven’t had it in years though.
Our lemon tree just ripened, and we have over 200 lemons (the bitter type, not the sweet Meyer lemons) to put to use. The first thing I wanted to make was a curd, but every recipe I happened upon was loaded with sugar. And I mean really loaded.
That is, until I found a recipe from The Nourishing Gourmet, and tweaked it for my bitter lemons. It has that same sweet kick, but there is absolutely no refined sugar in there. It tastes amazing! I couldn’t turn to my normal recipe testers (the kids), because lemon is one of those flavours they just aren’t into – even in sweet form. But my hubby, who is a staunch non-fan of everything lemon, tells me it is great, and that if he was a fan of lemon curd, he would like this one. That may not sound like a compliment, but he really hates lemon…and he ate the whole lemony dessert I made with it! Win 🙂
What am I doing with these rest of the lemons? I made a fair few jars of preserved lemons to hand out as hostess gifts this holiday season, I have juiced a heap, and frozen the juice for later in the year, and I have some limoncello brewing, but I would love to hear what your favourite thing to do with lemons is. Leave a comment here, or on Facebook!
For more preserves, check out my Cranberry and Vanilla Bean Butter, or my 3 Ingredient Peach Butter.
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 6 tbsp coconut oil softened
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Whisk together the eggs, honey and lemon zest until light colored
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Add in the lemon juice and coconut oil, and whisk to combine
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Cook the curd over a med-low heat. Whisk continuously until it thickens and there are small bubbles on the surface. This took me about 20 minutes
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Once the curd has reached the desired level of thickness, pour it through a strainer placed on top of a large bowl. It should be thick enough that you have to push it through the strainer with a spatula
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Pop the strained curd into the fridge and allow to cool
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Keep stored in the fridge for about a week. I have also had success with freezing
I used the more bitter lemons, as that is what I had on hand, and I also like a bit of bite to my curd. If you prefer it to be sweeter, then use Meyer lemons
Having a lemon tree in your backyard sounds so amazing! Some friends here have one too, but it’s difficult to get them over the winter where I live. I’ve never had lemon curd, so this sounds really interesting to me 🙂
Oh it is so amazing Kat! I am a bit overburdened with lemons at the moment, but it’s a good problem to have 🙂 And it has forced me to learn how to best preserve them! You should try some lemon curd, the perfect balance of sweet and sour. I am hooked (but I love anything lemon)
200 lemons oh my goodness! I am a lemon lover and so that really sounds like heaven to me! I’m jealous your husband got to enjoy it all being the lemon hater that he is.
I know, he really needs to start liking them!!
Never seen or heard such a recipe before but it sounds great! I’m very pleased to read there’s no refined sugar in it but honey instead! (Much healthier!) I’ve seen you can eat it on cake, are there other possibilities? I need to try this!
There are so many ways to eat it! I have been having it as dessert, with some chopped pecans and pomegranate on top. I also baked some little shortbread cups (in mini muffin trays), and popped some lemon curd in there once it was cooled. Also yummy on scones/biscuits, and I also pop a big dollop on waffles! I hope you enjoy it if you give it a go 🙂
Ooh, honey lemon curd. That has got to be so delicious. I can’t eat commercial lemon curd as it’s way to sweet, but I love my homemade version. Might try it with honey next time.
I definitely agree that the commercial stuff is way too sweet! Especially in the U.S. – I recently tried some for the first time since moving here, and I swear it is 10x sweeter than the versions available in Australia!
I absolutely love lemon curd! This looks devine!
Me too Johlene 🙂
So glad I’ve found your recipe! Our lemon tree is bursting with fruit (yay!!), and the most recent recipe I tried for lemon curd was no good! Yours looks absolutely delicious and can’t wait to try it! Thanks!
Oh yay, I hope you love it as much as I do 🙂
Love lemon curd! Your recipe sounds fantastic. I make a lot of limoncello with my lemons 🙂
🙂 I have a big batch of limoncello maturing in the cupboard!
This sounds like creme brulee without the sugar coating on top. And the best part, i love that it’s made healthy! Must give it a try soon!
That’s a great way to describe it Neli – definitely as creamy as a brûlée!
That color is perfection! I wanna eat it just like that out of the jar !
Thats may be exactly what I did Florentina 🙂
This looks just wonderful. I’ve never had lemon curd before but now you’ve got my taste buds wondering… Great job!!
Wow, I thought lemon curd was just something everyone ate growing up 🙂 But so many readers haven’t heard of it before! It’s super yummy (especially if you are a lemon lover)
I love the idea of using honey and coconut oil in this, it must be so delicious! Saving for later.
Thanks Helen! The honey sweetens it just enough, and the coconut oil gives it the perfect texture!
This looks so thick and creamy, love it! Can’t beat lemon curd on toast – or inside cupcakes 😀
Now I have a craving for lemon curd cupcakes!
I absolutely love lemon curd but have never made it from scratch so this recipe is going in the recipe file. It would be perfect for linzer cookies.
It’s actually surprisingly easy to make from scratch! I hope you love it 🙂