How to make Easy Lemon Curd Recipe - Crazy for Crust (2024)

FAQs

How to make Easy Lemon Curd Recipe - Crazy for Crust? ›

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.

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.

Avoid Over-cooking The Curd

Your lemon curd could get chunky and grainy if you let it overcook. One thing you should remember while making lemon curd is that you should never let it reach a point where it starts boiling. The ideal temperature for lemon curd is 170 degrees Fahrenheit, and it shouldn't cross that.

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.

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.

Usually the temperature of milk determines how well your curd will set. Too cold or too hot temperature can make the curd setting process tougher. Firstly boil your milk properly and switch off the flame. Once the boiled milk cools down to 20 per cent, then the milk is ready to be set.

There are different methods for making curd, like whisking, foaming, and scrubbing, but the first thing you need to do is mix the milk and curd culture together. This is important because it helps the milk and curd starter combine fully, which leads to a thicker and richer curd.

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.

But WHY did the Lemon Curd scramble? I learned that day, based on the scientific fact that eggs do not curdle when cooked in the presence of starch, and because Lemon Curd has no starch (such as flour or cornstarch), it will curdle when the eggs get too hot.

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.

How to know when lemon curd is done? ›

Add butter pieces and whisk constantly over low heat until mixture is thickened (8-9 minutes). Lemon curd thickens around 160-170˚F. Once you see it start bubbling, let it gently simmer for a few seconds then remove it from the heat at 175-180˚F on a thermometer.

Does lemon curd taste eggy? Although lemon curd uses egg yolks and/or egg whites, the final product shouldn't taste eggy. If it does, it may mean that you've overcooked your eggs. In saying that, traditional lemon curd does have a distinct after taste which doesn't sit well with some.

Store the curd: Lemon curd will keep in your refrigerator for up to a month according to the National Center for Home Food Preservation. You can also store it in the freezer for up to 1 year. To thaw, transfer your curd from the freezer to the fridge 24 hours before you need it.

Add a cornstarch slurry: First, ensure your curd is cooked to 170 degrees F and if it still hasn't thickened, whisk 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.

If you don't want to use lemon curd then we would suggest using an alternative flavour of fruit curd. We have seen passionfruit, rhubarb and tart orange (or Seville orange) curds being sold online in the UK. All of these flavours would go well with summer berries.

Burr explains that custard, especially ones that are heavy on fruit, have a tendency to split as a result of the moisture content and too-high oven temperatures. This is the chief issue you'll encounter when baking a lemon tart.

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.

If the filling is runny and flowing out of the tart when you cut into it, then it is likely that the curd was not cooked for quite long enough. You need to be patient when cooking citrus curds as if you heat the mixture too quickly then it can curdle and become lumpy. You need to keep a low heat and stir constatntly.

To check for thickness, dip a spoon into the mixture and run your finger across the back. If the line remains distinct, the curd is thick enough. Coating the back of a spoon: If the lemon curd coats the back of a spoon and doesn't run off, it's done.

There are majorly two reasons that curd turns sticky, firstly the bacteria culture used to make curd can impact the taste and texture. Secondly, if you keep the curd at a low temperature, it takes a lot of time to set as well as forms a slimy texture. This is because curd needs a slightly warm temperature to set.