Easy Peasy Lemon Curd is a sweet, tangy, silky smooth taste of sunshine – even on a very cloudy day. It’s hard to beat lemon curd slathered inside of a flakey croissant and dotted with blueberries, as a filling for mini lemon tarts or a layer cake, spooned into a fruity pavlova, or drizzled over a hardy slice of pound cake or cheesecake. But there’s no shame in a savoring a spoonful (or two or three or…) straight from the jar! Yum!

For starters, Easy Peasy Lemon Curd cooks in the microwave! That’s right, no double boilers or tempering eggs. The eggs don’t require tempering because they are beaten into the butter/sugar mixture thoroughly prior to cooking. The roughness of the uncooked sugar granules break down the egg during the beating process. Any tiny bits of egg not fully incorporated into the mixture can be easily removed by straining the mixture through a fine mesh strainer at the end. That shouldn’t be necessary. But in case you’d like to remove any possible little semblance of a lump, it’s an option.

Also, Easy Peasy Lemon Curd uses whole eggs! No worries about separating egg yolks and whites or what to do with leftover whites. Like egg yolks, egg whites also help thicken the curd. And – eggs whites are packed with protein and nutrients (in case you’re eating lemon curd for the nutritional value…no judgement).

About the Lemons

Lemons vary tremendously in size and juiciness, so it’s hard to say how many are needed to squeeze out a cup of juice. Of course, it’s always nice to have a lemon on hand to squeeze into your sweet tea and they last for weeks in the fridge. So no worries about overbuying.

Try these tips to get the most out of your lemons:

• First, wash the lemons. Many lemons are sprayed with wax before they arrive in grocery stores. The FDA says the wax is safe to eat, but I like to give them a good scrub anyhow.
• Next, zest the lemons. Good luck zesting lemons that have already been squeezed (*voice of experience*).
• Before juicing the lemons, roll them firmly with your palm over the countertop. This will help to release some of the membranes so the juices will flow more easily.
• If you don’t have a juicer, manual or electric, no problem! Cut the lemon in half and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Just make sure to remove any seeds or membranes that may fall into the juice.

The Many Uses of Easy Peasy Lemon Curd

• As a breakfast or brunch accompaniment: Spread it on a biscuit, scone, or croissant like jam. Top waffles, pancakes, and even oatmeal. Or serve lemon curd with fresh fruit and maybe even a little yogurt or whipped cream.
• As a dessert: Fill tarts or cake layers. Add a dollop to ice cream or spread over a fruit pavlova. Spoon over pound cake or cheesecake.

Adjust the cornstarch in the recipe depending on how you plan to use the curd. The eggs thicken the curd, but the addition of cornstarch allows the curd to chill into an even thicker, custard-like consistency. This is fantastic for spreading, dolloping, and filling tarts. However, if you prefer the curd to cascade over a slice of cheesecake or pound cake, consider excluding the cornstarch. Either way, it’s going to be so yummy!