Lemons: Lemon curd

I have tried so many recipes and trawled the internet in order to find an easy, no fail lemon curd recipe that is super lemony (there is nothing worse than insipid curd), but should really have looked no further than Stephanie Alexander's The Cook's Companion'. I am often heard saying in the kitchen, "what would Stephanie do?" and she has certainly never let me down. Stephanie debunks the 'whisk continuously in a double boiler and never let it boil or it will curdle' myth, which makes 'lemon curding' a whole lot easier.

 

Lemon curd keeps covered in the fridge for a week and unopened in sterilised jars for 3 or more weeks (it has never lasted longer than this in our house).

 

Ingredients (makes 1 1/4 cups):

This recipe is from Stephanie Alexander 'The Cook's Companion'

• 4 egg yolks**
• 2/3 cup castor sugar
• 60 grams butter
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 100 ml lemon juice

**NB: egg whites keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week, and freeze well (make sure you mark how many egg whites are in the snaplock bag)

Method:

1. whisk egg yolks and sugar until well combined
2. pour into saucepan and add all other ingredients
3. stir constantly over a medium-high heat at a simmer for approximately 10 minutes, allowing the curd to thicken (NB: it will thicken further as it cools)
4. as soon as bubbles start to appear, remove from heat and continue stirring as it cools
5. once at room temperature, transfer into sterilised jars, seal and refrigerate until you are hungry
6. eat with a spoon, dollop on crepes, pop in tarts or spread on toast!