Lemon Curd

In May I got to go to my favorite city - San Francisco!  Although it was a business trip, I still had time to eat at some great restaurants and try some sweets.  The best part though, was staying at the California designer director's bungalow in Oakland.  She has lemon and lime trees in her backyard.  So dreamy!  She let me pick as many as I could take in my suitcase - so ended up picking a dozen.

May was quite the busy month filled with packing and moving, so I was totally bummed that I hadn't had time to use them.  Luckily most of them kept pretty well.  Supermarket lemons are no competition for these lemons.  They are extra lemony, have super smooth skin, and seem a bit more on the sweeter side rather than the tart side.  I thought lemon curd from the book jam it, pickle it, cure it and was the perfect way to showcase them.  It was pretty simple - juice the lemons, cut some butter, break some eggs, combine with sugar, and stir on the stove top.  The worst part was waiting for it to cool :)

Here are the ingredients for Karen Solomon's Lemon Curd from jam it, pickle it, cure it, makes about 2 cups:

-6 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
-1 cup sugar
-1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about 12 lemons)
-10 table spoons butter, cut into small pieces
-Zest of 2 lemons, removed in large pieces with a vegetable peeler

To begin, cut the butter.  Juice all the lemons.  I juiced mine and then strained the juice through a sieve because I had a lot of pulp and seeds.

In a large saucepan, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk thoroughly.  Add the sugar and lemon juice.  Stir together until well combined.  The sugar should be completely integrated into the liquids, creating a creamier curd.

Place the pot over medium heat and gently warm the mixture.  After 3 minutes, add the butter and the zest pieces.  Whisk constantly for 7 to 8 minutes, until the butter melts and the mixture becomes very thick.

Pour the curd into a clean glass jar and let it cool off at room temperature, uncovered.  Karen says to remove the zest once cooled, but I found that to be a major pain, so I just left it in.

Refrigerate in a covered glass jar up to 10 days.  I have enjoyed mine on the shortbread I made last week, and today I finally made Smitten Kitchen's braided lemon bread.  So delicious!  Click here to check out Deb's recipe and beautiful blog.