Store-bought lemon curd doesn’t even deserve to share the same name as homemade. This from-scratch lemon curd is deliciously tangy, creamy, and sweet. You only need 5 ingredients and it comes together on the stove in 10 minutes! Lemon curd is perfect for scones, crepes, angel food cake, quick breads, pound cake, and so much more.
Let’s talk lemon.
- Are lemon bars your main squeeze?
- Is lemon blueberry cake your favorite dessert?
- Are you head-over-heels for lemon meringue pie?
If your answer is YES to all of the above, you’re going to flip for this creamy, dense, intensely flavorful spread. Homemade lemon curd is 1 million times tastier than store-bought, which is filled with ingredients we can’t pronounce and has likely been sitting on the shelf for too long. Spread the blissful homemade version on scones, biscuits, homemade English muffins, and so much more. This is the recipe you never realized you needed!
What Is Lemon Curd?
Lemon curd is a very rich dessert topping or spread. It’s buttery and sweet with intense tart lemon flavor—like a creamy lemon version of jam. Lemon curd is made from simple ingredients and comes together quickly on the stove. Lemon lovers, this is your jam.
Get it? Get it? 🙂
How to Make Lemon Curd
Here’s how we make DIY lemon curd. The full recipe and instructions are below.
You need 5 ingredients for lemon curd recipe: egg yolks, fresh lemons, sugar, salt, and butter. Each ingredient serves a critical purpose for thickening and flavoring. The egg yolks thicken the curd, just as they do in creme brûlée, pastry cream, pumpkin pies in a jar, or butterscotch pudding. Use real lemons; you need both the zest and juice. The sugar supplies sweetness and structure, while the salt balances out the flavor. Add the butter after the curd finishes on the stove. Butter makes it super creamy.
Make lemon curd on the stove. Make sure you are constantly whisking as the mixture thickens—we’re talking about 10 minutes of whisking. The good news? That’s the only step in this recipe: whisking!
Use a Double Boiler
I strongly recommend cooking the lemon curd in a double boiler because mixing these ingredients over direct heat quickly leads to burning. Don’t fret! If you don’t have a double boiler, craft a makeshift double boiler by placing a heatproof glass bowl on top of a larger pot. (You can see my DIY double boiler in my brownie baked Alaska post!) Make sure the bottom of the top pot or bowl does not touch the simmering water. It’s worth repeating: lemon curd should never be cooked on direct heat.
Why Does My Lemon Curd Taste Metallic?
Lemon curd may have a metallic aftertaste if you cook it in a metal double boiler. It’s a result of the eggs and lemon reacting with the pan, but is easily avoidable! Use a non-metal double boiler (this one has a porcelain insert) or the glass bowl option I mention above (but make sure it’s heatproof glass, like Pyrex). While you’re at it, use a silicone whisk too!
FAQ: Can I Make This With Other Citrus Fruits?
Absolutely! You can use this same recipe for lemon curd and swap the lemons for limes, grapefruits, or oranges. You can even use pineapple juice, just like we do for the layers of pineapple curd filling in this pineapple coconut cake or a make a cranberry version like we do in this cranberry curd tart.
Uses for Lemon Curd
There are so many ways to enjoy lemon curd. Here are a few suggestions:
- Enjoy on scones, muffins, buttermilk waffles, whole wheat blueberry pancakes, or a Dutch baby pancake
- Use as a filling for crepes, lemon cupcakes, or lemon coconut cake
- Use as a topping for pound cake or pavlova (uses the egg whites!)
- Fill French macarons, choux pastry, or eclairs
- Layer on strawberry shortcake
- Make a lemon berry trifle
- Spread on English muffins, homemade biscuits, toast, croissants
- Mix it with whipped frosting for the fluffiest filling in a citrus cake
- Top your classic cheesecake, lemon cheesecake, or easy cheesecake pie
- Stir in yogurt, cottage cheese, or spoon on ice cream
- Try it on gingerbread waffles (seriously, try this!)
- Use as a filling to add extra flavor to lemon blueberry cupcakes
- Fill your lemon thumbprint cookies
- Fill your favorite cupcake recipe (see my How to Fill Cupcakes post for details on how and for flavor pairing inspiration!)
Lemon Curd
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (includes cooling)
- Yield: 1 – 1.5 cups
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You only need 5 simple ingredients for homemade lemon curd—and the recipe comes together on the stove in 10 minutes! If you know how to whisk, you can make this delicious spread.
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks (for thicker lemon curd, see Note on eggs)
- 2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice (about 2–3 lemons)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 6 pieces
Instructions
- Fill the bottom pot of your double boiler with 1–2 inches of water. (Or use the DIY double boiler method listed in the notes.) Place on high heat. Once the water begins to boil, reduce to low heat to keep the water at a simmer.
- Place egg yolks, granulated sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt into the top pot of your double boiler. Using a silicone whisk, whisk until completely blended, then continue to whisk as the curd cooks. Constant whisking prevents the egg yolks from curdling. Whisk and cook until the mixture becomes thick, resembling the texture of hollandaise sauce, about 10 minutes. If you’d like to be precise and use a candy or instant-read thermometer, the temperature will rise to about 170°F (77°C). If curd isn’t thickening, turn up the heat and constantly whisk.
- Remove pan from heat. Whisk the sliced butter into the curd. The butter will melt from the heat of the curd as you whisk. Pour curd into a jar or bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents a skin from forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cool, the plastic wrap can be removed.
- Refrigerate the curd for up to about 10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, you can freeze the curd up to 3–6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before enjoying.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Egg Separator | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester | Non-Metal Double Boiler | Silicone Whisk
- Thicker Lemon Curd: For thicker lemon curd, replace 2 of the egg yolks with 1 whole egg. This means you will use 2 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg. Keep the rest of the recipe and instructions the same.
- Lemon Juice: Do not use bottled lemon juice. Use fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
- Butter: You can use salted butter instead of unsalted butter. Simply omit 1/8 teaspoon salt in the recipe.
- No Double Boiler? No Problem! If you do not own a double boiler, you can simply place a small heatproof glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water—you will cook the curd in the top pot/bowl.
- No Straining: I don’t strain the lemon curd. The zest is very tiny and has been cooked, so you can hardly detect its texture. It’s really just there for flavor. However, feel free to run the finished lemon curd through a fine mesh sieve if you want to take the extra step.
Reader Comments and Reviews
The lemon curd is delicious.
Hello, Sally! I used your recipe to make lemon curd. It turned out to be amazing! All the lemon juice and zest flavor just sealed in. However, I feel that there is a teeny-tiny bit of eggy flavor, which grows as you eat another dollop. How can I solve that?
Hi Apoorva, I’m so glad you enjoyed the curd! It shouldn’t have an eggy flavor so I wonder if it was overcooked. An easy fix for next time, make sure your bowl isn’t touching the water, turn down the heat a little bit, and take it off the heat a minute earlier if the curd has thickened up.
I have made this some many times. The first time i made this i was so worried it would take me very and not in time to finish the cupcakes i was making. Turns out, just like you said it took 10 minutes, and while it was cooling i make the frosting, other filling, and cupcakes. i am so thankful for this recipe and you. I use SOOO many your recipes, and always feel confident, thank you for that.
Made the Lemon Curd today with some pecan meringues and Oh My lemon curd atop some macerated raspberries…My Goodness Sally…you’ve done it again!
Hi Sally! I have made this recipe three times now. I have a question about whisking. It takes me about 35 minutes to an hour to make this, and I am wondering – am I whisking too vigorously or too slow? Do you have some visual example of the ideal whisking here? Is seeing froth at the top ok, or do we want to whisk slow enough to avoid that?
Thank you, this recipe is delicious.
Hi Natalie, I’m glad you enjoy this lemon curd! Try increasing the heat on your stove. Is the pan you’re using particularly thick? A thinner pan and higher heat will cut down on the cook time. I usually whisk it pretty vigorously, but haven’t noticed a difference if I whisk a little slower. Froth at the top is normal!
Thanks so much for your response! I am eating some lemon curd now on top of warm lemon currant scones and it’s amazing.
I use a round glass bowl on top of a pot – a makeshift double boiler. The froth does seem to settle in the end, but I was also thinking it could affect the color; the first time I made it I whisked slower but for longer, and I believe the color was more striking but maybe it was just the lighting. But that could also be the eggs I used, or the lemons. Can I also ask, then, what factor of the recipe can produce the most intense yellow color?
So so good! A thick and very smooth curd. Delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
How do you use this to “fill” a cupcake? I’m making your lemon blueberry cupcake recipe and you mentioned filling it with the lemon curd. I made the lemon blueberry layer cake 2 weeks ago for my husband birthday and it was phenomenal!
Hi Renee, I have a video of how I fill cupcakes in my Sugar Plum Fairy Cupcakes post!
LOVED this recipe! I am using it for your Lemon Coconut Cake, but the temptation to eat it all with a spoon is tough to resist. I did not use a double boiler, rather I used a pot on relatively low heat and whisked it like crazy and until the texture was right. Thanks again for another winner recipe and your extremely helpful tips!!
Made the lemon curd for the very first time and it turned out sooo good! Will be using it to top Blueberry Lemon Scones tomorrow. I’ve never tasted a lemon filling so creamy and delicious as this one! So impressed!! Used a pot inside a pot as I don’t have a double boiler. It took bringing the temperature up a bit after 11 minutes or so to get it to thicken, while whisking the whole time. Thank you!
Easiest and yummiest lemon curd ever to make!!!!
Thank you Sally, for the delicious recipe…… Absolutely loved it…..
The only thing I did different was, as I have very very less patience, I whisked it on low heat around 5min, n then cranked up the gas to high and whisked like crazy, n the curd thickened in seconds, I immediately turned down the heat to low again for a few more minutes…. .. turned out delicious…..
Another great recipe – as with all the others I’ve tried from this site. I made 2 batches (1 lemon and 1 lime) and both times I had to keep whisking for 20 minutes before the mixture thickened …maybe because my yolks were from fridge.. but just a note for anyone, not to give up as it seems like nothing is happening for almost 19 minutes and then thickens in the last minute. Thanks Sally
I’ve never made lemon curd before but this was so easy! It tastes like sunshine in a jar! Thanks Sally!
Just a quick question, Sally! If I use it fill the cupcakes – what would be the shelf life of these cupcakes – at ROOM TEMPERATURE ( it is better to keep cupcakes at room t, right?)? Thank you so much for this – and many others! – great recipes!
Hi Evelyn, a day or 2 would be just fine. I’ve used this to fill cupcakes and kept them at room temperature for 1 day, then served the next day and they were just fine. But, as always, you can use your best judgment!
Hi sally! Your recipes are my go to ones always want to ask if this lemon curd can be used for pipping filling on mini tarts? Or do i follow the recipe from your lemon meringue pie for it? Which consistency would be better for mini tart filling( pipped)
Hi Joanna, you can use this lemon curd in pre-baked mini tart shells, but I don’t recommend using it in a big tart or pie since it will not slice neatly.
I made lemon curd in advance to fill a cake tomorrow. The curd is in the fridge. How do I warm it up so I can spread it onto my cake layers? It is really thick right out of the fridge, and won’t spread because it’s so cold.
Hi Corinna, you can warm it in a double boiler to thin out to your desired thickness. Though I never usually do since it spreads nicely out of the refrigerator.
Hi Sally! Looking to use this between cake layers, so interested in the “Thicker Lemon Curd” adaptation. A little confused in the recipe modifications that are suggested. It says, “For thicker lemon curd, replace 2 of the egg yolks with 1 whole egg. This means you will use 2 egg yolks plus 1 whole egg. Keep the rest of the recipe and instructions the same.” But the original recipe calls for 4 egg yolks. So is it: 2 egg yolks + 2 whole eggs? Or 2 egg yolks + 1 whole egg (i.e. 3 eggs instead of 4)? On that same train of thought, for a super thick cake-filling worthy curd, should I just use 4 whole eggs? Thanks so much for your help; huge fan!!!
Hi Beth, you can use 4 egg yolks for a thinner curd as suggested or 1 whole egg + 2 egg yolks for a thicker curd.
Amazing recipe and so easy. Made both lemon and lime curd and will be making this many more times! Thank you.
Yum. Just made it for the second time. Comes out great! I didn’t have a double boiler so I cooked it on the stove top at a super low temp.
I consider myself a connoisseur of all things lemon. I love lemon curd and make it often. I thought I had the best recipe already, up until now! This is by far the BEST lemon curd I’ve ever made or tasted. Absolutely divine! Thank you, Sally! You get five stars from me for your delicious lemon curd!
Made lime curd. Really easy to do. Turned out great. Going to definitely use again ❣️
I made this curd yesterday and it was amazing in my (your) pavlova.
What, if any modifications need to be made to make blood orange curd?
Hi Sara, You can use this exact recipe to make an orange curd. (Or even a grapefruit or lime curd!)
I had 7egg yokes left over from another bake and googled What to do with yokes and found this recipe! It was so easy to follow and the lemon curd turned out perfectly Thanks for the recipe, will be looking up more of your ideas!!
Ok. That was a total disaster. I had doubled the recipe. The Pyrex glass bowl (which is one of a set), that I was using as a double boiler, shattered as I was wisking, and the contents sank into the simmering water below. Total loss, and very dangerous. I have a metal double boiler, which I have used for lemon meringue pie. I might try that next time. I love your website, and your recipes (the pavlova was fab), but this is actually quite dangerous. It is not your fault that my bowl was not up to the task, but I think suggesting I improvise a double boiler is not a good idea.
Hi Carol! Thank you so much for sharing your experience. That’s certainly a scare. I use this mock double boiler method often and haven’t had that happen before but I will certainly look into it. Thank you again.
This also happened to me 🙁 I was luckier and my bowl didn’t shatter, so I was able to save the contents, but it did crack and is now unusable. My bowl was also Pyrex. Still a fan of the recipe (used blood oranges and it’s currently chilling in the fridge) but it might be a good idea to put a disclaimer on your suggestion of the DIY double boiler.
Just tried this and its oh so good! And so easy to do and get right! I made the thickrr version.
Quick question, i also tried your Graham cracker pie crust. Can i just will it in with this lemon curd to make a lemon curd tart? Or do i need to bake it still?
Just made this. Came out really well. Didn’t have cling film so had to put in a killer hat without the rubber seal. Hopefully that works.
Just starting a second batch of the lemon curd to give as a gift. This recipe is a keeper!
I made your lemon curd yesterday and the recipe was so easy to follow. It came out great. I’ve never been successful at curd before.
The best dish I’ve ever cooked myself and probably some of the best lemon curd I’ve ever had. I’m not good with trying new things but I tried yours tonight and it’s amazing!! My family loved it. Great recipe
Just made this lemon curd this morning. What a delight. I’m going to use this as filling in a lemon cake. I’ve never made curd before and was skeptical but it turned out beautifully. Followed the recipe exactly.
I made this last night and it turned out so well! I have 50 lbs of lemons that I’m trying to use. Have you ever made this in a crockpot for larger quantities? Have you ever bottled it?