Lemon Curd

As mentioned in my last post, I had made one of the most delicious cakes to date: a blueberry lemon cake filled with tangy lemon curd and topped with homemade whipped cream. Unfortunately, I will not be sharing the actual cake with you as it slowly broke apart on the drive from my place to my parent's, and I foolishly did not take pictures of it before hand (although I didn't have time either). So, that really just means that I have to make the cake again sometime in the future so that I CAN share it with you. :) Perfect logic, right?

What I am able to share is the fabulous lemon curd that I made to fill the cake with. My first attempt at making a curd turned out to be wonderfully easy, and produced the most lip puckering lemony curd ever with a hint of sweetness. In other words, refreshing and drool-worthy at the same time.

Yield: up to 2 cups
Ingredients:
4 lemons
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 whole eggs plus 4 egg yolks
1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
4 tablespoons unsalted, room temperature and cut into small cubes

Directions:

Slice lemons in half crosswise and extract as much of the juice as you can with a citrus reamer. Room temperature or slightly warm citrus (achieved by placing in microwave for 10-15 seconds) is the best for juicing. Repeat until you have 1 cup of the lemon juice, making sure to strain so that there are no seeds left.

Whisk together the juice, whole eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a heat proof bowl until smooth. Add the butter cubes to the bowl, but don't stir.

Fill a medium-sized pot with 1" of water and heat until water is simmering. Place the bowl with the juice mixture on atop the rim, ensuring that the bowl fits snugly into the top of the pot and that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water (or else the eggs will cook). Stirring gently, but constantly, cook until the curd has thickened and all of the butter has melted and is incorporated, about 10 minutes. To test if the curd is thick enough, remove the spatula or spoon from the curd and run your finger down the back of the spoon. If you're able to draw a distinct line through, the curd is ready.

Strain the curd over a bowl using a fine-mesh sieve and then stir in the lemon zest. Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly against the curd (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for at least 3 hours. It will thicken slightly more while chilling.

Source: slightly adapted from Sweetapolita

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