lemon and lime curd

lemon and lime curd

There was a break in the rain, the gunmetal hue of the sky was replaced with a hint of blue and the sun seemed to sparkle. I could almost convince myself that it was late spring. Ever the optimist, I wanted to celebrate with cupcakes, packed with almonds and citrus, as perhaps a portent of things to come. But first I needed to make some lemon curd. I wanted a curd that was sweet and zesty and explodes on your tongue like sherbet lemons!

I was never much one for lemon curd when I was younger, scarred by memories of lemon meringue pie, as repellent a concoction as I have ever had the misfortune to eat. Having said that, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense not to like lemon curd since I like lemons, I like butter, I like eggs and I even like a helping of sugar, so why not lemon curd? I suspect it was just that I hadn't had the good stuff, the home-made stuff. Now was the time to find out.

I ended up making lemon and lime curd as I only had one lemon. Having said that I could quite easily have just made an all lime curd or an orange curd instead. Now I am wondering what grapefruit curd would taste like . . . must bookmark that idea for another rainy day.

Curd turned out perfectly but as for my ability to forecast the weather, not so accurately . . . there were freak storms and even a tornado across central England last night. Bah! At least we have the citrus cupcakes to look forward to.

Makes about 2 small jam jars
Skill level: Easy

ingredients:
1 x lemon
2 x limes
200g caster sugar
110g butter
2 x large eggs
1 egg yolk

directions:

1. Zest the lemon and lime, before juicing them. Make sure the zest is finely chopped.
2. A quick tip if you want to try to get more juice out of your lemon or lime is to either roll it on a hard surface, with the heel of your hand. This helps to break down the fibres and releases some of the juice. Another method is to give the fruit a burst in the microwave, on about 10 second bursts. But probably not more than 20 to 30 second bursts in total. You could end up with a hot citrus bomb!
3. Place a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Make sure that the bowl isn't actually in contact with the water.
4. Add the zest, fruit juice and sugar to the bowl and stir until the sugar is beginning to melt.
5. Add the butter and continue to stir occasionally until all of the liquid has combined.
6. Beat the eggs together with the egg yolk. Slowly add to the butter mixture and continue to stir.
7. Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened. Do not allow it to boil.
8. Pour into clean pots. Allow to cool and then refrigerate.It will stay fresh in the fridge for up to about 2 weeks.

tips:

• Lemon curd has lots of uses. You may want to use it as a filling for an alternative Victoria Sponge cake, or with fresh raspberries in a delightful summer sandwich.
• Lemon curd is lovely stirred into syllabub and of course delicious on freshly baked bread.
• Keep the leftover lemon and limes. I put them in a bowl of boiling water and then microwave, as it helps to degrease and deodorise your microwave.