Easy Lemon Curd

This smooth, easy lemon curd is refreshingly tart with just a hint of sweetness! A 5-ingredient recipe made on the stovetop and finished with butter for a rich, silky texture. Try using lemon curd to fill cupcakes, serve with cake or flavor anything from buttercream to pudding!

The key to unlocking the perfect lemon curd is the ideal ratio between tart, fresh lemons, sugar and a hint of butter. My lemon curd has just enough sugar to balance the puckering tartness of the lemons but not so much to make it sweet. You want lemon curd to taste like, you guessed it, lemons!

Lemon curd isn’t the sexiest member of the pastry world but it is incredibly versatile! You can use it as a filling for these lemon coconut cupcakes, flavoring Italian Meringue buttercream instead of extract, as a sauce for easy chocolate cake or fruit tarts, with berries and whipped cream on a pavlova cake, or just stirred into yogurt for a sweet, semi-healthy dessert. You can also add a bit of gelatin and it becomes a delightful filling for cakes or lemon bars. I’ll give you even more ideas below!

Professional Tips for Making Lemon Curd

• Whisk the eggs and egg yolks well before you add any other ingredients. The egg whites protect the yolks from denaturing when they come in contact with sugar or an acid. Whisk in the sugar next, which will further protect the egg from the intensity of the lemon juice. This will help ensure a smooth lemon curd.
• Don’t stop stirring and get those corners! I have a very specific way to stir lemon curd (and chocolate pudding) to ensure no lumps form on the bottom or edges. Make a zigzag pattern across the whole bottom of the pot then do one circle around the outside edge of the pot with your silicone spatula. Repeat. It’s actually really soothing.
• Switch to the whisk when it starts to curd. Don’t panic when curds start to form. That is the whole point! I switch to a whisk once it begins curding and that keeps it smooth while it thickens. Don’t neglect the corners though!
• You can make the whole thing over a water bath for a hands-off method! It will take 3x as long, but it requires minimal effort on your part. Just an occasional stir and then a whisk once it begins to curd. I used this method in the restaurant when I had a lot of other hand-on preparations.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Large Eggs & Egg Yolks: When eggs & egg yolks are combined with sugar and an acid like lemon juice and then heated they will thicken. Lemon curd is a stirred custard like vanilla pudding, vanilla pastry cream, crème anglaise, or even chocolate ice cream! Be sure you are using large eggs, oftentimes the yolks are larger in extra large eggs.
• Granulated Sugar: Sugar is essential to the success of this recipe. It helps curd the eggs when combined with the acidic lemon juice. I balance the flavor with the function. You can probably reduce it safely to ¾ cup.
• Lemon Juice: It is worth squeezing fresh lemons for this recipe. Fresh lemon juice has a brightness and floral notes that bottled lacks. Bottled lemon juice is dull and the flavor is flat. The acidity is also essential to the curding property, so you can substitute an acidic puree like passionfruit puree for passionfruit curd or a combination of orange juice and lemon juice for orange curd. Grapefruit juice also works but maybe not ruby red grapefruits. I don’t use the lemon zest because then you must strain the curd.
• Kosher Salt: The kosher salt enhances the flavor without adding sweetness.
• Unsalted Butter: You can omit the butter for a dairy free option. It will still be delicious and smooth. The butter adds a richness and silky mouthfeel.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to use lemon curd

• Uses it as a flavoring. Add lemon curd to vanilla pudding, crème brûlée, vanilla ice cream or pastry cream for a bright lemon option. Use it to flavor buttercream like this Swiss meringue buttercream like I did on this American Flag Cake, Italian meringue buttercream or even to heighten the flavor of this easy lemon buttercream.  You can even fold it into whipped cream for a lemon curd whipped cream!
• Use it as a filling. Fill a layer cake (with a dam of frosting to hold it in place), use it as a filling for cupcakes like these unexpected lemon chocolate cupcakes or my lemon cupcakes, or in a berry trifle! It also makes an excellent filling for thumbprint cookies or chocolate thumbprints!
• Spoon it on for an easy dessert or breakfast. Lemon curd is delightful swirled into Greek yogurt or lemon posset. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy a large spoonful in mine while photographing! You can serve it with strawberry scones, blueberry scones, muffins, english muffins, buttermilk biscuits, toast or moist banana bread! It also makes a great topping for pancakes or waffles!
• It makes an excellent sauce! Lemon curd was one of my favorite dessert garnishes when I was an Executive pastry chef in Manhattan restaurants. It adds a bright color, complimentary tart flavor and balances so many different desserts. It can add a smooth contrast to a crunchy component like streusel! Try it with angel food cake, strawberry cake, classic white cake, buttermilk panna cotta, or lemon olive oil cake. Surprise and delight your guests by serving it with this easy one bowl carrot cake or any of my other cake recipes.
• Add gelatin for a more stable curd. Use lemon curd with gelatin in lemon bars, stabilized lemon curd whipped cream, lemon meringue pie filling, or as a more firm filling for cakes. Add the bloomed gelatin to the hot lemon curd after the butter!
• Fill a tart shell. You can use lemon curd with or without gelatin. If you choose not to stabilize, it will not hold a firm slice like lemon meringue pie. Blind bake a tart shell using my pâte sucrée recipe or all-butter pie crust recipe and fill it up! Top with fruit and whipped cream.
• Want the official list? Check out these curated Recipes with Lemon Curd!

How to Make Homemade Lemon Curd

Use these instructions to make silky, smooth lemon curd every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: In a large saucepan, whisk together whole eggs and yolks until smooth and homogenous. There should be no streaks of whites.

Step 2: Whisk in the sugar and salt very well.

Step 3: Slowly whisk in the lemon juice.

Step 4: Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly until nappant or when the custard coats the back of a spoon and will hold a line drawn through with your finger. First all the tiny bubbles will disappear and then it will begin to thicken. When the lemon curd begins to thicken (or curd) you can switch to the whisk briefly to break up those initial clumps and encourage the custard to stay smooth. The consistency will be that of pudding.

Step 5: Remove from heat and stir or whisk in butter.

Step 6: Pour into a large bowl or a plastic wrap lined baking sheet. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface, poke a few holes and refrigerate until cold.

Step 7: Transfer cooled curd to a clean mason jar or airtight container.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. You will also love our other custard recipes or more lemon recipes, or try this lemon curd with a slice of lemon pound cake!