Lockdown Recipe of the Day: Lemon curd

This recipe accompanies this column on lemons

Ingredients

Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 Tbsp)

⅓ cup lemon juice (roughly the juice of 3 lemons)

⅔ cup white sugar

4 extra large egg yolks (reserve whites for a meringue or omelette)

Pinch of salt

85 g soft butter

Method

Zest 1 lemon first and set the zest aside, then squeeze the juice of 3 lemons into a bowl, strained through a fine sieve.

Add to the bowl the zest, sugar, egg yolks, and salt. (Not the butter.)

Have to hand the softened butter for whisking in after it’s cooked.

Use a double boiler or, if you don’t have one, a metal bowl over a pot containing about 5 cm of water. Turn on the heat and, when it boils, reduce to a very low heat and place the bowl in it. Immediately start whisking, using a hand-held whisk (it’s worth the effort). Continue whisking for 9 to 10 minutes and the curd thickens.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter a bit at a time until all is incorporated.

Spoon into a sterilised jar and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. It will thicken considerably in the fridge. And your toast will be very happy. DM/TGIFood

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