This is the perfect lemon curd recipe you can easily make from scratch and I am pretty sure you will never buy store bought again!
When I started my baker journey a few years ago, lemon was the first flavour I received a lot of compliments on from others. I just love everything about lemon desserts whether it´s lemon pie, macaron, pound cake, choux, or even ice cream. Having said that, store-bought lemon curd and lemon desserts sometimes lack that special kick that you will get making it at home. This homemade lemon curd recipe is the smoothest, most delicious goodness in the world.

Ingredient notes
- Lemon: Using lemon and lemon zest makes the desserts wonderfully flavourful and aromatic. Make sure you use fresh, organic lemon (or one which has no chemicals on the skin) and only grate the yellow part of the skin, not the white. First, take the zest off then simply squeeze the juice out. The recipe is given in grams as the amount of juice that comes out of lemon can greatly vary!
- Granulated sugar: Use normal white granulated sugar, nothing fancy or expensive. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my article in here. In this lemon curd recipe the curd will be tangy and not overly sweet, which is my preference for lemon desserts. Feel free to adjust the quantity of the sugar for your taste
- Egg: Room temperature as always and use only the yolk, which will thicken the curd. If you wonder what to do with the leftover egg white, why not try my pavlova recipe. Some other recipes out there use whole egg, I prefer using yolk only for a few reasons: 1. Colour 2. Texture 3. Easier to cook and less likely to end up like scrambled egg
- Butter: Use always unsalted as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. In this recipe, the butter needs to be at room temperature so avoid last-minute microwaving. The butter makes the lemon curd incredible rich and creamy. The 100 g I state in the recipe is really at the edge to make super creamy, buttery lemon curd which is my favorite however you can try the recipe with 75g butter only and see which consistency you prefer. Both will provide a thick curd
Make sure to check out my lemon desserts collection.
How to make this recipe
1. Why need double boiler to cook lemon curd
A double boiler is a standard method for melting chocolate without burning it and also for cooking lemon curd without ending up with a scrambled egg. I made curd a few times directly on the stove but it is much safer to use a double boiler and I recommend starting with that than perhaps moving into cooking now on the stove once more comfortable.
For the double boiler, all you need is a saucepan and a glass bowl that rests on the rim. You might have to play around with combinations of pans and bowls to find the perfect fit but it works perfectly fine. While cooking the curd, the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Easy peasy!
2. How to make lemon curd from scratch?
Making home made lemon curd is so easy and so quick, you will never ever need to worry about buying it from store!
- Place lemon juice, egg yolk, and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler) and cook the curd over medium-high heat whisking constantly. Whisking is important to avoid egg yolks from curdling
- After about 8-10 minutes the mixture starts to thicken like custard. I find the temperature at this stage is around 80C/176C
- Remove the curd from the heat and to be on the safe side, pour the cooked curd through a sieve so you will get rid of any potential egg bits in there
- With a rubber spatula mix in room temperature butter in small cubes one by one, makes sure each cube is fully incorporated before adding the next. If you have a blender, blend butter into curd, if not, make sure you fully incorporate it with your spatula
- Fold the zest in. Make sure you won´t leave the zest out, it will give so much flavour!
- Pour curd into a jar and place plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents skin forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools in the fridge
- Store in fridge for a week although it will be gone much quicker
3. How long does it take to make lemon curd?
The whole cooking process is literally not more than 10 minutes however the curd and the butter in it needs to be set in the fridge for a few hours minimum or ideally overnight. Please be patient, it´s worth it!
4. What is the consistency of the lemon curd?
The recipe below provides an ideal consistency to fill a lemon tart, lemon pie, cupcakes, cakes or spread on toast, scone, pancake. On the other hand, if you want to use it for e.g. macaron filling, you will need a slightly firmer and more stable consistency. In that case, I recommend to add 1 sheet of gelatin into the warm curd (soak gelatin into cold water first).
4. Variations of lemon curd
The good thing about homemade lemon curd is that you can experiment with adding other citrus or fresh herbs. Try replacing some of the lemon juice with lime, orange, or even passion fruit juice, and see how that tastes! Or, feel free to play around with herbs eg. mint, thyme, or basil all go very well with lemon curd.
How to use lemon curd? You can use it to fill tarts, cupcakes, or why not try this lemon curd bundt cake?
The perfect lemon curd (4 ingredients only)
Ingredients
- 100 ml (½ cups) Lemon juice Freshly squeezed. Approx 2-3 lemons, measure with a digital scale as it can greatly vary
- 3 (3) Egg yolks
- 140 g (⅔ cups) Granulated sugar
- 3 (3) Lemon zest
- 100 g (½ cups) Unsalted butter Room temp. You can try to make it with 75g and see which consistency you prefer
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
- Place lemon juice, egg yolk and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler) and cook the curd over medium-high heat whisking constantly. Whisking is important to avoid egg yolks from curdling
- After about 8-10 minutes the mixture starts to thicken like custard (mixture will reach around 80C /176F)
- Remove from heat, pour the cooked curd through a sieve
- With a rubber spatula mix in room temperature butter in small cubes one by one, makes sure each cube is fully incorporated before adding the next. Hand blend
- Fold the zest
- Pour curd into a jar and place plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents skin forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools in the fridge
- Store in fridge for a week although it will be gone much quicker
Zohre.khorsandi
Excellent and skillful, thank you
Grace Toews
Really struggling to thicken it. Cooked for over half an hour still not where I want it. Any suggestions?
Katalin Nagy
It won't be thick when cooked, but it will thicken later as refrigerated. I suggest using a thermometer, then you will know when it is ready.
Magdalena
This is the 2nd recipe I tried from you and again, just perfect. Easy to make. Excellent for summer recipes, yesterday I made tartlets with lemon curd and raspberries and everybody loved them. Me toooooo 🙂 Delishhh. Thank you for another amazing recipe.
Kata
Thank you! Cannot wait to hear from you again when you try another one 🙂
Marianna Dickey
Most excellent 👌
Alexandra Kusper
Very easy and delicious recipe!
Karina
The lemoncurd is delicious, however, make sure to add the butter one cube at a time and only after the prior one is fully incorporated. I was impatient (I know, a deadly sin for a baker) and my lemoncurd separated. But thanks to Katalins suggestion to let it solidify in the fridge and then mix it again I was able to rescue the outcome and enjoy it as a topping on a lemon-ricotta-cheesecake
admin
Thanks for your feedback and I am happy you managed to save that batch 🙂
Lenka Cardozo
I did it, it' a perfect recipe
admin
thanks so much yes indeed :)!
Lauren Ion
Really Great Recipe and easy to make!!! Thank you Katalin. Need to make myself another batch as the first round disappeared so quickly it was so delicious!!! Can't wait to try out more of your recipes
admin
Thanks so much for your feedback, I am glad you liked my lemon curd! Your feedback is more than welcomed if you try some of my other recipes too 🙂
Tati
I continue to come back to this recipe. I love it. Easy to make and so versatile. I use it for fillings or as topping of literally anything . Love it.
Juliana
I’m looking to make this as a tart filling. Do you have any thoughts on using Meyer lemons over regular lemons?
Thank you!
Kata
No matter what lemon you use, the ingredients and method are the same.
Sally
Definitely the perfect lemon curd. I have tried a lot of recipes and this is by far the best especially if you are looking for one to use as a filling for cakes. It sets well and tastes great. Will be my 'go to' from now on.
admin
Thanks so much for your kind feedback, I so much love this lemon curd, happy to hear that I am not alone 🙂
Cintia
An impeccable recipe, enjoy making it quickly and with simple ingredients. The consistency is perfect and intense flavor . I have used this recipe to make the filling of my Lemon Drip cake 👌🏻
admin
Thanks a lot! Your lemon drip cake looks amazing and I am so happy my lemon curd recipe ended up in it 🙂