Delicious Lemon Curd from Scratch

If you love the bright flavor of lemon curd but you’re turned off by the price and availability, this is the recipe for you! In this post I’m going to show you how I made lemon curd from scratch in my own kitchen!

What is Lemon Curd? 

Lemon curd is similar to lemon pie filing but it’s slightly more custardy (is that a word?) and has a stronger flavor. 

Lemon curd is traditionally used on scones (like my Easy Cake Mix Scones or my Strawberry Lemon Creme Scones.

In this particular case I wanted to make lemon curd to go along with my delicious homemade Angel Food Cake from scratch. 

How Can I Use Leftover Egg yolks? 

That was the question at hand. My angel food cake called for twelve (yes, twelve) egg whites. I happened to have a ton of eggs on hand and didn’t mind using them up. 

But, if I’m being completely honest, I don’t always save the egg yolks. When I’m making a wedding cake, for example, those yolks often get tossed. Until today it never occurred to me that I could use them to make anything other than omelettes. 

I was wrong. So wrong. 

While on Sally’s Baking Addiction looking at the recipe for her angel food cake recipe I saw the suggestion for the lemon curd.

Let’s Make Homemade Lemon Curd! 

I happened to have plenty of lemons on hand. 

And butter. 

And obviously I had a plethora of egg yolks. 

And since I had just baked up the most Delicious Angel Food Cake, I just knew lemon curd would go great with it. (I also happened to have raspberries on hand, so decorating my cake with lemon curd and raspberries? Yes, please! 

And that’s how the decision was made to create my own lemon curd from scratch. And now that I see how easy it is I’m going to show you how to make it, too! 

Lemon Curd Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need. These are simple ingredients you might already have on hand.

• egg yolks
• salted butter (or 1 stick unsalted butter plus 1/4 teaspoon salt)
• granulated sugar
• lemon zest and juice

That’s it! Just a few simple ingredients! Now let’s talk about how to make this delicious curd!  

How to Make Lemon Curd from Scratch

Before you begin:

• Make sure you have a whisk handy. 
• Slice a stick of butter and set it aside. 

Okay, let’s get Going

You’re going to need a double-boiler for this one, friends. If you don’t have one (I don’t) you can place a smaller pan on top of a larger one. I had heat-safe pyrex bowls so that’s what I used. 

Put two inches of water in the bottom of a saucepan and bring it to a low boil. Lower the heat to medium. 

Place egg yolks in heatproof bowl or saucepan and whisk well. 

Add sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice. (Don’t add the butter yet.) 

Whisk those ingredients until they’re incorporated. 

Place on top of the saucepan as you see in the picture below. 

Cook over bubbling water for 10 – 12 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the eggs from curdling. 

The first couple minutes the sugar will begin to melt. You’ll end up with a thin liquid. Keep stirring. 

By about the ten minute mark it should be roughly the consistency of hollandaise sauce (or a thin gravy). If it’s not thickening turn up the heat and bring the water to a brisker boil. Whisk continually until it comes together. 

Add slice butter and stir until melted and fully incorporated. 

Remove from heat and place curd in a bowl.

Cover immediately with plastic wrap, making sure it touches the surface of the curd all the way across. You’re doing this to prevent a skin from forming. 

Allow to cool fully before using. (I used some of mine on this delicious angel food cake.)

Cover tightly and place in refrigerator. It should stay good up to ten days. 

And that’s it, my friends! Now let’s talk about how you can use that curd! 

How to Use Lemon Curd

As I mentioned above, Lemon curd is perfect with scones. If you’ve never made scones before you might think they’re intimidating but they’re not, I promise. In fact, I even have a simple cake mix scone recipe you can try. (It’s super easy.) 

Pie Filling: If you like, you can use this in a lemon pie. I would probably make a simple crust, fill it with the curd, and use a meringue or whipped cream topping. (Delicious!) 

Trifle: If you’ve made an angel food cake (or white cake) and you’r looking for a way to stretch it, use your lemon curd and some lemon mousse to make a trifle. (Delicious!) 

Lemon Pound Cake Cookies: I have a great recipe for these and I think they would be amazing with lemon curd!

Best White Cake from a Box: Use this lemon curd as a filling between the layers of the cake. (Delicious!)

I found a terrific post at the Like Mother, Like Daughter blog titled 20 ways to use Lemon Curd.

Other Curds Using this Recipe:

Lime Curd: Use limes in place of lemons and add a dot of green food coloring.

Mango curd: Use 2/3 cup mango puree in place of lemons.

Orange Curd: Use the zest and juice of a large orange for this version. Add a dot of orange food coloring gel.

Other Lemon Favorites from Out of the Box Baking

I’ve got so many great lemon treats on this blog! I hope you will take the time to enjoy them all.

• Triple Lemon Poke Cake
• Lemon Blueberry Bars
• Delicious Lemon Coconut Bars
• Strawberry Lemonade Cake 

That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe. 

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you’re at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

See this recipe at

Full Plate Thursday 

Weekend Potluck

The Lazy Gastronome

Busy Monday 

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.