6tablespoonslemon juice (76g-84g) (juice of about 1 1/2 to 2 lemons)
3egg yolks
1egg
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar (110g), I have used half monkfruit sugar and half regular sugar and it’s worked well!
1stickunsalted butter, diced into cubes and at room temp
Instructions
In a medium bowl, place eggs and egg yolks. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
Place lemon juice and sugar in a small sauce pot. Heat over low to medium heat, stirring frequently with a whisk, until it boils. Right after it boils, immediately remove from heat and pour into bowl with eggs, whisking the eggs while you pour- the key is to incorporate this hot mixture into the eggs off heat and whisking continuously so the eggs don’t cook, but start to get warm. A quick shock of heat is not good for the eggs- a more gradual increase of heat will result in a better consistency.
Pour this egg mixture back into the saucepan and put over a very low heat. Whisk the ENTIRE time until the mixture thickens, about 3-8 minutes and the temperature registers around 160ish. Some notes here if you want the perfect curd and minimize error:1. DON’T LEAVE THE POT and whisk the whole time. Seriously. I’m the biggest multitasker ever when it comes to cooking and I don’t leave this pot. The likelihood of accidentally cooking the egg is too high)2. Technically the end temperature should be higher but after doing this about 10 times, I found that 160 works best. I’ve also found a huge discrepancy in how long this takes- sometimes it happens immediately, sometimes it takes longer.3. Pay attention to whisk the corners and sides of the pot, as it’s easy for egg to get stuck here and then cook. At end, change to a wooden spoon or spatula so you can get a better sense for how thick the mixture is. The texture/consistency you want is that it sticks to the spatula and when you run your finger through the back of the spatula, it doesn’t run.
Remove from heat and add butter, a few cubes at a time, stirring until fully incorporated. Chill and use within a month.
What to do with this amazing curd? Here are a few ideas…
My favorite: Add to yogurt and berries for a dessert or snack (or breakfast).