2k16 is upon us. That means 366 days of absolute agony getting the opportunity to go into the world and be the best that I can be. This year, apart from being my last year of high school, will be the year that I continue my progression from a heartless pessimist and cynic to a more open-minded optimist 🙂 The creepy smiley face confirms this, it’s friendly, innocent and almost completely innocuous. Almost.

One thing I can definitely guarantee you is that you will be seeing a lot of this lemon curd in 2k16. A lot of it, you will be so sick of me like ‘Can’t you cook anything else?!’I can, yes, but I just feel like I’m not yet done with this creamy yellow deliciousness, I have very big plans for it. Very big plans indeed. 

  My first attempt at making lemon curd was about a year ago, and only about 56% failure. At the end of the day, I had a very yellow, very sour, very yummy substance. Just that it was liquid. It had not thickened AT ALL. Reason being that I was very impatient with my curd on the stove  and had removed it prematurely. And this is where I warn you, do not, and I repeat DO NOT remove the curd from the stove top until it has thickened considerably and when you run a spoon through it, it leaves streaks.

Also, you’re probably going to wonder if using 6 egg yolks is really necessary. After my first fail at this recipe, I decided to return to my office/bedroom to fully understand what went wrong and how I could fix it. Purely by analysis of ingredients, I deduced that the only way to get a thick lemon curd, would be to add more egg yolks. And so I did, and I am happy with the results. Or if you’re concerned about the 6 egg whites that will have nowhere to go, here’s an idea: whisk the egg whites together briefly with a pinch of salt and pepper and fry them like an omelette. Easy peasy protein packed breakfast.
Don’t like sweet stuff? Add less sugar. Want it to be more tart? Don’t be shy with that lemon juice! The colour making you sick? Use more whole eggs and less yolk, that’s the easiest way to tone down the beautiful sunshine colour (you heartless monster).  

Another note: do not try to cook this in a saucepan. Because you will fail. And you will have a plate of lemony scrambled eggs on your hands. You have been warned. Instead, fill the saucepan about ¾ of the way to top with boiling water, put your stove on the lowest heat setting, sit a large bowl over the saucepan and make your curd in there. Just make sure the bowl is not plastic. I also happened to make the mistake of melting the bowl and having it glued to the pan. And I’m supposed to be the scientist. If you feel like you are going to die before the curd is ready, feel free to turn the heat up a bit on the stove, just remember what I said about scrambled eggs then remember that patience is a virtue and this curd is to die for.

But Andrea, what on earth will I do with a jar of this heavenly pud? I’ll give you a few ideas, spread it on your toast, fill some pastry with it, use it as a filling for cupcakes (coming soon, spoiler alert), ice your pavlova with it (also coming soon) or just grab a spoon and indulge! If it’s acceptable to eat Nutella out the jar, the same should go for lemon curd.

Lemon Curd 

Ingredients

6 egg yolks

*1 whole egg

¼ cup castor sugar

½ cup lemon juice

½ tbsp grated lemon rind

¼ cup cold margarine, cut into small pieces

Method

1. Add all the ingredients except the margarine to a medium heatproof bowl and mix well to combine
2. Fill a saucepan ¾ of the way to the top with boiling water and set it over the stove on low heat. Place your bowl over the lid of the saucepan and stir continuously, taking breaks, until the mixture has thickened considerably and when you run a spoon through it, it leaves permanent streaks in the curd. This will take you between 10 and 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes, the curd hasn’t thickened, increase the heat and continue to stir until it does.
3. Remove the bowl from heat and add the margarine pieces bit by bit until all the pieces have melted and combined to give you what we can now call, LEMON CURD.
4. Strain the curd into a jar to remove any lumps/cooked egg. Refrigerate for at least an hour and serve.

*If you’re a bit nervous about adding 6 egg yolks, it’s okay to play with the ingredients and add 4 egg yolks and 3 whole eggs, or 5 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks, your curd will just be less thick and the colour won’t be as strikingly yellow.