Easy Lemon Curd Recipe

Easy, home-made Lemon Curd

This Easy Lemon Curd Recipe will enable you to make fresh, zesty lemon curd in a matter of minutes. It is so easy to make and is totally different from over-sweetened shop-bought lemon curd which just does not have anything like the same level of sharp lemony flavour. This is one of those recipes where the minimal effort really pays off with a product that is so much better than the ready-made version.

Many people think it is hard to make Lemon Curd and worry about ending up with lemon-flavoured scrambled eggs rather than smooth curd. Do not worry! The acid in the lemon juice prevents the eggs scrambling when they are heated. All you need to do is cook over a low heat and make sure you stir the mixture while it is thickening. The whole recipe only takes around 10 minutes – quicker than going down to the shops to buy a jar of ready-made Lemon Curd.

You can make Curd from a number of other tropical fruit such as lime, orange, mango and passion fruit. I think it works best with strongly flavoured fruit – if you are a fan of rhubarb, have a look at my recipe for Rhubarb Curd.

There are so many uses for Easy Lemon Curd..

So what can you do with Lemon Curd? Well, lots and lots of things, actually! First off, it is great as a spread on bread as an alternative to jam or honey. It is also great stirred into plain yogurt or spooned over vanilla ice cream. However, in my opinion, it really comes into its own as a cooking ingredient. Its punch of lemony flavour is fantastic in all kinds of sweet dishes. It is particularly useful as a filling for cakes and in all kinds of puddings.

Other lemon-flavoured recipes

Lemon is one of my favourite flavours. I will always go for the lemon cake rather than the chocolate cake! If you like lemon too, you might like my Lemon Pavlova or easy Lemon Curd Ice Cream, both of which use my home-made Lemon Curd. Or you could check out some of my other lemon-flavoured recipes such as my Lemon Drizzle Cake, Lemon Biscuits and Lemon Verbena Ice Cream.

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Lemon Curd

Easy Lemon Curd Recipe

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 5
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 300 ml lemon curd 1x
  • Category: Curd
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This Easy Lemon Curd Recipe is fool-proof and only takes ten minutes.  In less time than it takes to go to the shop to buy ready-made Lemon Curd, you can have the far superior zesty, lemony home-made version.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 unwaxed lemons
  • 85 g butter
  • 225 g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs

Lemon Curd


Instructions

  1. Finely grate the zest of the lemons into a small, heavy-based saucepan.
  2. Squeeze the lemons and add their juice to the saucepan together with the butter and sugar.
  3. Beat the eggs and add these to the saucepan.
  4. Put the saucepan over a very low heat and stir until the butter has melted and the ingredients have combined.
  5. Continue stirring over the low heat until the mixture has thickened.  This should take around five minutes.
  6. Pour the mixture into sterilised jam jars and allow to cool.

Lemon Curd


Notes

Make sure you use unwaxed lemons which are available in most supermarkets.  You want lemon zest rather than wax in your curd!

Don’t worry about ending up with scrambled eggs!  The acid in the lemon juice will prevent this.

You can sterilise your jam jars by washing them in warm, soapy water, rinsing well and then drying off for 15 minutes in an oven set at 140C/120C fan/gas 1.

The lemon curd will keep for three weeks in the refridgerator.

Keywords: lemon curd, curd

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Spiced Carrots with Honey and Lemon

A brilliantly easy and versatile recipe that can be made into a side, a salad, a dip or a sandwich filling!

Spiced Carrots with Honey and Lemon. Just the description makes my mouth water. The carrots are slow-roasted in the oven to bring out their earthy sweetness. Then they are tossed with warm Middle Eastern spices – cumin, cinnamon, paprika and cumin – and tossed in a garlic, lemon and honey dressing. The result is a flavour sensation – spicy, zesty and sweet.

And even better, these Spiced Carrots can be finished to make one of three different types of dish – a side-dish, a salad or a dip – all with the same punch of flavour. If you serve the carrots warm, they make a great side-dish to accompany a meat, fish or vegetarian main course. If you allow them to cool to room temperature, they make a fantastic salad. Finally, you can blend the carrots to make a dip which can be served with crusty bread or used as a sandwich filling.

I will often make a big batch of this recipe and use it as either a side-dish or salad for our family supper. The remainder is then blended into a dip which is used for working-at-home lunches or used as a sandwich filling for school lunch boxes.

This recipe is based on the Moroccan Spiced Carrot Dip from the wonderful Riverford Organic Farm. I use a bit more honey and ground ginger rather than fresh but the zingy flavours are all theirs! The recipe section of their website provides lots of inspiration about creative ways to use their fantastic, organic vegetables.

If you are in the mood for a zesty, flavourful winter salad, we have lots more at Tastebotanical. What about Thai Cucumber Salad, Aubergine with Soy and Honey, Roasted Pepper Salad or Roasted Beetroot with Yogurt and Tahini?

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Roasted Carrot Salad with Honey and Lemon

Spiced Carrots with Honey and Lemon

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 46 as a side dish 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Roasting
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Description

A brilliantly easy and versatile recipe which combines slow-roasted carrots with warm Middle Eastern spices and a garlic, lemon and honey dressing.  It can be made into a side-dish, a salad, a dip or a sandwich filling!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 800 g fresh carrots
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 garlic clove (crushed)
  • 1 tablespoon runny honey
  • Juice of one lemon

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 200 C/Gas Mark 6
  2. Peel the carrots and chop into disks about 3 mm thick.    
  3. Put the carrot disks onto a baking tray.  Add the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Bake the carrot disks in the oven for around 30 minutes until they are soft and slightly brown at the edges.
  5. Remove the carrot disks from the oven and roughly mash using a fork.   
  6. In a large bowl, mix together the cumin, cinnamon, paprika, ginger, crushed garlic clove, honey and lemon juice.
  7. Add the roughly mashed carrots to the bowl and stir to combine.

Notes

This is a very versatile recipe.  It can be served warm as a side dish.  It can be served at room temperature as a salad.  Or you can put it in the blender and create a dip or a sandwich filling!

Keywords: carrots, spices, salad

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Candied Lemon and Lime Slices

Candied Lemon and Lime Slices - cake decoration
Candied Lemon and Lime Slices

Candied Lemon and Lime Slices

These Candied Lemon and Lime Slices are a great way of decorating cakes, such as Lemon Drizzle Cake, and puddings.  They look attractive –  I love the fresh citrus colours –  and also taste good and are very easy to make.

You can make these slices with all types of citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruits or little kumquats, in addition to lemons and limes.

Candied Lemon and Lime Slices

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Candied Lemon and Lime Slices

Candied Lemon and Lime Slices

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 5
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8-10 slices 1x
  • Category: Decoration
  • Cuisine: English

Description

These Candied Lemon and Lime Slices are a really easy way to decorate all kinds of cakes and puddings.  Pretty and tasty – and no artificial preservatives!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lemon or 1 lime
  • 125 ml water
  • 75 g caster sugar

Instructions

  1. Thinly slice your lemon or lime.
  2. Put the water and sugar in a small saucepan.  Heat gently until the sugar dissolves.  Then increase the heat and bring the mixture up to boiling point.
  3. Put the lemon or lime slices into the sugar syrup and cook gently for 5 minutes until they are soft and translucent.
  4. Remove the saucepan from the heat.  Leave the lemon or lime slices in the sugar syrup and allow to cool.
  5. When cool, remove the lemon or lime slices from the syrup and use to decorate cakes or desserts.

Keywords: lemon, lime, cake decoration

Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake

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Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon drizzle cake

My favourite easy Lemon Drizzle Cake

This easy Lemon Drizzle Cake is one of my favourite cake recipes.   It is very simple and straight-forward and the resulting cake is a fantastic demonstration of how home-made cakes are better than shop-bought cakes.  It is just a lemon-flavoured sponge but, freshly-made with zingy lemon and real butter and eggs, it is a real treat.

I have decorated my cake with Candied Lemon Slices but it tastes just as good just with the drizzle!

Lemon drizzle cake

What you need to know about my easy Lemon Drizzle cake

  • First off, it is very quick and easy. After all, the clue is in the title. It is a simple loaf cake which means that it is cooked in 45 minutes. Having a drizzle, which is added immediately the cake is out of the oven, rather than an icing makes it really simple to make.
  • You need to either use unwaxed lemons or, if you are using waxed lemons (most of them are unless they specifically say that they are not) you need to wash them thoroughly before using. Otherwise, when you grate the lemon zest into the cake, you will also be adding the wax coating.
  • You can keep the cake for two or three days, wrapped in foil, but like all home-made sponge cakes it is best within a day or so. You can freeze it, wrapped in foil and then placed in a freezer bag, for up to three months.
  • I think of this as a typical cake to eat with your morning coffee or afternoon tea. It is good for parties as it is easy to slice it into portions.

Lemon drizzle cake

Other loaf cakes

I love baking and have lots of easy baking recipes for cakesbiscuits (cookies) and muffins. I especially like making loaf cakes. They are quick, easy, versatile and do not require any extra icing or decoration (unless you want to do it). If you want a basic everyday cake, look no further than a loaf cake. They are also a great base for experimenting with flavours which is a big reason for me to love them. Here are some of my favourites.

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Other lemon flavoured recipes

I love lemon in both sweet and savoury recipes. One of my favourite preserve recipes is my easy Lemon Curd. It brings a hit of zesty fresh lemon to lots of other dishes such as my Lemon Curd Ice Cream or my Lemon Pavlova.

Lemon is a great baking ingredient and I use it in lots of my cake and biscuit (cookie) recipes. My Lemon Biscuits (Cookies) are quick, easy and delicious. I combine lemon with elderflower in my Lemon Sponge Cake with Edible Flowers and in my Elderflower and Lemon cupcakes. My St Clement’s Cake has a double hit of citrus as it includes both oranges and lemons!

In savoury dishes, lemon is a great flavour partner to chicken. I make a classic Roast Chicken with Garlic, Lemon and Thyme and also a Morroccan-inspired stew of Lemon Chicken with Olives.

Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe

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Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake

Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 45
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 1 loaf cake 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake – a British classic and for good reason!  It is easy to make and tastes fantastic with zingy lemon flavouring a fresh buttery sponge.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 125 g (5 oz) butter
  • 175 g (7 oz) caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 175 g (7 oz) self-raising flour
  • 4 tablespoons of milk
  • 1 lemon
  • 100 g (4 oz) icing sugar

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 180 degrees centigrade or Gas Mark 4.
  2. Grease a 450 g loaf tin and line the bottom with baking parchment.
  3. Cream the butter with the sugar.  (I usually soften the butter for about 30 seconds in the microwave first as it makes it much easier!)
  4. Gradually add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture.  If it looks as if it is going to curdle, add some of the self-raising flour.
  5. Once the eggs have been incorporated add the rest of the self-raising flour.
  6. Add the milk and the grated zest of your lemon.
  7. Spoon the cake mixture into your prepared loaf tin.
  8. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
  9. While the cake is baking, combine the juice from your lemon with 100 g of icing sugar to form a thick syrup.
  10. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the top.
  11. Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely before removing.   If you try and take it out while it is still warm it may fall apart as it will be very moist due to the syrup.
  12. You can just leave it there – and I usually do!  However, if you want to decorate the cake further, you can add some Candied Lemon Slices

Keywords: lemon drizzle cake

Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes

Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes

These Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes are the perfect easy summer baking recipe. The sponge is light and buttery. The use of fresh lemon makes them fresh and zesty and perfectly balances the floral flavour of the elderflower. The flavour of the cakes is echoed in the buttercream which is flavoured with fresh lemon juice and elderflower cordial.

Over the past few years, elderflower has become a very popular flavouring for all kinds of cakes and desserts. I first made these Elderflower Cupcakes a number of years ago at the request of my daughter for her to share with her biology class.  Each week a member of the class brings in cakes to share – school doesn’t sound so bad nowadays – and she specifically asked me not to make cakes with an unusual flavour.  Her exact words were “don’t make the flavour too ‘out there’, mum”.    After a focused discussion, during which various flavours were discounted –  lilac? (No), Lady Grey tea? (No!),  dandelion? (Seriously?!!) – we agreed on elderflower.

Although I love elderflower and use it in desserts regularly, this was the first time I had tried it in Elderflower Cupcakes.  I am not really a big cupcake maker!  I made two batches – one with just elderflower and one with elderflower and lemon.  When I tasted them, I understood immediately why it is usual to include lemon as an additional flavouring.  The cupcakes made just with elderflower were far too sweet for my taste but those made with elderflower and lemon were just right – floral but zesty!

What you need to know about these cupcakes

  • You don’t need access to fresh elderflowers to make them. In England, elderflowers are in season in May and June and are very common in hedgerows and the edge of woodland. I use fresh elderflowers to make many recipes including Elderflower Cordial. I really love making my own cordial but you can make these cupcakes using store-bought cordial and they taste just as good.
  • Cupcakes are very easy to make and quick to bake. Therefore, you can whip up a batch in under half an hour. However, you need to allow them to cool completely before you add the buttercream icing otherwise it will just melt into the cakes. I generally make these cakes the day before I plan to eat them so they have plenty of time to cool down.
  • I am not a brilliant icing piper. When I make these cupcakes, I generally simply put a teaspoon of icing onto each cake and smooth it down. I will always add some additional decorative element to make up for my lack of icing skills. If fresh elderflowers are in season, I will add a sprig to each cake. If not, I will add a little grated lemon zest as I think it is helpful to give a clue to the flavour of the cakes.

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Other Elderflower Recipes

I am a big fan of elderflower and love its distinctive floral flavour. I have lots of recipes, some using fresh elderflowers and some which can be made with shop-bought elderflower cordial.

  • Fresh Elderflower Cordial – very easy to make with fresh elderflowers and can be diluted as a drink and also used as a flavouring in other recipes.
  • Home-made Elderflower Gin – very easy to make with fresh elderflowers and great drunk on its own or as the basis for floral cocktails.
  • Elderflower Vinegar – delicious floral flavoured vinegar which is brilliant in salad dressings
  • Simple Elderflower Ice Cream – delicious floral ice cream which can be made using shop-bought elderflower cordial.
  • Elderflower and Gooseberry Sorbet – a refreshing floral sorbet that celebrates the brilliant flavour match of elderflower and gooseberry.
  • Elderflower Pannacotta – light and creamy summer dessert

Recipe for Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes

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Elderflower and Lemon Cupcake

Elderflower and Lemon Cupcakes

  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 24 cakes 1x
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

These scrumptious little cakes, flavoured with elderflower and lemon, are a perfect addition to afternoon tea!


Ingredients

Scale

For the cakes:

  • 250 g (9 oz) salted butter
  • 250 g (9 oz) caster or superfine sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 250 (9 oz) g self-raising flour
  • Grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 4 tbs elderflower cordial

For the icing:

  • 450 g (1lb) icing sugar
  • 225 g (8 oz) salted butter
  • 3 tbs elderflower cordial
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 200 degrees C/gas mark 6.
  2. Put your cupcake papers into your cupcake trays.
  3. Make the cake batter by creaming together the 250 g butter with the 250 g sugar.   Add the eggs gradually to ensure the mixture does not curdle.  Then add the 250 g self-raising flour.
  4. Add the grated lemon zest and the 4 tbs of cordial to the mixture and stir to combine.
  5. Put a dessert spoon of the cake mixture into each of the cupcake papers.
  6. Put your cupcake trays into the oven and cook for around 15 minutes.  The cakes will be done when they are golden brown and springy to the touch.
  7. Remove the cupcakes from the trays and put on a rack to cool.
  8. Make the icing by putting the 500g icing sugar, 250 g butter, lemon juice and 3 tbs elderflower cordial in a mixing bowl and beating until they form a pale, smooth icing.   Ice the cooled cupcakes and decorate as you wish!

Keywords: elderflower and lemon cake, elderflower cupcakes

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