Simple and Quick Lemon and Elderflower Curd

The next of my elderflower recipes is this one for lemon and elderflower curd.

Previous to making this, I’d not had lemon curd for years. Since my school days, actually. In fact, I am pretty sure I’ve only tried lemon curd once when it was used in a lemon meringue pie. I didn’t like it. Even though it was many a moon ago, I remember it tasting artificial and pretty revolting.

Since then, I’d been under the impression that lemon curd was just not my cup of tea and avoided it like the plague. All those years wasted. Wasted. This homemade lemon and elderflower curd is not in the least bit revolting. It is creamy, with a lovely tang of lemon and a subtle hint of elderflower. It was so good that I found myself eating spoonfuls straight from the bowl.

Although I had an aversion to lemon curd, I’ve got my own blackberry curd recipe. Why that didn’t alert me to the possibility of how great lemon curd could be, I have no clue. 

I only made this recipe as a way to use up four egg yolks I had sitting in the fridge and some of our elderflower cordial. I had no intention of actually eating any of it myself. Because of this, I only made a small batch. Oh, how I wish I’d doubled it. Guess who is already planning a second batch? Perhaps sandwiched between two meringues along with blueberries? Watch this space…

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Lemon and Elderflower Curd

Course Preserve

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 20ml (1 tbs + 1 tsp) fresh lemon juice
• 60ml (4 tbs) elderflower cordial (see notes)
• 50g (4 tbs) white sugar
• 30g (2 tbs) butter

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to a heavy bottomed, non-stick pan (see notes).
• On a medium setting, whisk the mixture continuosly until it thickens. Make sure the heat is not too high, or you may run the risk of it burning and sticking to the pan. The curd is ready when it coats the back of a spoon.
• Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Allow to cool completely, cover and keep in the fridge. The curd will last for several days.

Notes

Please note: this is a small batch and will produce around 1-2 cups of curd. Double the recipe ingredients if you'd like to make more.

1. I use metric measurements in my recipes (as I believe weighing ingredients is the most accurate). I have converted my measurements to imperial, but as I have not personally used these amounts, results can't be guaranteed.
2. I used my own elderflower cordial, but you can use any you like.
3. Some people prefer to use a double boiler (Bain Marie) when making curd. I find it a fairly slow method and not necessary, but use whichever way you prefer.