My favorite lady in the whole wide world turned 90 on Easter. The one, the only Edna Mae (aka G’Ma) had a birthday, yes they happen every year, but this year she’s let us celebrate her and her amazing life!
My task: to make the lemoniest cake you’ve ever tasted. I jumped on Pinterest and cruised my Lemonlicious board (everyone’s got one of those, right?) and found that somewhere along the way I pinned a recipe for Triple Lemon Cake: lemon cake – easy peasy; lemon buttercream – nothing to bat an eyelash at; homemade lemon curd – gulp! Using a double boiler – double gulp! Whisking raw egg yolks into a hot substance – eeeek!
I’m always surprised by the things that cause me trepidation in the kitchen. I like to think of myself as a fairly experienced cook/baker. Trying new things intrigues me. Cooking for others makes me happy. And yet there are those things that make my stomach clench, and lemon curd was one of them. A little voice of reason whispered to me that I could just buy lemon curd and use it in the cake – no one would know! Except me, and I wanted to be able to tell my grandmother that I made everything from scratch. It was important to me – so, with a wing and a prayer I made lemon curd for the first (but not the last) time.
After I got over my uneasiness about the whole process, I was amazed at how easy it was. There was a certain amount of stress involved from not having a clue what I was doing (the directions left a bit to the imagination) but things went smoothly and I now possess I jar of shockingly bright (seriously, wear shades), tart and delicious lemon curd. It was absolutely delicious in the cake, but I like it best on a super crunchy toasted English muffin. Lemon curd does a better job of waking me up than coffee. You can’t beat that tart pucker.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (usually 1-2 lemons)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/3 cup sugar
4 slightly beaten egg yolks (you can reserve the whites to make macaroons)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
Directions:
1. Using a double boiler (or a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water) melt butter. Once butter has melted add sugar, whisk until combined.
2. While constantly whisking slowly drizzle in egg yolks (note: if you add the egg yolks too fast, or don’t whisk fast enough the egg will cook and you will have egg chunks in your curd – ick!).
3. Once the eggs have been combined, slowly whisk in the lemon juice (note: just dumping in the lemon juice into the mixture could cause it to curdle – no bueno).
4. Add in lemon zest. Continue to whisk until the lemon curd coats the back of a spoon.
5. Remove from heat. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools.
6. Remove from double boiler and decant into a jar. Let cool completely before popping it into the fridge. Lemon curd can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Life, Love & Lemon Curd
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