Video:Lemon Curd

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Transcript:Lemon Curd

Hi, I'm Chef John Mitzewich for About.com. Today we are making something that tastes so much better than it sounds, we're making homemade lemon curd.

Lemon curd is an old-fashioned, amazingly delicious sauce with a terrible name: lemon curd. But amazingly delicious lemon sauce is too long.

Combine the Lemon Curd Ingredients

But it's a really easy recipe. It's 6 egg yolks, 1 cup white sugar. Stir that together with your whisk for 2-3 minutes, and it will turn from yellow-gold color into a creamy, light pale yellow mixture. It only takes a few minutes of whisking.

Add 2 tablespoons of lemon zest and 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice. Freshly squeezed gives you a better flavor. Stir that together and scrape down the sides with a spatula.

Now that's ready for what's called a double boiler. We're going to cook this over steam. Put an inch of water in a saucepan and bring it to a slow simmer.

In the meantime get 1/2 cup of butter, sliced in pieces, and put it aside. We're going to use it later.

Cook the Lemon Curd Over Steam

Now our water is simmering. Put the metal bowl over the water. The bowl is not touching the water, it's just holding in the steam. So make sure you get the right sizes here.

This is going to cook for 7-10 minutes. We're going to stir that constantly with the spatula. Some people use a whisk, but I like the spatula because it will scrape along the bottom where the steam is hitting it. Once it starts to thicken and gets hot, you're getting close.

What you're looking for is that basically, it will coat the back of a spoon. Some people like to cook it thicker than that at this point, but that's dangerous.

It can go from this to scrambled eggs in like a minute. But, as long as it coats the back of a spoon, you're okay.

Add the Butter to the Lemon Curd

We're going to now add the butter one slice at a time. When one piece is melted in, add the next. When it's all incorporated, you're ready to chill.

If I was going to serve this for a big party, I would just cover the with a piece of plastic, chill it and serve it, but I'm going to put it some glass jars and give them as gifts.

Chill the Lemon Curd

So I think putting it in a zippered plastic bag while it's still runny is a great idea. This will let you fill up the jars nice and neat with no drips.

If I used a funnel or a spoon, it would be a disaster because I'm not coordinated. And there it is, lemon curd. I'm going to put a little piece of plastic on it so no skin forms. Chill completely before serving.

Serve the Lemon Curd

Now what to serve this delicious lemon curd, lemon sauce on? Fresh berries are amazing with it, any kind of cakes, ginger breads, tarts, and things like that. But I love it just with some fresh berries and gingersnaps.

I did some little lemon tarts with gingersnap cookies and a dollop of the lemon curd and a fresh berry. So delicious, so easy to make, it makes a great gift and I really hope you give this a try. Enjoy.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web at food.about.com.