There's only one thing that keeps me from eating my weight in lemon curd (well curd of any kind really) and it's the time it takes to make it. Although it's not a long process the thought of over cooking the eggs in the sugar and butter mixture keeps me at bay — or it did until I learned you can make it in the microwave. The microwave people! The microwave!
What? Don't blame me, blame Jamie over at My Baking Addiction. She's the one that spilled the beans and I fear none of our waist lines will ever recover. What's to stop us from mixing up a batch whenever the desire arises? Nothing! Her super fast curd making will soon be the death (or at least sugar coma) of us all!
The idea is simple, the butter is melted and mixed into the sugar and eggs, along with lemon juice and some zest. It's then tossed in the microwave and zapped (that's an official food cooking term right?) at 1 minute intervals until it coats the back of a spoon. Easy right? Check out all the details over at My Baking Addiction and have your doctor send all hate mail to her and not us, we'll be too busy licking the bowl to answer.
More Curd Recipes At The Kitchn
• Recipe: Cara Cara Orange Curd
• Recipe for Winter Citrus: Tangerine Curd
• Recipe: Cranberry Curd Bars with Walnut Shortbread Crust
(Image: My Baking Addiction)
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It shouldn't take a long time to make lemon curd on the stove! People (and recipes) are too timid, dutifully stirring on the lowest possible heat forever and ever. Trust me, you can crank the heat on sugar/juice, spoon a little into the egg yolks to temper them, then pour the whole thing back in the pot on medium heat, and it thickens in a less than 30 seconds. Then whisk in the butter off the heat, and you're done.
I can see how it might seem like magic the first time, but the microwave option actually sounds like a bigger pain. Checking at one-minute intervals? All that ka-chunking the door open and shut? Tedious.
Microwaves always seem to take up more space than the time they save (if that makes sense).
Why?
You can also make it a slow cooker - yes takes longer, but you do'nt have to hang over the microwave for ages, and can go away and forget about it or even come home to fresh curd.
p.s. try lime curd too and/or with soft brown sugar for a more caramelly taste... yum
I just looked this recipe up again and had to leave a comment. I've made this a bunch of times since it was published, and it is terrific. It really is faster than stovetop, I promise. Besides a shorter overall cooking time you can combine all the ingredients at once and--my favorite time- and waste-saver--no separating eggs. Oh, it also freezes well. I'm about to make it again with my first ever Meyer lemons!