Citrus Curd is sharp, sweet, creamy, tart, and fresh all at the same time. It’s super easy to make your own homemade citrus curd, and I’m showing you how to do it.
By Candice Walker on February 2, 2021 (Last updated February 2, 2021) This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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Citrus Curd is sharp, sweet, creamy, tart, and fresh all at the same time. It’s super easy to make your own homemade citrus curd, and I’m showing you how to do it.
Lemon curd traditionally has butter in it, adding a richness, creaminess, and firms it up a bit. You will often find suggestions to swap the butter for coconut oil. In my dairy-free version, we use the help of arrowroot powder to mimic that firmness. It works great to make lime curd, lemon curd, yuzu curd, and more.
Use curd As a filling for cakes and cupcakes, pread on top of biscuits, muffins, toast, waffles, cookies, or cream puffs. As a pie or tart filling, as a yogurt mix-in or layered in a parfait or trifle.
🌟Why you’ll love this recipe
This recipe works by combining the ingredients in a saucepan over heat. The liquid coagulates from the addition of citrus yielding a custardy texture.
A classic curd uses butter to increase the creaminess and firm it up a bit. In this dairy-free version, we use the help of arrowroot powder to mimic that firmness.
I use whole eggs because I find it less wasteful and enjoy the texture better than the extra custardy yolk-version curds. The eggs are beaten well before added in, making sure it tempers properly and the whites do not curdle.
The sharp and sweet flavors in curd make them a perfect complement to heavy and/or doughy counterparts like pastries, doughnuts, and pies like this Lime Curd Tart or dairy-free Lime Curd Sufganiyot.
🧾Ingredients in this recipe
citrus – I have made this recipe with lemon, lime, grapefruit, and yuzu. I have even used combinations of them. Choose your favorites and experiment.
arrowroot powder – This is the thickening agent used in this recipe. You can substitute with cornstarch.
eggs – I use 3 whole eggs in this recipe, but it also works well with 2 whole eggs and 1 yolk. The texture will be more custardy with this second option.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
👩🍳How to Make This Recipe
Whisk together the beaten 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of fresh citrus juice, 1.5 teaspoons of arrowroot powder, and 2 teaspoons of (optional) zest in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until thick enough to coat a spoon, 5-8 minutes. Transfer to an airtight glass container and chill 2 hours minimum.
🏆 3 Tips for Creamy Smooth Curd Every Time
Sometimes you get pieces of cooked egg in the curd if you heat them up too quickly. If that is the case and there aren’t too many, you can strain them out.
The arrowroot can clump up. Sift it into the mixture to help avoid clumps, or strain the mixture before transferring it to an airtight container.
To get the curd super smooth, you can blend it before transferring it to an airtight container. You don’t want to whip it, but can run the blender for 30 seconds.
🥡 Storage Tips
Store in an air-tight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. However, it tastes the best the first couple days.
Make sure your container is sterilized to avoid contamination and improve how long it will last in the refrigerator.
It can be frozen for up to 1 year in an air tight glass container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and use within 3 weeks.
🍋 Adapt this Recipe for Yuzu
Yuzu is a very powerful flavor. As long as you use at least 1/4 cup of yuzu juice, you can fill in the rest of the citrus in the recipe with lemon or lime juice.
🍋🟩Related Recipes
Because citrus curd has such a long shelf life in the refrigerator, I like to always keep some around for moments I want to make my favorite desserts like some of these:
Citrus Curd is sharp, sweet, creamy, tart, and fresh all at the same time. It’s super easy to make your own homemade citrus curd, and I’m showing you how to do it.
Whisk all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until thick enough to coat a spoon, 5-8 minutes.
Transfer to an airtight glass container and chill 2 hours minimum.
Notes
The eggs are beaten well before added in, making sure it tempers properly and the whites do not curdle.In this dairy-free version, we use the help of arrowroot powder to mimic the firmness that butter would usually provide.Store in an air tight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.It can be frozen for up to 1 year in an air tight glass container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and use within 3 weeks.Sometimes you get pieces of cooked egg in the curd. If that is the case, strain them out. If you don’t have the pieces of egg in your curd, you do not need to strain it.
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.
Can not wait to try it
Thanks