Lemon/Lime/Citrus Curd: The Topic

[joiei]

Yep, that's Herme's lemon cream. Easily one of the best-tasting substances in the known universe.

I made PH's lemon cream this weekend. It tastes like a bit of ambrosia to me! All other lemon cream receipes will be put on the back shelf and this one will be a standby. Very creamy, rich and tart all at the same time!

I had no problem getting the mixture to 180 degrees. I don't own a double boiler, so rigged up a system with a smallish stainless steel saucepan inside a larger one. The small top pan did not touch the boiling water. What did surprise me though, was how quickly it cooled to 140 degrees - the temp at which you add the butter.

I made a tart with some of it and spread freshly whipped cream over the top (just to add a few more calories ). I ate some straight out of the bowl as I could not seem to stop myself, and mixed the last bit with fresh BC strawberries in a ramekin and the leftover whipped cream on top of that.

Fabulous!!!!!!!!

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This is the one cream that I have found to be consistent, easy and reliable to taste. I love the tartness and the less sweetness. Too many curds are too sweet for me.

[kjohn]

I don't know if this is the traditional way to do it, but I start with a milk and a tablespoon of flour. I thicken this on the stove at low heat. Then I add the butter and sugar. I take it off the heat and let it cool a little, then I stir in some lemon zest and juice, and a few egg yolks. If it isn't thick enough at that point (it usually is) I give it a little more heat. I find this makes for a nice thick, very rick, stable lemon curd.

I don't generally use a specific recipe, but guidelines seem to be about 1.5-2 cups milk, 1 tablespoon flour, juice of one lemon, 2-4 egg yolks, 2-4 tablespoons of butter, a half cup of sugar, and about a half teaspoon of zest. I taste as I go along because the lemons differ in tartness and the milk differs in sweetness.

I'm curious as to whether anybody else tried using flour or cornstarch as a thickener. I find that it's much more foolproof that way rather than relying purely on the egg yolks for thickening.

[CanadianBakin']

I don't know of how to fix this now that it's done. You could attempt another layer of your jelly over this, if your certain it won't crack either. Or if your desperate.....you could sprinkle some find white chocolate shavings over them if they'll stick to your glazed area......sort of hiding what's beneath.

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Thanks Wendy! I think I'll try the white chocolate. They will just look a little more decadent and no one will be the wiser.

[RuthWells]

I'm curious as to whether anybody else tried using flour or cornstarch as a thickener. I find that it's much more foolproof that way rather than relying purely on the egg yolks for thickening.

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I think the deal-breaker here for me would be whether the flour is discernable in the finished curd, either by taste or by mouth-feel. What's your take on that?

[kjohn]

I'm curious as to whether anybody else tried using flour or cornstarch as a thickener. I find that it's much more foolproof that way rather than relying purely on the egg yolks for thickening.

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I think the deal-breaker here for me would be whether the flour is discernable in the finished curd, either by taste or by mouth-feel. What's your take on that?

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I've done this many times and there is no discernable flour flavor or mouthfeel. We're talking about a small amount of flour and it is cooked with the milk. You can even back off the flour a bit more and it still has a lot of thickening power.

[Ling]

I've used cornstarch in my fallback recipe, and I don't taste it in the finished product. I'm going to try the Fine Cooking recipe and Pierre Herme's lemon cream this week. Will report back!

[Ling]

OK so I made the Fine Cooking lemon curd and Pierre Herme's lemon cream (I know, that was fast, wasn't it? )

Here are the pics. I followed the directions exactly as written for each recipe.

All the pictures were taken prior to refrigeration.

1. side by side comparison, so you can see the differences in colour. The FC one is on the left, and the PH one is on the right.

2. FC curd...hopefully you can see how thick it is. It was not runny at all, and firmed up even at room temperature. You can see some brown specks in the curd--that's because even though I followed the directions and had the heat on medium, a little bit of the curd browned as soon as I poured it into the saucepan. Though the recipe says to cook it on medium, I cooked it on low heat. It thickened in the time specified--about 15 minutes (well, more like 13 minutes).

3. the PH lemon cream...this was looser than the lemon curd, but not runny

I must say, I was really disappointed with the lemon cream. I followed the instructions exactly, and was really carefully in weighing out the butter. I thought the lemon cream tasted really strange--more like lemony butter. I thought it was delicious when I was cooking it over the double boiler--nice and tart. The butter mellowed it out too much, in my opinion. I'm going to have to use this as a filling for a lemon pound cake or something. I thought it was very average....even taking into consideration that it shouldn't be as tart as lemon curd. I don't think I'll make this again.

The Fine Cooking recipe, on the other hand, was excellent. I actually was looking for something similar to the curd I had in a lemon tart from Dahlia Bakery a few days ago, and this was it! Sharp and tangy, with just the right amount of sweetness. I LOVED THIS! I ate most of the batch already...damn, this was so addictive!

Edited September 26, 2005 by Ling (log)

[Mottmott]

Ling, you're sooo right. I didn't have trouble with brown flecks, etc. when I recently made PH's lemon tart, but I found the curd WAY too buttery. (Could your pan not be heavy enough? would a flame tamer help? I made my very first curd in a double boiler many years ago - never again. I made the curd in a ss lined 2.5mm copper evasee that can handle my lopsided gas flame with grace.)

I liked the crust, though, so I remade the tart using PH's crust and RLB's curd. It's a bit more lemony that PH's, but still a bit too bland for me, too. I'll try the FC curd you suggest. If that doesn't work, it'll be tweak tweak tweak. (I usually go for some's tried and true as my hips are too curdy as it is.)

edited for typo: my curd didn't make a fist

Edited April 4, 2006 by Mottmott (log)

[oli]

Is the recipe from Fine Cooking enough to fill a 10" tart?

Thanks

[Patrick S]

Is the recipe from Fine Cooking enough to fill a 10" tart?

Thanks

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Maybe. It depends on how deep you want the curd to be.

Assuming that the internal diameter of the crust-- the volume you want to fill-- is 9.5" (assuming the crust takes up 1/4" of the internal diameter of the 10" pan), and that the FC recipe yields 2 cups of curd (which is about 28.8 cubic inches), your filling will be 0.4" deep. In other words, a cylinder with a volume of 28.8 cubic inches and a radius of 4.75" will have a height of 0.4".

[SweetSide]

Is the recipe from Fine Cooking enough to fill a 10" tart?

Thanks

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Maybe. It depends on how deep you want the curd to be.

Assuming that the internal diameter of the crust-- the volume you want to fill-- is 9.5" (assuming the crust takes up 1/4" of the internal diameter of the 10" pan), and that the FC recipe yields 2 cups of curd (which is about 28.8 cubic inches), your filling will be 0.4" deep. In other words, a cylinder with a volume of 28.8 cubic inches and a radius of 4.75" will have a height of 0.4".

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[oli]

Is the recipe from Fine Cooking enough to fill a 10" tart?

Thanks

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Maybe. It depends on how deep you want the curd to be.

Assuming that the internal diameter of the crust-- the volume you want to fill-- is 9.5" (assuming the crust takes up 1/4" of the internal diameter of the 10" pan), and that the FC recipe yields 2 cups of curd (which is about 28.8 cubic inches), your filling will be 0.4" deep. In other words, a cylinder with a volume of 28.8 cubic inches and a radius of 4.75" will have a height of 0.4".

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Your skills are endless Patrick!

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Thanks. I ended up doubling the recipe and it filled just perfectly. I must add that this Fine Cooking recipe lacked body. I don't know why, but I found PH's lemon cream held together much better. Perhaps I will have to add some gelatin next time, unless you guys have another solution.

I must say that I glazed the top with a raspberry glaze with white chocolate stripes. It had the wow factor, but being a perfectionist, I did like the lack of body.

[SweetSide]

Thanks.  I ended up doubling the recipe and it filled just perfectly.  I must add that this Fine Cooking recipe lacked body.  I don't know why, but I found PH's lemon cream held together much better.  Perhaps I will have to add some gelatin next time, unless you guys have another solution.

I must say that I glazed the top with a raspberry glaze with white chocolate stripes.  It had the wow factor, but being a perfectionist, I did like the lack of body.

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Sounds great -- I love lemon and raspberry (blueberry, too). What did you use for a glaze? Was the white chocolate just tempered white?

Thanks!

[merstar]

Thanks.  I ended up doubling the recipe and it filled just perfectly.  I must add that this Fine Cooking recipe lacked body.  I don't know why, but I found PH's lemon cream held together much better.  Perhaps I will have to add some gelatin next time, unless you guys have another solution.

I must say that I glazed the top with a raspberry glaze with white chocolate stripes.  It had the wow factor, but being a perfectionist, I did like the lack of body.

I made the Fine Cooking lemon curd a few years ago, and also found it to be too thin to hold up in a tart. Great taste, but definitely not enough body. After all the accolades, I thought perhaps my results weren't typical - glad you mentioned it.

[Ling]

I'm sorry I didn't post this earlier--but I also found out that he FC lemon curd doesn't hold up enough in a tart. I love the taste and usually use it to spread on shortbread or in between layers of cake. The one time I did use it in a tart, it was too runny and I couldn't get clean slices.

Edited May 8, 2006 by Ling (log)

[oli]

Thanks.  I ended up doubling the recipe and it filled just perfectly.  I must add that this Fine Cooking recipe lacked body.  I don't know why, but I found PH's lemon cream held together much better.  Perhaps I will have to add some gelatin next time, unless you guys have another solution.

I must say that I glazed the top with a raspberry glaze with white chocolate stripes.  It had the wow factor, but being a perfectionist, I did like the lack of body.

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Sounds great -- I love lemon and raspberry (blueberry, too). What did you use for a glaze? Was the white chocolate just tempered white?

Thanks!

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I just used a bag of frozen raspberries, press raspberries and jam through fine sieve into sauce-pan; stir in grenadine. Sprinkle with gelatin; let stand for 1 minute. Warm over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes or until dissolved; strain. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until cool but pourable.

The white chocolate was just melted and put through a paper cone and drizzled over the raspberry glaze. Looks just fab.

One thing I must note, the raspberry glaze had a tendency to slip off the curd, something like what some people have experienced with merange and lemon curd.

[oli]

I'm sorry I didn't post this earlier--but I also found out that he FC lemon curd doesn't hold up enough in a tart. I love the taste and usually use it to spread on shortbread or in between layers of cake. The one time I did use it in a tart, it was too runny and I couldn't get clean slices.

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Exactly

[joaquin]

The best lemon curd needs the best lemons...Meyer lemons in this case. We have them in California. But if they are not available to you, try 2/3 regular lemons (Eureka) and 1/3 orange juice. But do seek out Meyer lemons.

[Ling]

I believe Meyer lemons, when in season, can be found in all major cities. Meyer lemon curd is indeed delicious. I'm assuming the recipes for Meyer lemon curd use less sugar, though...and are not interchangable with regular lemon curd recipes.

[Patrick S]

I need a recipe to use as a filling in a 3 tier wedding cake (unexpected request, has to be ready saturday). I'd like something that sets a little firmer than a typical curd. Anyone have a recipe they've used in this way?

Thanks in advance!

[Jensen]

I have a very old recipe (my great-grandmother's recipe!) for apple lemon cheese that does set up slightly firmer than traditional lemon curd. I don't know if it will be firm enough for your need but it might be worth a try.

The recipe has been adapted for use with Meyer lemons in a North American kitchen; the original recipe used "regular" lemons and castor sugar (and had sliced apples in it but I took those out completely!). I've made it with both berry sugar and regular sugar with good success.

It does occur to me that you might be able to make it even thicker by adding one more egg. Might be worth a try...

1 T plus 2 tsp finely grated Meyer lemon zest

1 cup freshly-squeezed Meyer lemon juice

1-1/3 cup sugar

4 large eggs

3/4 cup plus 2 T butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces

Whisk together zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs and a pinch of salt in a 2 quart heavy saucepan. Add butter all at once and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until cheese is thick enough to hold marks of the whisk and the first bubbles appear on the surface.

Immediately pour into a bowl or jar, then chill, covered.

[Patrick S]

Thank you for the recipe, Jensen.

It occurred to me after I asked the question that I could do the lemon curd filling like a lemon pie filling -- cooking cornstarch with water, then adding the other ingredients.

[Jensen]

Thank you for the recipe, Jensen.

It occurred to me after I asked the question that I could do the lemon curd filling like a lemon pie filling -- cooking cornstarch with water, then adding the other ingredients.

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Yeah, that's why I dug out this recipe. The original is for "apple cheese cake", essentially a pie made of apple slices in lemon cheese. I think the whole eggs make it thick enough to stand up as a pie filling but while maintaining the richness associated with lemon curd.

[McDuff]

I need a recipe to use as a filling in a 3 tier wedding cake (unexpected request, has to be ready saturday). I'd like something that sets a little firmer than a typical curd. Anyone have a recipe they've used in this way?

Thanks in advance!

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Pierre Herme's Lemon Cream. Line the cake pans with plastic wrap, freeze the cream in the pan, then lay it right into the cake as you construct it.

[Patrick S]

I need a recipe to use as a filling in a 3 tier wedding cake (unexpected request, has to be ready saturday). I'd like something that sets a little firmer than a typical curd. Anyone have a recipe they've used in this way?

Thanks in advance!

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Pierre Herme's Lemon Cream. Line the cake pans with plastic wrap, freeze the cream in the pan, then lay it right into the cake as you construct it.

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I've done that before, e.g. in Herme's Riviera, but never in a 12" cake that will likely be out of refrigeration for several hours before serving. I'm afraid that it would not stand up well.