This thick sweet citrus custard can be served in tart shells, between layers in a cake, in parfaits…the options are endless. You may also have heard this called Lemon Curd. It’s so good you’ll be eating Lemon Butter by the spoonful right out of the jar.
The story of this recipe is cute. My grandmother, Mrs. M, got it from her friend, Mrs. B, who secretly got it from her neighbour, Mrs. W, who was a wonderful baker but did not share her recipes. I don’t know how Mrs. B was able to sneak a peak at this recipe but I’m glad she did.
Jump to RecipeOne thing that really stood out to me is that the original recipe for Lemon Butter had a LOT of sugar. I’ve actually reduced the amount of sugar by just a bit. Remember, back in the day, people didn’t consume large amounts of processed foods and high fructose corn syrup so having some sugar once in while wasn’t a crime. I’ll admit, I have made this with a full 2 cups of sugar but a little less sugar is still sweet enough and doesn’t overpower the tartness of the lemons.
How to Make Lemon Butter
Lemon juice is juice from real lemons. No, really. The green bottle just doesn’t cut it for something this good. And the strips of rind is what gives Lemon Butter that puckery lemon punch. Two things to keep in mind. Try not to get too much of the white part, or the pith, when you peel off some rind. It can be quite bitter. And secondly, peel the skin before squeezing the lemons. Thinner skin helps compress the lemon to get maximum juice and after squeezing you’ll have a hard time getting strips of peel. You want strips large enough that you can easily remove them once the Lemon Curd is cooked.
Lemons vary in size and fresh lemons can give more juice than older lemons. Also room temperature lemons and certain methods of extracting the juice can give more than others. So if you have fairly large lemons, 2 should be just right. Or 3 smaller ones. Giving them a roll on the counter with a little pressure helps release lots of juice. Interesting factoid – I recently read something by Martha Stewart that said look for lemons with thinner skin for the most juice.
Give the eggs a whisk before adding them to the other ingredients. You’ve probably always wondered what exactly is that thick rope like thingie attached to the yolk. It’s called the Chalazae. It’s basically the membrane that holds the yolk in place and is perfectly edible. In fact, once cooked it basically disappears. To learn how to pronounce Chalazae correctly (it’s not what you think) and for more fun facts about eggs, click here! You can try to remove the clumps if they bother you but they’re pretty slippery and aren’t as easy to pick out as you think.
Measure all your ingredients into the top pot of a double boiler. Heat it very low and slow, stirring often until it’s thick. It’s ok if it bubbles a tiny bit but don’t let it boil. I have made this in the microwave which works pretty good but you need to do very short bursts on low heat which doesn’t save you any time. Heating the Lemon Butter slowly ensures you don’t end up with scrambled eggs. If you don’t have a double boiler, you can use a very low heat on the stop top if you’re really careful. A simmer plate works well if you’re cooking with gas.
Don’t worry if your Lemon Butter doesn’t seem thick enough at first, it will thicken more as it cools. Pour it into a glass bowl or large jar and remove the pieces of rind. This will keep a few weeks in the refrigerator.
How to Serve Lemon Butter
You can make a quick sweet treat by filling pre baked tart shells with Lemon Butter. Smaller sized tarts are best because the filling isn’t set like other tarts.
A parfait is a fun and easy way to enjoy this. Buy real whipping cream and whip up 1 cup until very stiff peaks form. Don’t add any sugar. Then, stir a few spoonfuls of Lemon Butter into half of the whipped cream. Layer Lemon Butter, then lemony whipped cream, then regular whipped cream into clear glasses.
For an easy but impressive looking dessert, slice an angel food cake or pound cake into layers. Spread Lemon Butter between each layer, then make a lemon whipped cream as described above for the parfait and spread over top like icing. I could go on and on but you get the picture. Use your imagination.
If you make Lemon Butter, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Lemon Butter
Ingredients
- ¾ cup lemon juice about 2 large or 3 small lemons
- 5 eggs, well beaten
- 1 ¾ cups sugar
- ¼ lb real butter, cut into chunks salted or unsalted
Instructions
- Peel strips of lemon peel, being careful not to get too deep to avoid white pith. Squeeze juice into measuring cup. Add to top pot of double boiler.
- Whisk eggs well and add to pot along with butter and sugar.
- Cook slowly over gentle heat, stirring often, until well combined and thickened. Do not boil.
- Alternatively, you can slowly heat in short bursts on low heat in microwave, stirring between sessions. Or heat carefully in regular pot over very low burner using a simmer plate.
- Remove rind, allow to cool and refrigerate in covered glass bowl. Will store for a few weeks.
An old favourite for sure. Mmmmm!
Retro recipes are the best!