Lemon Curd Recipe
If you like lemon, you are going to LOVE this easy and delicious homemade Lemon Curd for your cakes and cupcakes!
It has a wonderful silky smooth consistency and flavor with just the PERFECT amount of lemony tartness.
This delicious lemon curd is our favorite lemon filling for cakes and cupcakes, and it is so simple to make! We have several variations including orange curd and lime curd!
Table of Contents
Why we Love It
There are so many reasons to love this lemon curd recipe! Here are just a few:
- Easy to Make with just a few simple ingredients
- Delicious lemon flavor
- Works as a great cake or cupcake filling
- Perfect filling for citrus or white cakes, including orange cake, white velvet cake, lemon cupcakes and more!
How to Make Lemon Curd
*Find the full, printable recipe at the bottom of this post!
Curd fillings for cakes and cupcakes are so easy to make and they taste amazing! This luscious lemon curd filling has so much flavor! It all starts with a saucepan and a few simple ingredients.
- First, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil (3-4 minutes).
- Next, continue stirring as it boils for one minute more. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Spoon about a half cup of the hot mixture into a small bowl with egg yolks and stir quickly until combined. Continue stirring, while pouring the egg mixture back into the saucepan. The egg yolks are what give the curd its lovely yellow color.
- Finally, return pan to medium heat and cook, stirring, until the curd is thickened and lemon colored (1-2 min). Remove from heat and stir in the butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Let the lemon curd cool, then press plastic wrap onto the surface and refrigerate. The plastic wrap will prevent a skin from forming on the top. The lemon curd will thicken a bit as it cools.
What Cake Flavors go with Lemon Curd?
Lemon curd pairs wonderfully with White Cake, Yellow Cake, and Coconut Cake , but my FAVORITE is with our homemade Lemon Cake!
I just love lemon desserts, and everything about this filling is heavenly.
This lemon curd has a delightful silky smooth consistency, and you'll love how easily this light and flavorful lemon filling comes together!
Delicious Lemon Cakes
If you love lemon cakes, look no further! We have so many delicious lemon recipes to share with you.
You can find the full roundup here: Best Lemon Cakes, Fillings, & Frostings. Some of our most popular are Lemon Cake from Scratch, Lemon Velvet Cake, and Lemon Cupcakes!
Thanks for stopping by! If you give this recipe a try, we would love for you to leave a comment and photo below.
You can find our full collection of favorite recipes and free cake decorating tutorials in our Cake Recipes & Tutorials Section!
FAQs
Lemon Curd Recipe
This easy, silky smooth lemon curd recipe tastes amazing and makes a wonderful filling for cakes and cupcakes!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- ¼ cup (30g) cornstarch
- 1 cup (236g) water
- 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) butter
- 1 Tablespooon grated lemon zest
- 4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Combine sugar, cornstarch and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a boil (3-4 minutes).
- Boil, stirring, for 1 minute more.. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Spoon about ½ cup of the hot mixture into a small bowl with egg yolks and stir quickly until combined. Continue stirring, while pouring the egg mixture back into the saucepan.
- Return pan to medium heat and cook, stirring, until the curd is thickened and lemon colored (1-2 min). Remove from heat and stir in the butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest.-- Let the lemon curd cool, then press plastic wrap onto the surface, this will prevent a skin from forming on the top. Refrigerate.
- This will fill a 2-3 layer 8 or 9 inch cake with some leftover. The recipe can be halved.
- I have refrigerated the lemon curd for a week and it was fine....I'm not sure how long it will keep beyond that
- Makes 1 ¼ cups
Just used this recipe to make key lime curd for a key lime cake I'm making this week. SO easy to do and SO amazingly tasty. Remind me again...why have I been paying for curd all these years instead of making it myself? Never. Again. Thank you so much!
Yay! So glad that you tried (and loved) it!! We love it too!
Made this lemon curd for the first time and can I say OMG!!! This was the best. Not too tart the customer said that it went perfect with the buttercream. Can't wait to make it again. I was thinking this would be perfect used for lemon meringue pie!
Should the cake filled with lemon curd be refrigerated?
Hi Melinda, yes you would need to refrigerate your cake with lemon curd filling. Just take it out about 1 1/2 hours before serve time to come to room temperature.
Thank you Mrs. BeBe for all your help! I'm preparing my menu for my cake business and making sure I'm complying with the Texas Cottage Food Law (anything that requires refrigeration I cannot sell from my home). So I guess lemon curd is off the menu.
Hi Melinda, I don't like that law. You would be taking it from your refrigerator and selling it to your customer who would then take home to their refrigerator.....just like refrigerated and frozen items at the grocery store. Oh well, I'm sorry.
Yes ma'am, it kind of stinks; but am so thankful that home-based cake bakers are finally legal in Texas (since September).
Hi Melinda how are you. I was wondering when they did your inspection what all some of the things they required? I'm trying to do the same thing.
You are right, we'll celebrate that victory for the home based bakers!!
this recipe calls for butter...is this salted or unsalted? also, it calls for lemon juice...is this squeezed from actual lemons, or is it okay to use the pre-packaged juice from the container? thanks for answering, as my cake is due this thursday, and i wanted to try this out. i just joined the site, and i really love it. thanks again, and i look forward to your reply. :-)
Hi Vannessa, we used unsalted butter. We squeezed the lemons for juice......haven't tried the pre-packaged lemon juice but if it is 100% lemon juice, I think it would be fine.
Thanks for your nice comment about the site.
I have to haul a cake 300 miles with no refrigeration and they want a lemon filling. Any suggestions? The lemon curd isn't going to work for me! Any suggestions would be appreciated!