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Lemon Curd Recipe

Last Updated On: July 25, 2023 | Published: March 11, 2010 by Melissa Diamond | 116 Comments
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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.

Bowl of Lemon Curd with a spoon.

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!

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).
Saucepan with whisk, sugar,cornstarch, and water
Heating sugar, cornstarch, and water in saucepan until thickened. Stir constantly with whisk.
  • 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.
Pouring egg mixture into cornstarch, sugar, and water mixture.
  • 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.
Lemon Curd in a saucepan with whisk.

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.

Bowl of Lemon Curd with a spoon.

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!

Simple and DELICIOUS Lemon Curd Recipe by MyCakeSchool.com! The perfect lemon filling for cakes and cupcakes! Online cake tutorials, recipes, videos, and more!

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

  • When using this lemon filling for cupcakes, try injecting the lemon curd into the unfrosted cupcakes with a disposable piping bag!
  • I usually use a tip 12 for this. Simply insert the piping tip into the top of the cupcake and push it about halfway down. Then, give it a little squeeze for a second or two.
  • You can do a practice run on a plate to get an idea of how quickly the lemon curd comes out of the bag and adjust accordingly since you won't be able to see the amount of curd inside of the cupcake until you take a bite of it ;0)
  • Everyone is sure to love this instant boost of lemony goodness! Top off your cupcakes with a swirl of Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (linked below) for an incredible dessert.
  • When using a soft filling such as lemon curd, mousse fillings, whipped cream fillings, etc. you'll want to first pipe a dam of frosting around the edge of the cake layer (about ¼ inch from the edge). 
  • I usually pipe the dam with a medium sized round piping tip, or you can simply snip the end of the disposable piping bag away to create a medium sized opening. Then, pipe your dam.
  • Next, spread the soft filling within the dam and add the next layer of cake. The dam will prevent the lemon curd or other soft filling from escaping and oozing from the sides of the cake once the next layers are added.
  • If you've ever had this happen to you, you know how difficult it can be to fix! Not only will it mess up the look of your cake, but it can also cause bulging or sliding cake layers. Frosting dams are always worth the extra minute or two of time to make one.

There are so many cakes that pair perfectly with lemon curd! Homemade white cake, white velvet cake, lemon cake, and orange cake are just a few examples!

Our homemade Lemon Coconut Cake is another great example! We often pair our lemon curd cake fillings with homemade whipped cream!

Yes, homemade lemon curd as well as cakes with lemon curd filling should be refrigerated.

While this Lemon Curd recipe is at the top of our list, we also love Lemon Whipped Cream Filling, Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, and an Easy Lemon Cream filling from our Lemon Cream Cake (which is a pudding-based "mousse")!

Lemon Curd Recipe

Lemon curd in a white bowl with a spoon

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
© Melissa Diamond
Category: Cakes and Cupcakes

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116 Comments

  2. I have made this twice now and it is so delicious! I do run mine through a strainer to get out the little tiny bits of cooked egg I always seem to get and then add the zest last. It is my favorite. Yummmmm! Thanks so much.

    Reply

  5. How long can this stay out of the fridge for? I read in previous comments to remove from the fridge 1.5 hrs before serving but if it is for a wedding and sitting at room for about 3 hrs will that effect anything? Thank you

    Reply

  6. Hi Mary, I am sorry but I have not experimented with a sugar free version of the recipe.

    Hi Alexina, When lemon curd is used as a cake filling the cake does need to be refrigerated. I like to take it from the refrigerator just to take the chill off the cake a bit. The cold cake will help to keep the lemon curd cold. Just to be on the safe side and not knowing the temperature at the event, 3 hours out maximum.

    Reply

  7. Thank you BeBe for replying. Perhaps choosing another cake filling is best then. I'm conflicted on choosing a cake filling ( as the bride is open to any flavour) because a lot of them need to be refrigerated and the cake will be sitting at room temperature for about 3 hrs before cutting. Are there any cake fillings that you can recommend that can stay at room temperature for a few hours? Thank you :)

    Reply

  8. Hi Alexina, Buttercream is the safest way to go. If you want a lemon flavor, I would use the Classic Vanilla Buttercream (all butter) recipe on the site. Use 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon lemon extract along with the zest of a lemon. I don't know the size of your cake, but you would need to double the recipe to have enough for decorative piping. You could also use a very simple raspberry buttercream. Spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on the cake layer, then tint your buttercream a light pink and add raspberry extract (to taste). There is also the Simple Spreadable Ganache recipe, if chocolate fits what you have planned. It is a 2 to 1 recipe (chocolate to cream). It can be whipped and spread between layers and left out for a day. Hope all goes well.

    Reply

  10. Hi. If I made a strawberry or raspberry filling would it be able to stay at room temperature for a few hours? I was thinking of doing a layer of buttercream - make a dam then a strawberry filling on top. Do you have a strawberry filling recipe, I was looking but couldn't find one on your site. Thanks!

    Reply

  11. Hi Alexina, Yes, the strawberry or raspberry filling would be fine to use for a wedding.
    Strawberry Filling
    1/2 to 3/4 cup water
    3 T. cornstarch
    2 1/2 cups strawberries, frozen or fresh cut into thin slices
    1/2 cup sugar - more if strawberries are not sweet enough
    Whisk the water and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add the sugar and strawberries. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens 10 min. or more, depending on the amount of berries. Cool completely before using. Can be kept in the refrigerator 4 or 5 days.

    The cakeboss raspberry cake filling is good, here is a link to the recipe, it takes a short while to load but it should come up for you,http://www.cakeboss.com/Cake-Stuff/Recipes/Raspberry-Filling

    Reply