Divine Homemade Lime Curd Recipe -- Ariel Cooks

I have an absolutely gorgeous homemade lime curd recipe to share with you today. The best thing about this recipe is its super quick, easy and seems like it takes far more effort than it actually does!

I find limes are underrated in baking and I absolutely love the taste of them, they have a fresh fruitiness that is slightly different from its more popular cousin the lemon.

Lime curd is great over toast, scones, used in cakes as a filling or topping, dolloped over fruit and my personal favourite at the moment mixed in with Greek yogurt, delicious! It also makes fabulous presents if you place the curd in cute little manson jars. If you have small jars available these are also amazing to take on picnics with some fresh fruit, yogurt, clotted cream and scones.

Ingredients:

·         6 limes

·         100g of unsalted butter

·         120g of granulated sugar

·         80g of demerara sugar

·         3 whole eggs, plus another egg yolk

~This recipe will give you about 500ml of lime curd~

Equipment:

·         Large mixing bowl

·         Whisk (electric is better or a kitchen aid)

·         Two saucepan pots, one for jars and one for curd

·         Wooden spoon

·         Large jar or smaller jars, enough for 500ml

·         Wax sealing disks (these can found in most supermarkets and online in places like ebay and amazon)

Method:

1.       First sterilise the jars, place in large pot and cover with hot water. Bring to the boil and when bubbling away leave for at least 15 minutes. If you are sterilising be careful with what lids you are using as some can’t be boiled without damaging them. Once finished the jars will be sterilised and good to go for about an hour, over this and I’m afraid you will have to boil again.

2.       While your jars are bubbling away juice your limes and keep the pulp with the juice. I like adding pulp to the curd instead of the zest as it gives a smoother texture.

3.       Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, an electric whisk will make this a lot easier.

4.       Gradually add beaten eggs.

5.       Gradually add lime juice and pulp. Once all incorporated pour mixture into a pan. Don’t worry about the horrible looking curdled texture this is normal and will come together when cooked. Just to prove it here's a photo of mine before I cooked it!

6.       Simmer over a low heat and stir with a wooden spoon. It is very important it is a low heat! There should be no bubbles, if it’s bubbling it’s too hot. It is also very important you keep stirring, it may seem like it’s never going to thicken but it will!

7.       The mixture is ready when its slightly darkened and you can drag a finger (be careful it's hot) down the wooden spoon and the line stays, as shown below.

8.       Lastly simply pour curd into your sterilised jar or jars of choice, seal with a waxed disk and you’re done!

I didn't seal mine as I was going to be using it in a cake recipe in a few days. If you don’t seal the lime curd it will last around a week or maybe two in the fridge, depending on how cold your fridge is.

If sealed it will last up to two months in the fridge.

Happy cooking!

Ariel