There’s nothing quite like homemade lemon curd. And when you have a dairy allergy or lactose intolerance, there’s nothing better than dairy-free homemade lemon curd!
I love lemon curd. It’s beautiful, bright, light, tangy and downright delicious. So … why have I always bought it in a jar and never tried to make it homemade until the past year? I guess I assumed it was difficult or time-consuming to make. I was wrong on both counts! And when I make it myself, it’s fresher (more delicious), I can ensure it’s dairy-free AND it’s less expensive to make.
Some people make lemon curd with both egg yolks and egg whites, but I prefer to make it with just egg yolks. They’re brighter, and I think it makes the lemon curd less fussy to make and more delicious (especially with organic eggs). This recipe also uses vegan butter rather than coconut milk (a great option to remake recipes dairy-free) because the vegan butter makes it taste sooooo much more like traditional lemon curd made with real butter.
This dairy-free homemade lemon curd recipe calls for FRESH lemon juice and FRESH lemon zest. If you’re desperate, you can use lemon zest in a jar and lemon juice in a bottle, but I promise you that the little bit of extra work it takes to use the fresh lemon juice and zest is worth it and makes all the difference in taste!!! If you’re new to zesting citrus, don’t let it intimidate you. It’s easy, especially if you use a microplane rather than a regular grater. A grater will work – it’s just a little more work. If I could go back, I’d make myself buy a microplane zester much much sooner in my life. Click here to see the one I use (same color and all). Note: if you purchase through the link, I make a little cash money to help keep my blog going. 🙂
A couple tips: 1) wash the lemons, dry them with a paper towel and then zest them BEFORE you 2) cut them in half and juice them. I only mention this because – you guessed it – in a hurry and multi-tasking, I have cut open the lemon first! It’s doable, but it’s much more difficult (and messy) to zest a lemon after you’ve already cut it open!
What can you do with lemon curd? Oh, let me count the ways …
- Eat it straight out of the bowl (seriously, it’s that good)
- Put on top of your morning toast instead of jelly (yum!)
- Spread it on muffins, scones, English muffins, pound cake, bagels … you get the idea 😉
- Fill your favorite vanilla or lemon cupcakes with the lemon curd and/or “ice” your cupcakes with it
- Fill a tart crust with it (and top with fresh fruit)
- Use it on top of a favorite cookie or as a filling for thumbprint cookies, like my Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Lemon Almond Wine Cookies
Pin it/save it and try it!
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- 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1/2 cup vegan butter (if you don't have a dairy allergy, you can use real butter)
Ingredients
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- Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites (suggestion: save the egg whites to make yourself an omelette with toast and spread lemon curd on your toast!)
- Wash 1-2 lemons, depending on the size of the lemons, dry with paper towel and zest the yellow part of the lemon rind using the smallest holes on a box grater or, better/easier, use a microblade zester. Be careful not to get the white part (pith) of the lemon rind - it's quite bitter. Zest enough for 2 1/2 tsp of lemon zest for the recipe.
- Cut the lemon(s) in half and juice into a liquid measuring cup or bowl until you have 1/2 cup. Note: if you are a tad shy and run out of lemons, add a little water or bottled lemon juice to get you to 1/2 cup of liquid.
- Combine all of the ingredients (except the vegan butter) in a saucepan on the stove. Whisk constantly until you bring it to a boil.
- As soon as it comes to a boil, turn your burner down to medium-low and continue whisking until it thickens. It will also turn a brighter yellow.
- After it has thickened, pull the pan off the burner and add the vegan butter, cut into pieces. Stir/whisk it in and then set aside to cool. When it's cooled, it's ready to eat! Pour it into your favorite jar, bowl or use it to fill your favorite lemon or vanilla cupcakes or with your favorite cookies, toast, scones or biscuits!
© Kitchen Gone Rogue. www.kitchengonerogue.com
