Lemon Curd

I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...I may have 6 egg yolks left!  I am on the verge of chucking the last of them, but I have a hard time letting go of stuff.  Or perhaps, wasting stuff.

I have made lemon curd in the past, some very successful and some not so successful.  I searched the internet and didn't really find a recipe that used 90% yolks.  I found one that called for both lemon and lime juice, but that just meant another trip to the grocery store or the farmers market and I had already completed that task for the week.

I picked up 5 of my favorite books; Tartine, Sherry Yard, Desserts by the Yard, Baking with Julia, The Modern Baker, and Baking, From my home to yours.  I liked the recipe in Baking, From my home to yours because it was the simplest.  I know, that is somewhat of a copout, but it has been a very busy two weeks and all I really wanted to do was use up my egg yolks.  I was on a mission!

ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 stick ( 6 tbls.) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg
6 large egg yolks
freshly squeezed lemon juice from 4 lemons (about 3/4 cup)

directions:
Put all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir with a heatproof spatula.  Put the pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring without stopping until butter melts. Keep stirring until the custard starts to thicken.  Don't walk away as the whole thing could curdle.

When you can run your finger along the spatula and the curd doesn't run into the track you have created, the curd id ready.  It may feel runny, but it will thicken as it cools.

Remove the pan from the heat and pour into a heatproof bowl (I poured it through a strainer).  Press a piece of plastic wrap against the curd to create an airtight seal and cool to room temp before storing in fridge.

Thanks Dorie for a truly wonderful recipe!  

Easy, Easy, Easy!