Lemon Curd

So I’ve been vegan for years and years now, and in the beginning there were sooo many things I missed. Sour cream and onion chips, cheesecake, milk shakes… okay, I can sense a pattern happening here. I like my snacks, so what? I don’t judge you.

But since the time I first went vegan, plant based foods have only continued trending – hard. There is no supermarket I would walk into nowadays that doesn’t offer some kind of vegan snacks, and most, especially those in urban areas have vegan goodies up the wazoo. Yesss supply and demand, baby, keep it coming. But lemon curd is one of those less popular treats that probably isn’t in high demand at the stores, so they might not get around to veganizing that one for a bit yet. But I feel like I see folks eating it here and there and I started thinking, damn, why isn’t there curd for me?

And then I was like wait a second, I’m a recipe developer, I can just make lemon curd for me. And for you. Keep scrolling to check out my ridiculously easy lemon curd recipe, and please leave me a comment with all of the things you slather it on, I like to live vicariously through you and your snacks.

Applications:

This lemon curd is so freaking delicious, and it’s also wildly versatile. I think that’s the word you use when you just want to slather it on everything, right? A few of my favorite ways to enjoy this are:

• stuffed into the middle of these super moist and delicious lemon cupcakes with powdered sugar sprinkled on top

• on top of blueberry pancakes with fresh berries

• in super soft thumbprint cookies

• on French toast

• as the creamy and tart middle layer to my seriously addictive lemon coffee crumb cake

• stuffed into Danishes or literally any other soft, flaky pastry

Method:

Cut a large lemon in half and remove the seeds. If you’re using a food processor, you can opt to put entire thing in food processor (after you remove the seeds) to shred and juice, all at once. It’s definitely a lot of lemon, so be sure to take your time processing to ensure the peel isn’t in big pieces or it’ll be gritty to eat. You can alternatively choose to zest the entire lemon by hand and squeeze juice into mixing bowl. Add in can of coconut milk, and blend/mix until frothy. Transfer this liquid to a saucepan, and heat over high heat for about ten minutes.

As the milk and lemon juice starts to thicken, mix in sugar and corn starch to sweeten and thicken. At this point, the liquid is mostly white since lemon juice doesn’t have a ton of color. I chose to add in a pinch of turmeric for yellow coloring. You can choose yellow food dye or a pinch of goldenberry super food powder that many companies are offering. The turmeric really does not add in any flavor, it’s just to create the vibrant yellow color.

Toss in a pinch of salt, and then bring to a boil. Continue to stir as the liquid thickens. Use an immersion blender, hand mixer, or whisk to ensure the corns starch is evenly distributed, as it can tend to get clumpy if just being stirred. Refrigerate for an hour or so to thicken further. I usually make this a good hour or two, or even the night before I plan to use it, since hot lemon curd is kind of a weird leap.

Substitutions:

• You can use arrow root powder or tapioca starch instead of corn starch if you have it on hand.

• You can also add in monk fruit or powdered stevia to replace sugar if you prefer.

• Use yellow food dye in place of turmeric if that is easier.

Storage:

The lemon curd itself stays surprisingly good in the refrigerator for up to ten days in a jar with a very tight lid. I used half for cupcakes, and then didn’t get around to using the other half for a week and it was perfectly fresh.

As always, if you make this recipe, tag me on Facebook or Instagram, and let me know how it goes! You can also check out my Pinterest page for more sweet tooth inspiration! If you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy these dessert recipes:

• Easy and Healthy Strawberry Crumble Bars

• Lemon Poppyseed Loaf with Blood Orange Glaze