Wedding Cake Baking - Part 2: Lemon Curd

For some reason I never realized how easy it was to make lemon curd until a couple of years ago, when I made it to fill a cake for a dinner my friend Lauren and I made for her mom. And once I made that realization I have never gone back to the processed jarred stuff sold in stores.

I made this particular lemon curd to fill the second tier of the wedding cake. The great thing about making a white cake with lemon curd filling is that you use the egg whites in the cake and the leftover yolks you use in the curd.


I use a recipe from Alton Brown that is available on the Food Network website.

You need lemons, egg yolks, sugar and butter. (I made a double batch of this recipe).

First you zest your lemons and then squeeze them. I tend to microwave my lemons after zesting for about 5 seconds as it seems to make them easier to juice.


Then in a big metal or glass bowl, mix your egg yolks and sugar until you have a paste like consistency. Then add lemon juice, and lemon zest and whisk together.


Place the bowl over a double boiler over medium and whisk until hot and the mixture coats the back of a spoon.


Then you remove the bowl from the double boiler and add the butter one pat at a time, whisking until it has fully melted and repeat the process until all the butter is incorporated.


I then pour my lemon curd into a mason jar (I think this is the easiest way to store it) and place in my fridge to cool, until I am ready to use it.