Sunday, May 17, 2020

Bush Lemon Curd, microwave style, and letting the sunshine in.

 

Lemons are abundant here at present so if you have some growing where you live or are given some I urge you to try making this Lemon Curd. This is my latest batch of Lemon Curd using Bush Lemons made with Jill's very juicy fruit, however any kind of juicy lemon in season can be used.  I decided to take the plunge this time and make it in the microwave. My previous post on making Lemon Curd from the Bush Lemon using the stovetop method has been very popular it seems by readers, and being citrus season it is being read quite a bit but if you missed it you can find it here. 
.https://happyretireeskitchen.blogspot.com/2017/06/making-best-old-fashioned-lemon-butter.html  .


Beautiful juicy Bush Lemons

When I find a successful recipe which consistently works for me it is hard to deviate from it, but what swung me here was that once I had squeezed the lemons and organised all of the ingredients which didn't take long, it only took me 3 minutes to make a batch in the microwave. I may never go back to the original recipe. It takes much longer to make lemon curd in a saucepan on the stove. This latest one tastes delicious, uses less butter and made 2 1/2 small jars. A small batch but it is very easy to make another one quickly. I have seen a few online recipes for microwave lemon curd, but Celia from her Fig Jam and Lime Cordial blog finally convinced me in her latest post on making lime curd to try a microwave version using lemons. I'll be making some lime curd at some stage as well I'm sure. 

Previously I wrote:
"Lemon butter is delicious on toast for breakfast, or on scones. It also transforms into a very quick and easy morning or afternoon tea when used to fill small tart shells, which are available already baked from the supermarkets. Or if you feel like doing some fiddly pastry baking, make your own. I can remember my Mum and my dear old Aunts using it to sandwich together sponge cakes for Church afternoon teas and fetes, and then just sprinkling icing sugar over the top layer. They were always delicious. Another idea with a sponge cake was to hollow out a recess in the top and fill it with lemon curd.  Also delicious! We are only limited by our imagination really and lemon curd is still a favourite across the generations."

Let's cook:
Ingredients:

150 g lemon juice (juice from about 4 bush lemons, maybe 5 of other varieties)
50 g unsalted butter
3 large eggs plus one egg yolk
150 g caster sugar
zest of four lemons

Method:

In a bowl, whisk the eggs and the yolk well. Leave to sit until needed.
Grate the lemon zest finely from the lemons onto a board



Mix the lemon juice and zest, caster sugar, and butter in a large microwave bowl. I used a pyrex one. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, remove and then stir until combined and all butter is melted.



Strain the eggs through a sieve into the hot juice bowl, continuously whisking as you do this. Yes, you can do this with a little coordination.

Microwave your hot juice bowl for another 30 seconds, remove and whisk quickly, microwave for another 30 seconds, whisk, and then microwave for one minute and whisk. I repeated this process twice more for 30 seconds each time, and then it thickened beautifully. I placed a small amount on a small plate to test it and of course had a taste. Yum! How long you need to microwave it will depend on the power of your microwave.



A final whisk and I ladled it into 2 1/2 jars, let it cool and then placed it in the refrigerator, after saving some to have with Damper scones for morning tea. Delish. 

Damper scones with Bush Lemon Curd. 

 I have kept lemon curd in the frig for almost 6 months previously, but this batch won't last that long, it will be eaten quickly. Some people also freeze it for 12 months.

It's morning tea time here and guess what we are having? Yep, hot damper scones defrosted out of the freezer served with lemon curd again. 

Mr. HRK has been making the most of the sunshine and doing some serious pruning in our backyard, which is also about letting some more sunshine in for the beehive. More of that with photos in my next post hopefully my friends, it's 10.30am and I need a coffee, know what I mean?

I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday wherever you are.

Thanks for visiting, 

Best wishes, 

Pauline









10 comments:

  1. wow the lemon curd turned out really smooth, thickened and fantastic! Wish I could join you for the morning tea :-))
    You too have a beautiful Sunday!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Angie. It would be nice to have morning tea with you as well.

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  2. I love making curd in the microwave too. It's amazing how quick it is and it produces a really lovely curd.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Lorraine. Yes it is quite amazing really. The microwave has certainly come into its own simplifying lots of recipes.

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  3. Great recipe thank you as I have been thinking about what to do with a bag of lemons. I remember previously trying a lemon curd microwave recipe in a 80's cookbook using custard powder instead of eggs(So so result) but real eggs make a big difference. Yum

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Bernie, I've seen those recipes too. People used to be so worried about using too many eggs and custard powder was such a shortcut as well but not with the same result. Give it a go and you won't look back.

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  4. Years ago I made lemond curd once and it was delicious.
    Using microwave sounds easier. I will try this method too. :)

    Thanks Pauline.

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  5. Thanks Nil, this method also saves so much time for busy people with a great result. It is such a nice condiment to have in the frig. Hope you have a great week.

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  6. i love a really tangy curd. i made lime curd last week, using the 6 minute stovetop method. i've tried the microwave method before but it just didn't work! I'm glad it worked for you:)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Sherry, I'm glad it worked for me too because I hate wasting ingredients although my other half would have still found a way to eat it. I'm going to try lime curd in the microwave next. This one is nice and tangy.

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