Vanilla-Lavender Lemon Curd

Lemon curd. Oh, is this ever a Thing. How have I lived this long without making my own? Creamy-custardy, tart-sweet lemony, and my touch: vanilla-lavendery.

To make a batch big enough for canning, I quadrupled this basic recipe: cream together 3 eggs and 1/3 cup of sugar. Add 1/2 cup or so of fresh lemon juice (I bought a jug of nice organic stuff and added the additional zest and juice of a lemon) and 6 tablespoons of butter. Simmer over medium, whisking here and again until the butter is melted, then whiskwhiskwhisk over gentle heat until it is thickened and puddinglike in consistency. Pour the whole thing through a fine mesh sieve to get out the scrambled eggy bits (pictured above to illustrate that you don’t want this in your curd).

Now you have this gorgeous lemon curd, only about ten minutes after you started. Isn’t that something? It’s fine and lovely just the way it is, truly, but why not gild the lily and add a teaspoon each of vanilla extract and lavendercello? Just stir it right in.

Serve with scones, or buttermilk biscuits, or a spoon.

Editor’s note: Despite comments from the Canning Police, this curd is perfectly safe to can in a hot water bath. Even though this recipe deviates from the tested recipe on the National Center For Home Food Preservation fact sheet, the extra lemon juice and addition of liquor renders it even safer. The NCHFP instructions can be found here. I have eaten and gifted many jars of this stuff and have no salmonella complaints yet. So suck it, Canning Police.