This eggless lemon curd is thick, smooth, velvety creamy, and has a deliciously tart yet sweet citrus flavor. You’ll need 5 ingredients and 10 minutes to make this easy recipe.
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❤️About This Recipe
Consistency: It is thick yet runny, good both for drizzling and for spreading on.
You can call it a creamy lemon version of jam.
It is incredibly easy to make and uses simple pantry ingredients.
Because this is an egg-free version of lemon curd, this recipe doesn’t involve a double boiler or some careful steps.
This eggless lemon curd makes a great filling for cakes, cupcakes, crepes, pies, tarts and makes delicious topping on scones, muffins, bread, eggless pancakes, or eggless waffles.
🧾Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted butter: I prefer to use unsalted so I can control the salt intake. But if you have salted butter on hand then you can use that.
- Lemon juice: I highly recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice. The bottled lemon juice doesn’t give a good lemony flavor.
- Lemon zest: It is the outer bright yellow layer of the lemon rind. Use the Microplane zester to get the zest. Make sure not to grate the inner white part of the rind, just grate the yellow part. The white part is bitter and makes the cake slightly on the bitter taste.
- Condensed milk: It adds sweetness and creaminess. Because this is eggless lemon curd, the richness comes from condensed milk instead of eggs.
- Corn starch: It helps to make thick lemon curd.
In this recipe, condensed milk and cornstarch are used as egg substitutes.
🎥Watch The Recipe Video
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
1) Take lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar in a saucepan. Turn the heat on medium.
2) Bring it to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
3) Meantime, mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl and make a lump-free batter.
4) Add that to simmering lemon-sugar mixture and mix using a whisk. Within a minute or two it will thicken and becomes a thick paste.
5) Now add chopped butter.
6) Keep whisking until butter is melted and everything is incorporated well.
7) Remove it from the stove. Add condensed milk and mix.
8) If needed you can add yellow food color and mix.
9) Let it cool down completely and then store it in an airtight container.
💭Expert Tips
- Keep whisking continuously after adding corn starch mixture, otherwise, it may become lumpy.
- Keep the heat medium to low.
- After adding a corn scratch water mixture, it thickens very quickly (within a minute). So don’t go away, watch carefully, whisk constantly.
- By any chance, if your eggless lemon curd becomes lumpy, you can strain (pass it through a fine-mesh sieve) once it is ready to get a silky-smooth texture.
🥣 Storage:
In the fridge: It stays good for 10 days in an airtight container.
In the freezer: It stays good for up to 3 months. Freezing doesn’t compromise the texture and color once thawed.
Canning: You can preserve the lemon curd by canning using a hot water bath. The color may change with the canning method.
🍽 Serving Ideas
- Spread it on a toast, English muffins, scones, biscuits, croissants.
- It tastes delicious as a topping for eggless pancakes and eggless waffles when topped with fresh berries.
- You can use this eggless lemon curd as a filling for cakes and cupcakes.
- Combined lemon curd and whipped cream to make a light, delicious lemon mousse.
- Spoon it over your ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt.
- Spread it over the crepes and fill with berries and fold. It tastes too good.
Check Out Other Lemon Desserts
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📋 Recipe Card
Eggless Lemon Curd
Ingredients
- ½ cup Lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Lemon zest
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons Corn flour (corn starch)
- 2 tablespoons Water
- ⅓ cup Unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup Sweetened condensed milk
- Yellow food color optional
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Instructions
- Take lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar in a saucepan. Turn the heat on medium.
- Bring it to a boil and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Meantime, mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl and make a lump-free batter.
- Add that to simmering lemon-sugar mixture and mix using a whisk. Within a minute or two it will thicken and becomes a thick paste.
- Now add chopped butter and keep whisking until butter is melted and everything is incorporated well.
- Remove it from the stove. Add condensed milk and mix.
- If needed you can add yellow food color and mix.
- Let it cool down completely and then store it in an airtight container.
Notes
- Whisk constantly to avoid lumps in the curd.
- Keep the heat medium to low.
- Don’t go away after adding corn scratch slurry as it thickens within a minute.
- If yours has lumps in it then strain it through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Spread it on a toast, English muffins, scones, biscuits, croissants.
- Add as a topping for eggless pancakes and eggless waffles when topped with fresh berries.
- Use as a filling for cakes and cupcakes.
- Combined lemon curd and whipped cream to make a light, delicious lemon mousse.
- Spoon it over your ice cream, cottage cheese, yogurt.
- Spread it over the crepes and fill with berries and fold.
Carrie
Will this be thick enough for a cake filling or should I add more cornstarch? Thanks!
Kanan Patel
It is thick enough.
If still have a doubt, you can increase the cornstarch to 2 tablespoons.
Kristin
This is delicious! Turned out perfect! Will use with your eggless cupcake recipe! Thanks!
Kanan Patel
Glad to know that it came out perfect