Lemon Custard – Spend With Pennies

This lemon custard is so easy to make and lovely to eat pudding style or enjoy as a cake filling or dessert topping.

Bright, tangy, and bursting with lemony flavor with a texture that is both delicate and rich, lemon custard tastes just like summer.

What is Lemon Custard?

Custard is a sweetened pudding-like mixture often thickened with egg yolk. It can be made thin or thick in consistency depending on the recipe application.

Egg yolks, cream, milk, and sugar (and in this case lemon for flavor). Many custard recipes contain just egg yolk as a thickener however we prefer with the addition of cornstarch for a great texture and how well it holds up in desserts like pies, tarts, and cakes!

• Serve lemon custard as-is with a sprinkle of fresh raspberries, blueberries or sliced strawberries or as a side to scones with a spot of tea!
• Make lemon custard in minutes and fill mini tart shells and pies, or use it as a summery, citrusy filling between cake layers.

Ingredients and Variations

LEMONS: The lemon flavor in this recipe comes from fresh lemons (both zest and fresh lemon juice). Swap it out for other citrus fruits like grapefruit, orange, or even lime for lime custard. Other popular custards for pie are banana, coconut, or basic vanilla custard.

SUGAR: Sugar is necessary to balance the tart flavor of lemon and sweeten the recipe.

EGGS: Unlike a homemade lemon curd recipe, custard only uses egg yolks to give it that rich flavor and custard-like texture. Large eggs work best, save the egg whites for future meringues or use them to make egg muffins for breakfast!

DAIRY: Always use full-fat dairy milk and cream for the richest flavor and smoothest texture.

CORNSTARCH: An important thickener that binds the ingredients and gives the recipe its signature texture.

How to Make Lemon Custard

This simple dessert is so deliciously creamy!

1. Zest cleaned lemons to make 1 tablespoon. Cut the lemons in half and squeeze to make 1/4 cup of juice.
2. Whisk ingredients in a saucepan over medium-low until thickened.
3. Remove from heat & stir in butter & lemon juice (as per the recipe below).
4. Pour custard into a bowl & cover the surface with plastic wrap (this prevents a film from forming on the top).
5. Refrigerate before serving.

Tips

• Whisk the cornstarch into cold ingredients for a smooth custard.
• When zesting the lemon, try to get only the yellow part of the skin, the white part is bitter.
• Custard can be cooked over a double boiler but we find if the heat on the stove is low and you stir constantly, it isn’t needed.
• Cook over low and slow heat, if you turn it up higher, this can cause the custard to be lumpy.
• Cool with plastic wrap touching the surface of the custard to keep a skin from forming.

How to Store & Serve

Keep lemon custard covered in the refrigerator with a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard for up to 1 week.

Serve like you would serve a pudding, as a dip for fresh fruit, or fill baked tart shells with custard and fruit and top with whipped cream.

Use it to fill cakes or lemon cupcakes or spoon over ice cream. It’s perfect for toping meringue or even pavolva.

More Ways to Use Custard

What’s your favorite way to use Lemon Custard? Let us know in a comment below!