This recipe comes from my husband’s great-aunt Marianna, who was born in 1884, and was served at family gatherings as far back as anyone could remember. This century-old recipe has two ways of making it: the traditional method, and an updated method which uses a Vitamix or Blendtec blender that takes half the time–with no annoying scrambled eggs either! Goes well with scones and clotted cream. Makes a great gift! -E

Lemon Curd

Ingredients:
6 eggs
2 ½ cups sugar
juice of 4 large lemons (or 5 small), room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, diced

Directions:
1. In a double boiler, beat eggs thoroughly.  Add sugar and lemon juice and beat until thoroughly blended.
2. Cook over medium heat until thick and mixture coats the back of a spoon. You must stir constantly or you risk scrambling your eggs.
3. Using a fine sieve, strain the lemon curd into jars. Allow to cool before refrigerating. Like any custard, this curd will thicken as it cools. Allow to refrigerate overnight before using.

Blender Method

Directions:
1. Put the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice, (all ingredients EXCEPT the butter) into the Vitamix container.
2. Begin blending at setting 1 and quickly increase to setting 10. Blend for 6-7 minutes. You will see steam rise from the top of your blender!
3. Then, turn off your blender and using an instant-read thermometer, quickly check to see that the temperature of the curd has reached 170 degrees. If not, continue to blend at high speed until it does.
4. When mixture reaches 170 degrees, set the speed to setting 3. Remove the lid plug and add the pieces of butter. Blend for another 30 seconds, until butter is melted and smooth.
5. Pour into jars and allow to cool at least two hours. At first the curd will be runny but it will thicken as it cools.

Notes:
Both methods make 6 cups of lemon curd. Keeps in freezer for 2 months. Makes a great gift!