Use the best-quality peppery olive oil you can find for this curd. Because it has less butter, the finished product is slightly softer at room temperature than versions made with all butter, and the lemon flavor punches harder without the extra dairy. The cornstarch adds an extra measure of stiffness, so that the curd oozes a little bit less when it sits between cakes, and holds a perkier bead.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
- 2 large whole eggs plus 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 cup (236 ml) fresh lemon juice (about 4 to 6 medium-size lemons)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup (118 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
How to Make It
- Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and cold water. Place a clean heatproof bowl inside it.
- Combine the sugar, eggs and yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan and whisk them together. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or heatproof silicone spatula, until warm. Add the olive oil and butter and cook, stirring frequently, until the curd is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer the lemon curd to the bowl set inside the ice bath and cover with plastic wrap touching its surface. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
