Lemon Curd

3 egg yolks
1 egg
3/4 cup caster sugar
juice and zest of 3 medium lemons
3 tbs double cream
110g unsalted butter, diced

Place eggs, zest, juice, sugar and cream in a heatproof bowl that is large enough to sit over a medium saucepan.

Whisk until combined.

Place the bowl over the saucepan filled with 2-3 cm of water. Turn the heat to medium and whisk constantly, until the mixture thickens. This will take between 10 and 15 minutes approximately or when mixture reaches 75 degrees celsius. When ready, the mixture should coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and strain using a clean sieve.

Add butter to the curd, one or two dice at a time and whisk constantly until the mixture is smooth and combined.

Cool to room temperature and refrigerate until needed.

Use this curd to fill small or large pastry cases and allow to set in the fridge for at least 24 hours after you have filled the pastry cases.

This curd also freezes well in a snap lock bag in the freezer. Thaw and whisk the mixture to make it smooth.

Try this in small shortcrust pastry cases lined with a thin layer of white, or dark chocolate.

You can also try this with oranges or lime instead of lemon. Reduce the amount of sugar and add citric acid because oranges are sweeter than lemons.

If the curd is too sour, you can always mix is some double cream to taste and stir well to combine.