It was all yellow.

Donna Hay says, " I don't think it is good to start a recipe with a confession." But what the heck, I will blurt it, anyway. For the life of me, I can't bake cupcakes. Apparently 5 year old kids can make cupcakes, but not me!

For weeks and months, this bothered me. I decided to let it go an focus on things that I can do. Cupcakes can wait. I am not a big fan of them either. The whole world, on the other hand, is going quite  gaga over them. So world, don't expect any cupcakes from me anytime soon.  Instead, I am making stuff I am pretty good at and tastes even better. 

Summer screams ice cream, lemonades, and lemons! Every cookbook I own has a lemon-based recipe and I thought, why not!

I have never had any lemony dessert in my life and boy, I have wasted a good 23 years without understanding the magic of lemons. I never was a big fan of lemons when I was young; trust me when I say this, a teeny tiny bit of lemon makes so much difference in your food. I am not even joking here. I had this lemon curd with biscuits, bread toast and cakesThe recipe is an adaptation from Martha Stewart and  this one is a keeper ( recipe, I mean!)


                         
                                                                 LEMON CURD

Yields: 2 cups
Stores: 2-3 weeks (but trust me, it will get over before you know it)


Ingredients:

• 4 large egg yolks
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/3 cup  granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup cornflour
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups water

Method: 

• Whisk lemon zest, sugar, corn flour, salt in a medium-sized saucepan. Add water and lemon juice to the saucepan
• Whisk continuously till the sugar and cornflour dissolves completely
• Bring it to a boil over a medium-high heat. Remember to whisk continuously for about 2 minutes
• Reduce the heat and take 1/3 rd of the mixture and add it to the egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl.  This will reduce the chances of your eggs scrambling in your hot mixture. Last thing you want in your lemon curd is scrambled eggs!!!
• When the eggs are mixed with the lemon curd, add that  mixture to the rest of the cornflour, lemon juice mixture.
• This immediately gives a nice pale yellowy color. So beautiful!
• You need to cook it for a further 2 to 3 minutes. I would suggest, keep tasting it constantly to see if you, need more sugar, or if the eggs need more cooking. 
• Once you are happy with it, remove it from the stove, and add your vanilla to it. 
• The next few crucial steps are as follow, 1. allow it to cool completely, 2. make it a day in advance, it tastes even better the next day, 3. try not finish it in one single day (because, I did!).

 TIPS:

• Strain the lemon curd through a sieve once it is done, just as a precaution to remove any scrambled pieces of egg. 
• Cover the lemon curd with a cling firm, so it does not make layer on the top. 
• Refrigerate when not in use.  

Love, 

Shobitha Suresh