Zesty Lime Curd Recipe

Quick and easy lime curd, with an optional boozy twist! This small batch curd recipe only takes three limes and 20 minutes to whip up. A great alternative to the typical lemon curd - perfect to accompany scones or for a pie or cake filling.

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• What is Curd?
• Ingredient Notes
• How to Make Lime Curd
• Adult Additions to this Lime Curd
• Lime Curd Uses
• FAQs
• Small Batch Lime Curd

Why you'll love this recipe

• Super zesty - this recipe is made with tart and tangy fresh limes. I recommend using key limes here. These are the smaller limes, which tend to offer a stronger aroma and are a more flavorful than their larger cousins.
• Four ingredients - all you'll need are 4 simple ingredients for your homemade lime curd.
• Small batch - this is a small batch curd recipe, making only about 8 tablespoons or half a cup of lime curd. This is usually plenty for a small cake filling or for a tea party, but the recipe is also easily scalable for larger crowds!
• A boozy punch - if you're looking for a curd with a bit of a hit, this lime curd with pisco is a fun and tangy lime curd with alcohol. Perfect for an adult cake filling or tea party.

What is Curd?

Curd in the sense of fruit curds are spreads, typically made from citrus fruits. The most common curd is lemon, but you can easily make lime or orange following the same principles.

These fruit curds are made from fruit juice, zest, sugar and eggs, often with some butter as well to add a glossy finish. The ingredients are cooked together slowly until thickened to the consistency of a spread. For the smoothest and silkiest finish, add the butter at the end, once the curd is thickened and off the heat.

You can can citrus curds like jams to preserve for longer. Alternatively small batch versions can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container.

Ingredient Notes

For this easy lime curd recipe, you'll need:

• Limes - ideally fresh squeezed juice from key limes as well as zest. You can make successful lime curd with store bought lime juice or use any variety of lime for this recipe, but key limes will make the most tangy and pungently lime curd. Similarly the zest isn't necessary for a successful curd, but it will add an extra dimension that will be worth the extra effort.
• Sugar - granulated sugar or caster sugar work best here. For all that sour tang, you'll need some sugar in this recipe! The sugar here not only sweetens but helps to thicken.
• Eggs - this recipe calls for two yolks and one whole egg. You can make curds with egg yolks only, but the addition of one whole egg adds to the silky creaminess of the curd. These should be large eggs, ideally at room temperature for incorporation into the mixture.
• Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. Salted butter will add a saltiness to the overall curd. The butter here isn't 100% required. Butter is frequently called for in curd recipes to add to the silky texture and the gloss of the finished product. You can leave it out and still have a flavorful curd.

How to Make Lime Curd

This curd recipe is essentially just a four step process:

1. Add the lime juice, zest, yolks, egg and sugar to a saucepan.
2. Over a medium heat, whisk together until the sugar is dissolved. Add any alcohol, like tequila or Pisco (if using), continue whisking until thickened. This normally takes about 15 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat, add the butter and whisk to incorporate.
4. Strain to remove the zest from the final product and chill. This can be kept in a bowl or jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Adult Additions to this Lime Curd

To give your curd an extra kick, you could also add a bit of booze. Some options for a tipsy twist that will accentuate the lime:

• Tequila Lime Curd
• Pisco Lime Curd
• Prosecco Lime Curd

For any of these, add 1 tablespoon of the alcohol to the curd as you are whisking this over the heat. This will cook off the alcohol content, while preserving a hint of the flavour.

Lime Curd Uses

The uses for lime curd are limitless! Anywhere you may use the more conventional lemon version, you can also try lime. Some serving suggestions are:

• Filling cupcakes to make a lime cake, like my Pisco Lime Cupcakes.
• As an easy tart filling - you can try this curd in place of the blood orange in my Blood Orange Tartlets.
• Whisked together with condensed milk for a quick key lime pie.
• Use as a topping for scones or toast
• Zesty topping for pavlova - try this curd in place of the tropical curd used in my Blueberry Pavlova.

FAQs

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Small Batch Strawberry Jam
• Apricot and Vanilla Jam
• Pink Grapefruit Curd
• Passionfruit Curd