Sunday, April 6, 2008

Lemon Curd, Unrefined and Organic

For various reasons I have decided to let the white sugar run out in my house and don’t have any immediate plans to replace it. This happed Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm Pacific Time as I was making a pound cake. I substituted Rapadura for about 75% of the sugar called for and it turned out fine. So far so good.
Next the plan was to make lemon curd. I wanted to use agave syrup as that has the most neutral taste of any of the unrefined sweeteners. I couldn’t find a recipe online that I liked so I made one up. For an experiment I used extra virgin coconut oil instead of butter. It gave the curd a hint of coconut flavor which blended well with the lemon (it also made the curd dairy-free). The fabulous deep color of this curd is from the amazing local eggs I’ve been lucky enough to get lately. The ingredients are all organic, too! All these positive factors add up to a lemon curd that is nicely tart and rich and makes me feel a little less guilty to indulge in and to feed my family. It turned out so well I thought I’d share it with you.

Lemon Curd
1 c light agave syrup
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
--pinch of salt--
1 TB cornstarch
1 tsp (generous) fresh lemon zest
3 egg yolks
2 eggs
5 TB (3 oz) extra virgin coconut oil

Whisk eggs well in a bowl. Combine agave, juice, cornstarch and lemon zest in saucepan. Bring to a boil then lower heat and add a bit of this to the eggs to temper them then whisk eggs into juice mixture. Cook gently and stir until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in coconut oil bit by bit. Force through a fine sieve and cool. Makes about 2 cups. Yum!

6 comments:

Mary said...

Oh my. I love lemon curd and this one sounds terrific. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Love the new layout, Angie. Very nice. Rebecca updated her blog with a new layout and I'm looking for something too. It must be the season - we all want something new and fresh.

Ana said...

I love the new look blog. I like the way you experiment and come up with such a beautiful creation!

country mouse said...

Even without tasting it I know it's amazing--because you made it : ) Fun new layout too!

Anonymous said...

Angie, I'm so excited about this! I love lemon curd, and now you've brilliantly created just the kind of version I will feel free to enjoy to my heart's content!

I'm with Clarice-- I will be making this ASAP.

Thanks, and it's always fun to read about what you're up to, Angie. I've gotten a lot of food ideas and recipes from you!

Susan :-)

Gumbo Lily said...

I love lemon curd. I have never heard of agave syrup (I'll still use sugar) but I admire you for finding another way to sweeten.

Jody

BessieJoy said...

I can't wait to try this! I *love* lemon curd. And I could eat this with no guilt attached!