Blog: Tangy Key Lime Curd

Click picture to enlarge

I had the most unexpected and satisfying breakfast last weekend. During the week, I bought two different kinds of bread to make French toast for my family.  No big deal, I thought. Make breakfast for everyone, make something for myself, and go on my merry way. What I didn’t expect is that I would be eating it, too, and devouring every bite.

It all started when my father-in-law gave me a huge bag of limes from his overloaded tree. I guess he figured that I would know what to do with them. At first I didn’t, though. I pondered and really tried to think of something unique to make. The problem is that limes aren’t really a staple in my house, unless margaritas are being poured. I use a lot of lemons in my cooking and for lemonade but not limes. After much thought, I remembered a condiment that I absolutely love made out of lemons and wondered if I could replicate it with limes.

That is when my quest for the right lime curd recipe took force. I really had no idea how to make it. If you think about it, lime juice is very liquid. How can something so liquid turn into something thick and spreadable? Well, with a little tender loving care and a strong arm, it does and, wow, is it good!

As I was thinking about when I would use lime curd, I noticed there was extra cinnamon vanilla French toast from breakfast, and I couldn’t resist spreading some on. I was astonished at the complimentary combination. The lime adds just the right amount of tartness to the sweet vanilla and spicy cinnamon.

Since then, I have put lime curd on different kinds of bread, mixed it with Greek yogurt and now I can’t wait to try it with muffins and cookies. I am addicted.  You must try it.

With only four ingredients it takes less than a half hour to prepare. So simple.  Here’s the recipe:

½ c sugar

2 large eggs

2 t grated key lime zest plus ¼ cup freshly squeezed key lime juice

4 T unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Combine sugar, eggs, lime zest and juice in a medium saucepan, and cook over medium-low heat.  Whisk constantly, until mixture begins to thicken and holds the mark of the whisk, 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, a piece at a time, until well combined. Strain mixture through a sieve into a glass bowl. Lay plastic directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill three hours or overnight to set.

This recipe makes about ¾ of a cup but I doubled it. I had a feeling that one recipe was just not enough for all the food I wanted to try it with.

 Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart