Pressure Cooker Lemon Curd

Lemon curd is a fruit spread of sorts. Developed in late 19th century Britain, this was a popular addition to tea cakes and scones during tea time. It quickly found its way to the United States and has become a staple in Southern cooking.

Some folks use it to top pound cakes, waffles and other pastries. In more recent years, fruit curds have become popular to bake with or used in recipes that call for a filling mixed with whipped cream. Yowsa! I even found donuts with a lemon curd center and me oh my, it rocked my world.

For my household, it is one of our favorite toppings for pound cake and even our yogurt! My sweet Momma makes an old fashioned Lemon Cheese cake and my whole life I have watched her stress and stand over her double boiler making this sometimes fickle confection.

That is what led me to try and find an easier way. And to my surprise, boy did I ever!

All of the ingredients are exactly the same as for a traditional lemon cheese or lemon curd. Only the method by which you cook it is different. And in this case, different means EASIER!!!

One of the 1,453,678 reasons I love my Electric Pressure Cooker is how it makes my life so much easier. Since I am not a patient person, the EPC is a dream appliance for me. Take for instance, when I want ribs, I really don't want to wait all day for them. So recipes like these INSTANT POT BABY BACK RIBS, are a dream come true for impatient cooks and eaters like me.

The EPC does the very same thing for Lemon Curd. I even made my Momma come watch me make some. I though she and I both would break down and cry it was so easy!

So enough about all of that. Let me show you how you can do it too!

• ¼ cup melted butter
• ¾ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 3 whole eggs plus one yolk
• 1 and ⅓ cup sugar

1. In a large bowl, mix melted butter and sugar. Stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, eggs and egg yolk. Mix well.
2. Pour into glass jars leaving about 1 inch of head space. Tighten jar lid just one turn or finger tight.
3. Place 2 cups of water in the inner pot of the Electric Pressure cooker. Set trivet inside.
4. Place jars on the trivet. Close lid and seal vent. Set manual or pressure cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
5. When cook time is done, allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Open vent to release any remaining pressure and carefully open lid. Using tongs, remove jars from EPC. Using a towel, carefully open jars and stir contents to mix well.
6. Tighten jar lid and allow to cool on counter for one hour. Serve on all your favorites pastries or yogurt. Store in refrigerator and will keep up to 2 weeks.

• What does Finger Tight Mean? This is an old saying I heard my Nannie say a hundred times when canning. This means you close the lid but maybe only give it one turn. This one turn makes sure the lid is fastened tight enough it won't come off but not so tight that some steam can't escape. Its a term used to promote security of the jar and its contents.
• Zest - I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again. Get yourself a good plane zester for these kinds of things. You sure don't want any pith in your curd. A good zester, like the one found at the bottom of this post, can be used for so many things. I almost never buy grated cinnamon anymore, I use my zester to grate it too! It is an investment you will be glad you have made.
• Will I need to thicken it? - the answer is no. It may appear a little runny at first but as it cools it will thicken. I have made it this way multiple times and it always comes out perfect! **Also, you can run your immersion blender through it or even push it through a sieve if you want it a little smoother. That will also help thicken it!

If you make this recipe, be sure and post it to Facebook or Instagram and tag us. We love pictures of food. Also, if you pin this recipe, we would appreciate that when you make it, you use the Made It function in Pinterest too.

And as always, we would love it if you shared this recipe with your family and friends. Over to the side on this post and all of the others are handy dandy share buttons. We would sure be grateful if you shared the love!

Stuff We Used!