Mango Lemon Curd: Foolproof 20 Min to Creamy and Beautiful.

MANGO LEMON CURD + EGGS AT 33:

If you have been following me for a while then you might know I haven’t always been a baker. Well, I haven’t always been a lot of things! So it wasn’t up until recently that I have ventured into making a lot of things like pudding, custards, pecan pie, cheesecake, and so many more things.

Making a curd has been one of those things that I had been avoiding because it has always seemed so daunting to me. I feel like it is up there with hollandaise sauce as far as intimidating goes. They both have eggs in them and you’re warned not to cook it too fast, get it too hot, or don’t stop stirring or you will have scrambled eggs. However, it seems like even professional chefs mess up hollandaise sauce from time to time, which makes it even scarier. Or at least they mess it up in Downton Abbey. LOL, Any other Downton fans?

Before you check out because you’re afraid, let me tell you it really isn’t as scary as you think. I was way too scared for way too long. In fact, if you use a double boiler method, its a piece of cake! But in case you are still worried, a lot of curd recipes or sauces with eggs, call for you to run it through a sieve at the end to make sure it is super creamy and no mischievous lumps appeared. So the truth is, if even the pros push their curd through a sieve, then it is near impossible to cook a flawless curd every time. Now that doesn’t mean putting the pan directly on the burner and crank up the gas heat to max either- it just means to follow the steps and don’t freak out. You got this! I promise!

Now that you can feel confident making this Mango Lemon Curd, you can whip this up in no time and once you do, I know that you will be making it over and over. It’s pretty dang awesome!

Here is a couple ways to use the Mango Lemon Curd:

There are endless options! I would love to hear how you use it!

MANGO LEMON CURD:

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Chill Time: 2-4 hours

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 mangos
• 2 lemons worth of juice (make sure to discard the seeds)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs – 2 whole, 1 yolk (bring to room temperature)
• 4- 6 tbsp of cold butter, sliced into 4-6 pieces

TOOLS NEEDED:

• Fine mesh strainer
• Bowl 
• Spoon (wooden or metal is fine or silicone spatula)
• Double boiler
• Small food chopper

DIRECTIONS:

• In a small food chopper, blend mango and lemon juice. (you should have about 1 3/4 cup of liquid)
• Place mixture in a fine-mesh strainer (collider) over a bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer to ensure no clumps get through.
• Use a spoon to help move the mixture around and get the liquid to pass through.
  *** Note: make sure you use your spoon to scrape the bottom of the strainer to get the juice stuck on the bottom – you don’t want to waste that goodness! 
• Rinse your strainer and set it aside for later.
• Get your double boiler set up by adding about approximately 1/4 of the bottom pot full of water and wait until it comes to a boil.
• In your top pot of your double boiler add your sugar and eggs.
• Give your eggs and sugar a good whip until its soft yellow and creamy in texture.
• When the water comes to a boil, turn on the heat to medium-low (depending on how hot your burner gets you can adjust.)
• Add the second pot on top with the whipped egg and sugar mixture and add the mango-lemon juice to the pot.
• You want to continually stir the mixture until it almost comes to a boil. You will notice it will get thicker as it gets there.
• Since this sauce will starts thicker it won’t thicken as much as a pure lemon curd would.
• A simple trick to know when it is done is:
  A: watch the clock. It should go for at least 5 minutes.
  B: Eggs must be cooked to 160 to be safe. Stick a thermometer into the liquid to check the temp.
  *** Note: It is very important to not overheat too quickly, stop stirring, or try to rush the process otherwise you will have pieces of scrambled eggs in your mixture. However, don’t panic if you see a few white spots.
• Take the top pot out of the water and stir in the butter until fully incorporated. (check out my note below on how much butter to use!)
• Once the butter is melted, to ensure a creamy texture, pour the mixture through the fine mesh strainer again over the bowl, especially if you see any white spots (egg scramble) but if your a pro or hit a home run this go around- no need to strain!
• Use a spoon to help push it through, once again.This time, you do not want to be as vigorous with the pressure of the spoon as before as you don’t want to force any cooked egg parts through. 
• Cover the bowl with saran or a beeswax wrap and set in the fridge and chill for at least 30 mins to an hour, depending on fridge temperature. 
  *** Tip: You can also pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes to get it colder faster. Don’t do it any longer or else your top layer might freeze. You can also pour it in a wider dish to cool it faster, like an 8×8 baking pan. However if you are placing it in a crust, simply let it rest for 5-10 min and then pour into your crust. You can then put the whole thing in the fridge to continue to cool and set.
• The curd is fine stored in an unpressurized mason jar or another container for at least to 2 weeks.

To ensure a super thick curd that will stand up well in a pie, use the full amount of butter. The addition of extra butter will help the lemon curd to firm up as it gets cold. If you are going to use the curd to pour over custard, pancakes, or a block of goat cheese, 4 tbsp of butter is plenty!

CURD VARIATION – PEACH ORANGE:

To make this delicious variation, simply purée 2 peaches and 1 cutie, and 1/2 of a lemon. The rest of the instructions are exactly the same!

• 2 peaches
• 1 cutie orange (or similar will work fine!)
• 1/2 of a lemon
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs – 2 whole, 1 yolk

Which one will you do??? Or will you try both? Don’t forget to let me know by dropping a comment or posting a pic and adding the #linjoylife or @linjoylife. It’s such a joy to know when you try my recipes!

Speaking of recipes…. have you tried my banana pancakes yet?