Slow Cooker Lemon Curd

Sometimes my slow cooker languishes at the back of the cupboard, neglected and forgotten. Sometimes I remember my slow cooker and discover new and wonderful things that I can make in it (like this bacon and butternut risotto). Slow cooker lemon curd is one thing that I have discovered is incredibly easy in the slow cooker. Although it does require a quick stir every so often, there is no need for the constant hovering and watching of conventionally-made lemon curd. I love being able to make something so yummy whilst doing other things and my family loves the ready supply of lemon curd that we now have in the fridge, so it is a win-win!

This indulgent lemon curd is thick with the tangy sourness of lemon taking centre-stage. If you prefer sweeter lemon curd, you should be able to increase the sugar without a problem, but just keep a closer eye on the lemon curd during cooking in case the extra sugar starts to burn on the sides of the slow cooker. This delightful lemon curd is a slightly darker colour than most lemon curds because the sugar caramelises more than usual during the long cooking time. I have written brief instructions for how to clean your slow cooker more easily after making this below the recipe. If you prefer your lemon curd runny and not thick, skip the step below where it cooks without a lid on.

The instructions below work for my slow cooker. But different slow cookers behave differently, so use this recipe as a guide but check your lemon curd regularly and make a note of what works best for your slow cooker the first time you make this.

The recipe below yields about 900 ml to 1 litre of lemon curd, which should keep, covered, in the fridge for two weeks. The recipe below is based on a 250 ml cup as equal to 1 cup

What you need:

About 7 small to medium lemons (or adjust the quantity to get a yield of 1 ½ cups of fresh lemon juice)

2 1/3 cups of white sugar

4 eggs

1 cup of salted butter

What to do:

1. Zest 3 to 4 of the lemons and then squeeze enough lemons to yield 1 ½ cups of fresh lemon juice.

2. Place the lemon zest, juice, sugar and eggs together into a slow cooker, and mix together well. Add the butter to the slow cooker (this does not need to be diced before adding or mixed in at this stage).

3. Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn the setting to ‘high’.

4. Cook the lemon curd in the slow cooker for an hour, removing the lid and stirring everything together every 20 minutes from when it starts cooking. Make sure that the ingredients are mixed together well every time you stir them. If the butter hasn’t fully melted the first time you stir the ingredients, just stir in whatever butter has melted and then stir in the remaining butter the second time you stir the lemon curd.

5. After an hour, remove the lid of the slow cooker and continue cooking (without the lid) on ‘high’ for a further 20 to 30 minutes.

6. Turn off the slow cooker and immediately ladle the lemon curd into clean jars. I find this easiest through a funnel.

7. Leave the jars of lemon curd to cool without their lids on for about an hour (or less if your kitchen is cold).

8. Place the lids of the jars and store the lemon curd in the fridge.

9. Enjoy!

Cleaning the slow cooker

I find that making lemon curd like this results in patches of burnt lemon curd on the side of my slow cooker. To clean it easily, once I have put the lemon curd in jars, I squeeze a little bit of washing up liquid into the slow cooker bowl and add a kettleful of boiling water. I then replace the slow cooker lid and leave on ‘high’ for a further half an hour. After half an hour, I allow the soapy water to cool enough to clean the bowl without hurting myself and then empty the water and clean as normal. The hot, soapy water helps to loosen the burnt bits, and I am then able to get them off with a dishcloth and some careful rubbing, rather than using abrasive pads that damage the coating of the slow cooker.