Looking for Christmas gift ideas? Consider stashing this one under your belt: homemade lemon curd. Make a big batch, package it in a preserve jar with a nifty citrus reamer and who knows, maybe you’ll be on the receiving end of some lemon curd in years to come. A big thanks to Jules Durrant for this winning idea.
In keeping with the spirit of a homemade Christmas, I thought I would share with you another of the family recipes my mom was taught to make at school and which she now keeps in a handwritten notebook. It’s made by combining the zest and juice of fresh lemons with sugar, butter and eggs (so completely healthy, then) and is just delicious scooped out of the jar with your finger. Should you be more the formal dining type, it’s lip-smackingly good spread on scones with cream or swirled through ice cream for dessert.

Ingredients:
4 lemons (unwaxed)
4 eggs
500g sugar
125g butter
Method:
1. Wash, dry and zest your lemons. The Microplane Zester works a treat.
2. Slice the lemons in half and squeeze out all the juice into a bowl suitable for double-boiling. Don’t worry about the juicy pulp of the lemon getting in but you’ll want to avoid any pips (try using a handy pip-catching citrus reamer).
3. Add the lemon zest, juice, sugar and butter to the bowl and place it over a pot of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water though).
4. Stir over a gentle heat until the butter has melted and the sugar dissolved.
5. Remove the lemony syrup from the heat and allow to cool so that it is luke warm. The idea is to bring down the temperature so that the eggs don’t scramble when you add them.
6. In the meantime, lightly beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
7. Once the mixture has cooled enough, add the eggs. Place back on a gentle heat and continue to stir until the curd thickens. Do not boil as the mixture will curdle.
8. Pour into sterilised preserving jars and cover at once. Learn how to sterilise your jars.
And there you have it. Lemon curd, easy peasy.

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For more edible gift ideas, check these out.