Lemon curd – the luscious, decadent, thick, creamy, lemony, tart and sweet preserve! Lemon curd is amazingly versatile. It can be used as a spread for pancakes and crepes, can be topped on a waffle, can be used as a dip for cookies, as a layer between cakes or as a filling in muffins or to make lemon pies or tarts. But for me lemon curd is a dessert in itself and i like to eat it straight from the jar with a spoon!

The traditional lemon curd is usually made of frightening amount of butter, lemon, sugar and egg yolks. I wanted a version that was healthier without any compromise in terms of taste, texture and consistency.  I came across a vegan version of lemon curd by minimalistbaker made with coconut cream, lemon, lemon zest, maple syrup and arrowroot starch. I know, it’s a bit intimidating to think of lemon curd without butter, eggs and sugar but trust me, i was blown when i took the first bite of this vegan version. It had the perfect consistency, was tart and lemony and not very sweet and was incredibly decadent and luscious. It was the perfect straight out of the jar lemon curd.

I adapted her recipe and made a few changes to it. I used honey in place of maple syrup, added cornstarch instead of arrowroot starch and added a pinch of salt too. The best past about this recipe is that it gets ready in less than 30 minutes and is so healthy. Another dessert that i can have without going on any guilt trips!

Ingredients

• 14 oz can of coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch powder
• a pinch of salt

Instructions

• In a saucepan, whisk together coconut cream and lemon zest.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine lemon juice, salt and cornstarch and whisk until the cornstarch gets dissolved. Add this mixture to the coconut cream and lemon zest mix.
• Add honey/maple syrup to the mixture and whisk nicely.
• Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a low bubble while whisking often. Now lower the heat and keep stirring the mixture continuously. You will eventually see the mixture thickening and getting jiggly in texture. It takes about 5 – 6 minutes to reach this consistency once you have lowered the heat.
• Now remove the saucepan from the heat and adjust the amount of lemon zest and honey as per your taste preference. Add more lemon zest if you want to increase the acidity of the curd or maple syrup/ honey for sweetness.
• Allow it to cool and dig in!

Notes

• The curd keeps well for 7-10 days when refrigerated. If you want your curd at a perfect consistency after refrigeration, allow the curd to reach room temperature by putting the jar in a bowl of warm water.
• Add a pinch of turmeric for the color. This is a handy trick – while you can’t really taste the turmeric, it gives this lemon curd the color it deserves.