Almond Lemon Curd

By LaLaCooks

From Clotilde Dusoulier:

Wanting to try something a little different, I made an almond lemon curd this time, using one less egg than I normally would, and adding lightly toasted ground almonds to the thickened mixture. This adds a lovely textural twist, giving the lemon curd just a touch more presence on your toast, and the subtle, nutty, and toasty almond flavor is a great partner to the tartness of the lemon (lemon and almond are such good flavor friends that they have four letters in common, although this doesn't work in French at all).
Aside from spreading lemon curd on toasts of baguette in the morning, or on English muffins, crumpets, and scones (a regional affinity thing), I like to spread it in the middle of a horizontally split yogurt cake, make sandwich cookies, or fill twee little tarts. I should probably note here that I am one of those people who drink lemon juice straight from the juicer, without water or sugar, so it is safe to say I like a tart lemon curd -- if you prefer a milder one, use a bit less lemon juice, or a bit more sugar.

Ingredients

• 125 g (1 1/4 cup) ground almonds (a.k.a. almond powder or almond meal)
• 3 really big organic lemons (or 5 smaller ones),scrubbed,at room temperature
• 3 eggs
• 200 g (1 cup) sugar
• 140 g (5 ounces) butter (I use salted), diced, at room temperature

Details

Servings 3
Adapted from chocolateandzucchini.com

Preparation

Step 1

Toast the ground almonds in a large dry skillet until lightly golden and fragrant.
Grate the zest from the lemons (I use a microplane zester), and set aside. Squeeze the juice from the lemons. Keep 25 cl (1 cup) for the recipe, drink the rest straight from the juicer or fedex it to me.
Choose a large, non-reactive, and heatproof mixing-bowl among your kitchen cabinet possessions. Fill a medium saucepan with a bit of water (say 5 centimeters or 2 inches), making sure that when you set the bowl over the pan, the bottom doesn't touch the water. Set the pan over medium heat, and bring the water to a simmer.
Beat the eggs in the bowl, and add in the sugar, lemon juice, and zest. Add the butter, and set the bowl over the pan of simmering water. Whisk gently as the mixture heats and the butter melts. Keep stirring with the whisk (in a circular motion, without incorporating any air) to allow the eggs to cook without curdling. After about 10 minutes, the mixture will thicken to a creamy, velvety consistency (if you dip a wooden spoon in and make a trace in the curd with your finger, the trace should stay clear -- the mixture will thicken further as it cools).
Remove from heat, and whisk in the ground almonds. Pour into clean jars, close tightly, and let cool. Keep in the fridge for up to a week. (You can also pour the curd into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to a month.)
[Variations that tempt me for next time: using unsweetened coconut flakes in place of ground almonds, adding dark chocolate to the mixture as it cooks to make a ganache lemon curd, or blending in cacao nibs once the curd has cooled and thickened a bit.]