Elderflower Lemon Curd Recipe

We were so encouraged by the success of our elderflower cordial that we were itching to make more foraged fare.  Elderflower lemon curd was the next item on our agenda.  The children and I foraged for some elder flowers on the way home from the shops for some milk and we already had the lemons waiting and ready.

We whipped up two batches of elderflower lemon curd.

The recipes are the same, but with a dairy allergy in the house, the second batch was made with an olive spread instead of butter.  To be honest, the non-dairy elderflower and lemon curd  turned out with a creamier texture, but both were equally delicious.

This recipe takes a little time, but it’s not difficult and the time is so worth it!

Elderflower Lemon Curd Ingredients

• 4 – 6 large heads of elderflowers
• 6 – 8 TBSP Boiling water
• OR 6-8 TBSP elderflower cordial
• 100 gr Butter
• 200 gr Sugar
• 4 Large eggs
• 4 lemons

Instructions

1)  Zest the lemons and put this to the side for later.  Then squeeze the lemon juice juice into a bowl.

2)  If you’re not using elderflower cordial, place the elderflowers, heads down, in the bowl and pour the hot water over them and the lemon juice.  Set this aside to cool and infuse for a couple of hours.

Don’t use the stems or leaves of the elder flowers as they are NOT edible!  I read about this after we’d made our curd.  We were fine but I’d rather you don’t take a chance with your family.

3)  Melt the butter and set it aside to cool.

4)  Beat the sugar and eggs together until they are light in colour and smooth in texture.

5)  Strain the elderflower mixture into the sugar and eggs and give it a good mixing.  Add in the lemon zest and melted butter and mix it all together.

6)  Put your heat-proof bowl over a pan of water on medium heat.  I used one pot inside of another to serve this purpose as best I could with what I had.

7)  Stir slowly and constantly until the curd thickens enough to coat the back of your wooden spoon or your whisk feels heavy.

8)  Remove the elderflower lemon curd from the heat and give it a stir every now and then as it cools.

9)  Pour the curd into sterilized jars and cool it in the fridge before using.  Don’t leave the elderflower lemon curd sit too long in your fridge.  We were trying to ration ours out as it was so lovely, but we should have been more greedy with it as it did start to go moldy in the fridge after a couple of weeks.

We were able to surprise Phil with the aroma and taste of fresh elderflower lemon curd when he arrived home from work!

We’ve had the elderflower lemon curd  on ginger snaps, on fresh scones, and on toast.  It would also be delicious in mini tart shells.  The fresh raspberries from our garden really complimented the flavour even more.  Or serve with a glass of elderflower cordial for an extra-special treat!

I’m looking forward to making more of this sweet treat very soon….I’m keeping my eyes on the elder trees on a daily basis.

I’m also looking forward to trying to make some elder berry syrup.  Stay tuned to see if we’re successful with that.