This Best Lemon Cream is silky, rich, and bursting with fresh lemon flavor. It’s lighter than lemon curd but creamier than custard — the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and velvety smooth. Use it for cake fillings, cupcakes, pancakes, crepes, tarts, or enjoy it by the spoonful!
⏱ Prep Time
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Chill Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes
- Servings: About 2 cups
🍳 Equipment
- Saucepan
- Whisk
- Heatproof bowl
- Fine strainer
- Plastic wrap
🧂 Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
- ½ cup heavy cream (cold)
- Pinch of salt
📝 Ingredient Notes
- Fresh lemons only — bottled juice won’t taste right.
- Heavy cream adds the silky, whipped texture.
- Butter makes the cream smooth and rich.
- Straining ensures a perfectly silky finish.
🧑🍳 Instructions
1. Cook the Lemon Base
- In a saucepan, whisk together lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, egg yolks, whole egg, and a pinch of salt.
- Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly until thickened (6–8 minutes).
- Once it coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat.
2. Add Butter
- Stir in the cubed butter until fully melted and smooth.
3. Strain
- Pour the mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl to remove zest and any cooked egg bits.
4. Chill
- Cover with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface to prevent a skin.
- Chill completely (about 1 hour).
5. Fold in Whipped Cream
- Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the chilled lemon base.
- Mix until fully smooth and creamy.
🍽 Nutrition (per ¼ cup)
Approximate:
- Calories: 120
- Fat: 9g
- Carbs: 9g
- Protein: 1g
💡 Tips
- Make ahead: Keeps 4–5 days in the fridge.
- For extra tang, add 1 more teaspoon lemon zest.
- For thicker cream (cake filling), fold in less whipped cream.
- For a more pudding-like texture, chill longer.
🔄 Variations
- Lemon Mascarpone Cream: Fold in ½ cup mascarpone with the whipped cream.
- Lemon Berry Cream: Add crushed raspberries or strawberries.
- Vanilla Lemon Cream: Stir in ½ tsp vanilla extract.
- Keto-Friendly: Use powdered erythritol instead of sugar.
