My mother could charm lemons off friends' trees. There was usually a bag of them lurking in her fridge and they went into cakes, icing, marmalade, muffins, or wedges to serve with schnitzel or fish. However, one of her favourites was lemon honey - these days more often known as lemon curd.

She had one bachelor neighbour who was particularly partial to her lemon honey. To ensure a steady supply, he would always return the jam jar once he'd emptied it and she'd take the hint and make another batch.

Limes work just as well.

It's easy to make but requires a little patience and vigilance so you don't end up with limey scrambled eggs. This makes a small jar that will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.

Use it to make little curd tarts, mix some through whipped cream for a great pavlova topping, serve it with summer berries, on scones or pancakes, or try it on your breakfast toast or crumpets.

Use lemons if you don't have limes.

LIME CURD

80g butter

75ml freshly squeezed lime juice (3 small limes)

1 tsp lime zest

120g caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Place all the ingredients in a suitable heatproof bowl and put it on top of a pot of simmering water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl. 2. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take approximately eight minutes. 3. Allow the lime curd to cool a little then spoon into a sterilised jar and cap.

 

- © Fairfax NZ News

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