Whisk the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and butter cubes in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.

Once butter is melted, whisk in egg yolks, one at a time, incorporating thoroughly. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and bubbles start to come to the surface; about 15 minutes. You must whisk the entire time, or the eggs might curdle and cook separately from the curd.

Once the curd is thick and starting to boil, remove the pan from the heat, and push the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a clean container. Cool to room temperature. Then place curd in the refrigerator until ready to use. Curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Keep refrigerated.

*If curd boils too soon and doesn't thicken: Mix 2-3 tsp of cornstarch with 2-3 tsp of COLD water or lemon juice. Whisk into boiling curd mixture; will thicken quickly.

**If you ever need to troubleshoot your lemon curd, say it doesn’t thicken after you brought it to a boil and it’s cooled to room temperature; a quick way to fix this, is to make a cornstarch slurry of 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch to 1/2 Tbsp COLD water. Bring the curd back up to a boil and add the cold cornstarch slurry, whisking constantly and it should thicken right up, but you shouldn’t have to worry about adding a cornstarch slurry. The egg yolks should do their job of thickening the curd, just be patient. It takes the full 15 minutes.

This fast and easy Microwave Lemon Curd is thick and creamy and cooked in only 5 minutes or less. Use it in pies, tarts, cream puffs, cakes, and more!

In a large microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.

Add the lemon zest and egg yolks. Whisk together. Keep whisking while slowly adding the lemon juice. Add the small cubes of butter.

Microwave cook on full power for one-minute intervals, whisking/stirring after each minute. This process will take about 3-5 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave. The lemon curd is ready when it has thickened and will coat a metal spoon. Do not overheat.

Strain curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean jar or container, preferably with a funnel to prevent spilling.

Allow curd to cool to room temperature. Then cover with a lid and store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. *Curd will continue to thicken as it cools.

Note: After testing several variations of this recipe, I’ve concluded that Microwave Lemon Curd is just not going to be as smooth as Lemon Curd made on the stovetop. It will still have a slight texture to it, but it’s so quick and easy that I will continue to make it this way from now on. It’s still equally delicious!