Recipes

Lemon honey recipe made even better with real honey

Posted on by Edith Schmid

The Perfect Lemon Honey Recipe Made Even Better With Real Honey

Lemons seem to be all round the neighbourhood at the moment, which is pretty lucky as lockdown mean we can’t go outside our local area.

Lemon curd is perfect for this moment in time. Citrus is in season and lemon honey is a lovely treat spread on Vogels toast, crumpets, pancakes, waffles, scones or breakfast muffins. It is also lovely on top of porridge, swirled into yogurt or dolloped onto ice cream, or you can use it as a filling for tarts.

Even better, pile it on top of coconut macaroons you made with the leftover egg whites.

Making proper lemon honey

baking with honeyThis curd, or lemon honey, is easy and fun to make, with no straining required: a good cooking project with the kids. Not overly sweet, it has with extra flavour since it’s sweetened with honey instead of sugar. If you want to make heaps to gobble it up over the coming months, you can also freeze it in jars. The curd doesn’t freeze solid, so you can scoop out as much as you want right from the freezer!

This recipe makes around two cups of lemon honey. You can also use any variety of citrus such as blood oranges or limes.

Ingredients

    • 4 tablespoons butter
    • ⅓ cup honey
    • 4 large egg yolks
    • 2 large whole eggs
    • 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
    • ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice (about 150 mls)

Instructions

    1. Using a mixer, cream the butter and until fluffy.
    2. Slowly add the egg yolks and eggs. Then, add the zest and lemon juice and blend again. It will look curdled at this point, but don’t worry!
    3. Pour the mixture into a double boiler. I use a Pyrex dish or jug over a medium-sized saucepan 1/3 filled with water. Cook over medium-low heat while stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The cooking process will take around 15 minutes.
    4. Once the mixture starts looking smooth and shiny, slowly increase the heat to medium. Continue cooking and watch as the lumpy, curdled-looking mixture slowly smooths into luxurious gold liquid. Keep stirring until the mixture has thickened and your spoon meets resistance. Right at the brink of boiling, the lemon honey condenses into a beautiful curd. Just like magic.
    5. Once the mixture is trying to boil, keep stirring then remove from heat. The curd will thicken up more as it cools.
    6. Pour the lemon honey into clean jars. Screw on the lids and pop in the fridge. The lemon honey is good in the in the refrigerator for about 10 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

But what to do with leftover egg whites you might ask? Why not try these wonderful macaroons with honey.

Honey coconut macaroons

The key to these macaroons is to gently heat the egg whites, honey and coconut in a double boiler before putting them in the oven, which makes for a shorter cooking time. The high oven heat ensures the macaroons get crispy and golden on the outside while keeping the centres nice and moist. Yum.

Ingredients

    • 2 large egg whites
    • 1/4 cup or 4 tbs of honey
    • 1/8 tsp salt
    • 2 cups desiccated coconut 

Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
    2. Combine all of the ingredients in a large Pyrex bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan 1/3 of simmering water. Stir the mixture for 6- 8 minutes until thickened.
    3. Place scoops of mixture on the baking paper a few inches apart. Bake for about 7-10 minutes until lightly golden around the edges, rotating halfway through.
    4. Let the macaroons cool completely on wire racks, if you can wait that long. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Edith Schmid