Microwave lemon curd (and the Thermomix equivalent)

I've posted this before, but not on here.  I've just adapted it for my TM (see below the first recipe) and it's worked a treat.  It's an easy recipe anyway, as Diane will testify, but in the TM it becomes ridiculously simple.  The hardest bit is scraping out all the lemony goodness at the end!  If you've never had proper lemon curd, you haven't lived.  The shop bought stuff is as different as value lemonade is to vintage champagne! (OK, slight exaggeration, but not as much as you'd think!)

First of all, the microwave recipe:

Microwave Lemon Curd

Ingredients:  makes about two pots

3 oz butter

8 oz caster sugar

3 eggs

2 large lemons or three smaller ones

Method

Finely grate the zest from both lemons.  Squeeze the juice from the lemons and add to the zest.*  Beat together the sugar, eggs and lemon juice and zest.

Melt the butter in a 2.5 pint bowl on high for about 1.5 mins.

Stir lemon, sugar and egg mixture into butter, mixing well.

Cook on high for about three minutes until the mixture thickens to coat the back of a spoon.  Stir briskly every 30 seconds to incorporate thickened bits into the whole mixture.  It really starts to thicken after about 2 mins.  The regular stirring is essential, otherwise you end up with sweet lemon scrambled eggs!

Pour into small, warmed jars, seal and label.

Store in a fridge for up to two weeks (it does last longer but I would say 3 weeks is the max).

*I always cut the lemons in half, put them cut side down on a plate and microwave for 1 minute.  You get loads more juice that way.  I don't know why, but you do!

The Thermomix way to make Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

90g sugar (can be granulated)

90g butter cut into cubes

2 large lemons or three smaller ones

3 eggs

Method:

Finely grate the zest from the lemons (I know the TM could do this bit I found that it was too hard in the finished product so I grated it on my very fine grater and that was a lot better)

Grind the sugar and the grated lemon zest for 20 seconds, speed 10

Add the butter, lemon juice and zest and the eggs.  Mix for 20 secs, speed 6

Scrape down the sides.

Cook at 90 C, speed 4 until the remperature reaches 90 by which time it should have thickened.  If it seems a bit runny, give it a little longer (about 30 seconds more)

Pour into clean warmed jars scraping the sides to get every delicious bit!  Store in the fridge as above.

Now - what to do with two pots of lemon curd.  One for Beth and Alex and . . .