'Orrible Weather.

No park run for me today....I am a light weight [in fact no weight] and refuse to run in the pouring rain, although braver souls than me did. Together with my dear chum accidentally double booking herself [we've all done it especially when it's the changeover from the old diary to the new] I ended up with a free day at home. Huzzah for, as ever, I had a cunning plan....

I picked up a heavily reduced bag of lemons earlier in the week and immediately earmarked it for a spot of lemon curd making this weekend. Now I love the stuff but I hate the faff of having to babysit it for hours, stirring continuously whilst waiting for it to thicken. Fabulous because this is now a thing of the past because I trialled making it in the slow cooker last year [I talked about wanting to make the kit I've got work harder for me in a previous post] and it was a breeze. Same method used again and time freed up for some of the other domestic trivia I had planned.

Slow Cooker Lemon Curd

4 lemons zested and juiced
100g butter
450g caster sugar
4 medium eggs

Check that you have an oven proof bowl that will fit into your slowcooker with the lid on first....I didn't last year and had to transfer the gloopy, sticky mess into another one. A procedure to be avoided if possible!

Zest and juice lemons. Put them together with the butter in a pan and gently melt over a low/medium heat. Remove from heat and add in the sugar stirring until it has dissolved. Set aside whilst you boil enough water to come halfway up the side of the bowl in the SC. Whisk 4 eggs in the ovenproof bowl and then gradually add the lemon mix whisking all the time.

Cover the bowl with foil and place in the SC. Add the hot water so it comes halfway up the bowl's side and then put lid on. Cook on low for 3-4 hours.

Remove curd from the slow cooker. Beat well and then transfer to sterilised jars. Seal and leave to cool. Keep in the fridge for 3 weeks.

I guess you could make this with 4 limes or 2-3 oranges depending on size if you fancied a variation.

Next on my slow cooker experimentation will be yogurt making.

Arilx