Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Curd

Julie made these lovely treats.  The lemon curd was amazing.  I really love lemon curd and it was really great to have some homemade.  I had never had it homemade before.  It was great and went really well with the gingerbread muffins.  It was a great wintertime treat on a cold morning.  The recipe is from a Taste of Home cookbook.

Ingredients

• LEMON CURD:
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 5 egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• MUFFINS:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup molasses

Directions

• In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; gently stir in butter and lemon peel until blended. Pour into a large bowl; cover surface with plastic wrap. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, oil and molasses until smooth; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
• Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm with lemon curd. Yield: 1 dozen (1 cup lemon curd).