Lemon curd is one of the easiest and quickest preserves you can make. It needs just four ingredients, a pan, a bowl and a bit of stirring, and is a job you can complete in 30 minutes. The results are delicious on toast, and can be used as a filling in a lemon meringue pie.

The following will make a single large jar of lemon curd. Obviously you can multiply up the quantities to make more.

1. Put a large bowl over a pan of water. Put this on the heat, and once the water has come to the boil put 55g (2oz) of unsalted butter and 225g (8oz) of sugar into the bowl.

Meanwhile, grate the rind of two lemons and squeeze their juice into another bowl. Once the butter has fully melted, add the rind and juice to your large bowl over the pan. Finally, beat two eggs and pour them into the mixture.

2. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Keep it moving slowly all the time so that it coats the edges of the bowl. This will allow it to start cooking on the hot glass. Over the next 20 to 30 minutes it will thicken and you may start to see some white parts forming in the otherwise yellow mixture. This is perfectly normal. Eventually you will see that the mix has become considerably thicker and you will be able to draw the spoon through it and see the bottom of the bowl. Once you have reached this stage it is ready to be poured into the jar.

Remove the pan from the heat and very carefully ladle the hot mixture into a sterilised jar using a funnel if necessary to help you get it in through it running down the sides.

Seal the jar so that it is airtight and store the curd in the fridge. It should keep for around a month.

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