"I always have a jar of lemon curd in the fridge. Like the English, I like it as a spread. With its fresh, lemony sweetness and bright yellow colour, it puts me in a good mood - even when it's grey and cold outside. Lemon curd is also great as a cake filling, as in the finely meringued Dream Lemon Cake, in a cheesecake or classically for the Tarte au Citron.

For 1 portion of lemon curd you need

3 eggs 1 egg yolk 160 g icing sugar 150 ml lemon juice (approx. 4-5 lemons) Finely grated zest of 2 lemons 160 g soft butter

The preparation is super simple and quick. Simply whisk the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl and then stir in the lemon juice and grated lemon zest. Then place the bowl on a pan of not quite boiling water and stir the mixture constantly with a whisk so that nothing sticks to the sides. The lemon curd is ready when it has either reached a temperature of 85 °C - you can check this with a sugar thermometer - or when it has reached the consistency of whipped cream. This takes around 15-20 minutes.

Now leave everything to cool to lukewarm and gradually stir in the butter. You can pour the finished lemon curd into sealable jars and store in the fridge for up to two weeks once it has cooled.

Or if you need it immediately as a cake filling, cover the bowl and leave it to cool to room temperature for at least 4 hours before processing."