Instead of buying ready-made cream desserts from the supermarket, make these instead — they take only minutes to do and are much nicer.
4 eggs
200 g sugar
1 piece of candied orange or lemon peel
100-125 ml lemon juice
125 ml whipping or double cream
Preheat the oven to 150C/gas 5. Have ready a roasting tin and put the kettle on to boil.
Break the eggs into a bowl, add the sugar and whisk thoroughly, but without making it frothy. Still whisking, add the lemon juice (if you add the higher quantity the result will be very lemony indeed, so adjust to taste) and the cream. Pour the mixture into ramekins or small porcelain cups. Stand the cups in the roasting tin and pour the boiling water in to come about halfway up. Put the tin in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes — they should be only just set and still a bit wobbly in the middle. If in doubt, don’t overcook! Remove from the oven and if you think they are too wobbly, leave them in the water for a while — they will continue to cook — before removing and allowing to cool to room temperature. Decorate with a spike of candied peel in each cup.
Note: the cream may separate into a lemon-curd layer at the bottom and a creamier part on top but this doesn’t matter at all — they are still delicious. You can keep them in the fridge and serve the next day if you want.