Words and photos by Susie Sandford Smith

I absolutely love Christmas, I love all that time spent with family (and in particular my children) and I usually get carried away with making small knitted and/or edible gifts but this year the run up to Christmas was so frantic, the house was SO chaotic (yes that's what having half of the house carpeted a few days before Christmas Day will do to a house) and I was exhausted. Of course I made a cake but, I didn't make my signature pudding (it wasn't my turn this year) and I didn't do much cooking at all. Just before Christmas I'd met up with my lovely friend Beccie to go and see the annual Christmas Past exhibition at The Geffrye Museum of the Home and a couple of the Christmas Pasts really hit home with me. One of the things I was reminded of was that Christmas continues for 12 days after Christmas Day and it was customary to go visiting friends, family, and neighbours to play games, listen to music, and have a little sip to drink and a bite to eat.

So..all was not lost, there was still time. My first post Christmas visits saw me bearing gifts I'd bought from The Italian Farmers - the rather brilliant deli on Stroud Green Road. But what could I make for my next round of visits that would be quick and easy and, more to the point, delicious? I always used to make jars and jars of lemon curd at Christmas time (not sure why I stopped) but I fancied ringing the changes slightly so came up with this orange and lime version which fills the kitchen with a beautiful citrusy warmth - it's sunshine in a jar, really.

Orange and lime curd

Makes 2 medium jars (but it's always worth sterilising more jars than you think you'll need, just in case)

Ingredients

Juice and zest of 2 medium oranges

Juice of 2 limes

100g butter - cut into small cubes

200g granulated sugar (I use golden granulated sugar which has been infused with vanilla pods)

4 medium eggs - well beaten

Zest the oranges (wash and dry first). It's standard practice to make a smooth curd, so use something that will create a very fine zest or strain the curd after cooking, but I quite like it with a bit of a bite so I often leave strands of zest in. Having said that, I decided this time to finely chop my zest as my strands were rather chunky.

Juice the oranges and the limes. You're aiming for around 300mls of juice, no more.

Put the zest, juice, sugar, and cubed butter into a bowl set over a pan of simmering water making sure that the water never touches the bottom of the bowl. Using a balloon whisk stir the mixture vigorously, continue to stir until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.

Add the eggs, which should already be well beaten and combined - so no big globules of white floating around, and whisk until completely combined.

Continue to cook over a low to medium heat* for 10 to 15 minutes until the curd thickens but note this - citrus curd is reasonably easy to make but there is a danger of ending up with citrusy scrambled eggs so don't be tempted to turn the heat up too far and, make sure that you do...stir, stir, and stir. You don't have to stir constantly but I err on the side of caution and stir often. And do not turn the flame up too high.

You can test whether the curd is ready by sticking a spoon into the mixture; if the mixture clings to the spoon the curd is ready. To double make sure, you can run a finger down the back of the spoon, through the curd, if this leaves a line the curd is definitely ready.

Pour the mixture into your sterilised jars whilst still hot. Cover with a wax disc and seal.

I keep my curd in the fridge but I believe that's not essential so long as it's stored in a cool place. Certainly if kept in the fridge it will be good for a couple of months.

I ended up making quite a lot of curd as my first batch wasn't quite right...boo - so I had to go back to the drawing board. But the first batch is completely edible, I've used a jar to make syllabub** and I think I may make orange and lime curd ripple ice cream with another. But, the batch as per this recipe is perfect - just right for eating straight from the teaspoon!

*I'm using my smallest ring so if you're cooking on a stove where all the rings are the same heat you'll want to turn it down to the lowest heat.

**Whisk a carton of double cream until it forms stiff peaks and then spoon in a jar of the curd - stir through thoroughly or just ripple through.

From the Archives: Orange and lime curd or..ways to brighten up a bleak winter's day