Serves 4-6

I think of this as the coming together of two great British classics: scones and homemade lemon curd. It is best to serve the scones warm, with a generous layer of lemon curd in the centre.

For the scones
250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
Large pinch of fine sea salt
2 tbsp poppy seeds
Zest of 1 lemon
50g unsalted butter, diced
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 large free-range egg
About 100ml cold milk, plus extra to glaze

For the lemon curd
Zest and juice of 2 large lemons
85g lightly salted butter
200g caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten

1 First, prepare the lemon curd. Put the lemon juice, butter, sugar and eggs into a heavy-based saucepan and stir over a gentle heat. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and glossy.
2 Pass the mixture through a fine sieve then mix in the lemon zest. If not serving immediately, spoon the mixture into sterilised jam jars and seal while still warm. (This will keep well in the refrigerator for about 2-3 weeks.) If using immediately, strain the mixture into a bowl set in an ice bath and leave to cool, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming.
3 For the scones, preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 5. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the poppy seeds and lemon zest. Rub in the butter with the tips of your fingers and drop the mixture from a slight height to aerate it. When well combined, the mixture should resemble fine breadcrumbs. Mix in the sugar.
4 In another bowl, beat the egg and milk together. Add three quarters into the flour mixture and stir quickly with a butter knife. Add a little more egg and milk, a tablespoon at a time, as necessary to get a soft dough. Do not overwork the dough to ensure that the scones turn out light.
5 Tip the dough on to a lightly floured board and roll out to about 2.5cm thickness. Use a 5cm pastry cutter to stamp out neat rounds. To ensure that the scones rise evenly, do not twist the cutter as you cut out the rounds – just press down, lift and give it a gentle shake to dislodge the dough. Keep rerolling and cutting the dough to get as many scones as you can.
6 Arrange the scones on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 2-3cm of space in between each round. Brush the tops with milk and bake for 20-25 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

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