We enjoyed lots of good food over our busy weekend. Some was very healthy and some, such as the combination of sugar, cream and alcohol known as syllabub, was probably decidedly less so!

I riffed off the Calvados Syllabub recipe that I originally saw in Nigella Lawson’s How to be a Domestic Goddess; not having any Calvados, I had to improvise a little. It starts with alcohol: about 8 tbsp dry cider and a couple of brandy. That was spiced with a dash of cinnamon, soured with the juice of a lemon and sweetened with about 4 tbsp of caster sugar. The sugar is whisked in and then, continuing to whisk, double cream is slowly poured in (I used a 250ml tub).

Once the cream is thick enough to start to hold its shape, the mixture is spooned into glasses and left in the fridge, ready for when the main course past and guests are ready for dessert. We had about 85ml of cream per person; I think 50ml would be sufficient with everything else scaled to suit.