With a friend in town and an anglophile in the office, I decided to host a "watch the royal wedding" party a couple of weeks ago.

I got up early, early and made some of my scones for breakfast. But what to include as a topping? I personally like scones with fruit in them and nothing on top, but tradition demands lemon or some other kind of curd, or jam, or clotted cream.

So I searched the internet to find out just what clotted cream consisted of and could I make it? Turns out, the answer is a resoundingly simple yes!

You take heavy cream, add a bit of sugar and some lemon juice to make the cream clot. Then you set it aside and let the citrus do its work.

I made mine just after I put scones in the oven and 20 minutes later, had some yummy clotted cream to serve with warm scones for breakfast.

My friend Courtney, in town for a visit, pronounced that she would never again whip cream because the clotted was just as good and sooo much easier to prepare!

Here's the recipe I found on Cooks.com. Clotted cream can be used as a substitute for anything you use whipped cream for. Just be sure to give it a stir before serving!

Clotted cream (makes 1 cup)

1 cup heavy cream 1 tsp (rounded) sugar (you might want a little more. I don't think it needs much) 2 tsp lemon juice

Combine all three ingredients and then let sit on the counter. The recipe says 8 to 10 hours or overnight, but I found that 30 minutes does the trick. It should be refrigerated after it clots, however, if there is any left over.

Enjoy!