How to make butter

Pour the cream into the bowl of a food mixer, and using the whisk, whip the cream for about 5-10 minutes on a medium to high speed (but not so high that it splashes everywhere) until it starts to split (just like if you’ve over beaten it!). Continue to beat until the yellow fat separates from the buttermilk (you can use this buttermilk for baking) , it will look completely scrambled.

Place a sieve sitting over a bowl. Place a large double layer of muslin (available in fabric shops) – you’ll need it to be bigger than the sieve as you want to be able to gather up the edges- in the sieve then pour the contents of the bowl into it. Bring up the edges of the muslin with it still over the sieve, and squeeze really hard to remove all the buttermilk. When all the buttermilk has been squeezed out place the butter in a bowl and wash well in cold water, squeezing it well to remove every last bit of buttermilk. If you don’t do this the butter will go rancid after a couple of days. Now pat the butter dry with kitchen paper then in a bowl mix in salt and any other flavourings you like, such as chopped herbs, garlic, dried seaweed or even icing sugar and spice for melting over pancakes

. Shape the butter in a sausage shape that you’ve rolled in parchment paper, or a rectangle, or whatever shape you like. You can also place it in a mould that you’ve lined with muslin. When you’re happy with the shape and the flavour, place it in the fridge until needed. It will last for 10-12 days.