Try to think of the carbonara part as a liberal coating for the pasta rather than a free flowing sauce. Once you know you are simply coating the pasta with the combined egg and cream and not trying to make a perfect savoury custard type sauce (without curdling) in about five seconds flat before serving, it really helps. Egg yolks, rather than whole eggs, give a smoother texture. Serve with a green salad.

For every 225g (8oz) pasta you need no more than 2 egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of double cream.

Cook your pasta: it can be spaghetti, tagliatelle, linguine, or pasta shapes if you prefer. Beat the egg yolks and cream lightly together.

Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat, drain the pasta quickly and return it to the dry pan. Pour in the eggs and cream, stir briefly with a wooden spoon and put the lid back on for a few moments. Stir again briefly and serve immediately.

You may like to season with plenty of black pepper and maybe a touch of salt. You can top with finely grated (or shavings of) Parmesan or similar. Cheddar cheese, finely grated on a microplane, is also good. Matchsticks or little squares of fried bacon or garlic croutons go beautifully too, as do a few snipped anchovy fillets fried in their own oil.

Separating the Eggs

Since you will be cooking the egg yolks only briefly, it is better not to separate the eggs just by tipping the yolk from one half of the shell to the other. You can use an egg separator or two dessert spoons work well. Alternatively, you can try The Egg-Cup Trick: this involves cracking the egg on a small plate or saucer, holding an egg-cup upside down over the yolk, and pouring the white off.

By Mrs Simkins author of Cooking with Mrs Simkins. Visit www.cooking-with-mrssimkins.co.uk and www.tea-with-mrssimkins.co.uk