FIVE HIGH SUMMER FRUIT IDEAS

With the sun – perhaps not lately here but on European shores – comes a summer glut of fruits. When there is too much to pile into my breakfast bowl or eat after supper with a yoghurt and honey drizzle, I look to other ideas to feast on the gems of the season.

ROSY-CHEEKED APRICOT JAM

When it comes to making preserves we take our cue from nature. Fruit for preserving is ready when branches are bowing and there is just too much to turn into a tart or pile into a breakfast bowl. The late summer glut is a preserve makers’ Christmas, the sun of the summer has ripened up a deep crimson rainbow of berries and stone fruits.

CHERRY + ROSEWATER MACAROON TART

This tart has the lightness and freshness that’s key in a summer pudding. The coconut crust is topped with a macaroon filling and scattered with cherries.You can make this all year round, changing the cherries for whatever’s in season – strawberries in summer, slices of ripe pear in autumn, blood oranges and orange blossom water in winter.

SUMMER RHUBARB CRISP BARS

Just-right sweet yet tart scarlet and vibrant pink summer fruit sits on top of a half-pastry, half-flapjack base, all topped off with a crunchy crumble topping. These bars are free from eggs, dairy and refined sugar, and gluten-free if you use a good gluten-free flour blend. If coconut sugar and oil are too much of a stretch for you, follow the recipe using the same quantities of butter and soft, light brown sugar.

APRICOT FRANGIPANE 

If I’m lucky enough to chance upon an entire box of glowing, honeyed apricots, I’ll eat them as they are over the sink or with a tea towel on my lap to catch the juices. Otherwise, I tend to cook or bake most of the fruits I buy, allowing the flesh to soften into custardy sweetness, and the skin to burnish.

STRAWBERRY POPPY SEED CRISP

An easy dessert that doubles as a delicious treat of a breakfast, too.