I couldn’t resist buying my first strawberries of the year – just the thing for la tarte aux fruits / fruit tart. I made a sweet shortcrust pastry and lined a shallow metal tin. I pricked the bottom all over with a fork and filled with a frangipane mixture made from butter, caster sugar, eggs, ground almonds and a little rum. I baked for 20 minutes until set and allowed to cool. I filled with strawberries and poured over a glaze made from jam heated with a little water.

To make gateau au citron et yaourt / lemon yoghurt cake, I used a Bundt tin for the first time. I was a bit nervous as it looked complicated. I prepared the tin by brushing every nook and cranny with melted butter, and then dusting with flour. I creamed butter and sugar together, then added two beaten eggs, one at a time. When well mixed, I added flour, baking powder, salt, plain yoghurt and the grated zest of one lemon. The result was a creamy thick batter. I transferred this mixture to the tin, spoonful by spoonful, making sure that there were no trapped air bubbles. I baked for 50 minutes until risen and golden brown. I left the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then tentatively turned it upside down. It slid out easily, revealing a lovely intricate pattern.

La mousse au chocolate Basque / chocolate mousse Basque style would be a popular finale to any meal. I melted dark chocolate in a bain-marie and mixed in some butter, followed by egg yolks and piment d’Espelette. In a separate bowl I whisked egg whites with sugar, and then carefully folded this into the chocolate to achieve a light, airy texture. I divided between four cups and put into the fridge to set overnight.

I rarely make ice cream but the recipe for le glace caramel au beurre salé / caramel ice cream looked deceptively simple, and so I thought I would give it a go. I put some sugar in a pan and heated until it started to dissolve. I added some salted butter and beat the mixture until it became a glossy runny sauce. I put some egg yolks into a double boiler over simmering water, and added single cream (heated to near boiling point) along with a heaped teaspoon of coarse sea salt. I kept stirring until it thickened. Once cool, I folded in some whipped double cream. I poured this into a container, stirred in the caramel sauce, and placed in the freezer. Actually, it didn’t quite go according to plan. My first attempt at making caramel resulted in a rock hard sugary concoction that I had to throw away, and I very nearly scrambled the eggs! However, the final result was nothing like shop bought ice cream: a luxurious salty frozen cream with nuggets of caramel sweetness. It was definitely worth persevering.

The recipe for les pommes aux épices / spiced apples requires long, slow cooking and produces a concentrated relish. I peeled and cored apples, and cut them into chunks. I placed these into a pan with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, raisins, sultanas, brown sugar, butter, the juice of an orange and some peel, and a couple of tablespoons of Armagnac. I heated gently until the butter melted, then covered with a lid, and placed in an oven for three hours. I should have made much, much more, as it was very delicious and disappeared in a trice!

Quinces look and smell lovely, but their raw flesh is tough and tart. However, when cooked they become softer, sweeter and delicious. They are often slow roasted or poached in a sweet wine syrup. The recipe for les coings au four / baked quinces is an easy, quick alternative. I peeled and cored the fruit and cut them into wedges. I placed these in a single layer in a gratin dish, sprinkled with sugar, and covered with fresh lemon juice and water. I added lemon zest, bay leaves and a vanilla bean. I covered with foil and baked in the oven for half an hour.

I like using local products whenever possible but I have yet to come across the wild airelles or myrtilles, the star ingredient of la tarte aux myrtilles / bilberry tart. These berries grow in the hills of the Auvergne and the Pyrenees and ripen in August – a time of year we are rarely in France. So, when I spotted some Spanish blueberries in the supermarket, I decided to make a substitution. I baked a sweet shortcrust pastry case, filled it with crème pâtissière and added the blueberries which had been macerating in sugar and lemon juice. It worked well, but my filling was a bit too wet, so I need to work on my technique, and I couldn’t help thinking that the wild berries would have been better. Perhaps another time!

It’s the time of year to preserve fruit and, finally, I have the wherewithal. No shortage of fruit, rather the preserving liquor. In this case eau-de-vie. This is a homemade colourless brandy made from plums or grapes, and reputed to be very potent. In days gone by a travelling still went from village to village so that country folk could make their own alcohol. Nowadays home distillation is rare and can only be made with a license. Hence it is hard to find the authentic stuff. However, earlier in the year, we made some new friends, Fleur and Francis, who have a neighbour who still brews and they kindly gave me a bottle of their 2019 vintage. So I bought a kilo of Reines-Claude greengages in the market to make Les Reines-Claude à l’eau-de-vie / greengages bottled in plum brandy. I pricked them with a needle, then dunked them in simmering water for 15 seconds. I made a sugar syrup and added the fruit briefly before packing them into sterilised jars. I filled these with the syrup and the precious eau-de-vie, half and half. They look gorgeous even though I managed to burst the skins in my haste. Now we have to wait for a couple of months for them to mature.

In the markets, complete stalls are given over to the sale of melons. They are small and orange-fleshed and beautifully sweet. We buy them in threes – one for today, one for tomorrow and one for a few days time. The store holder tests and picks them out, marking the skins 1, 2, 3 with a pen. Yesterday, I used one to make les melons à l’estagel / melons filled with fruit and brandy. I cut the melon in half and removed the seeds. I scooped out the flesh using a curved grapefruit knife and put this in a bowl cut into chunks. I added sliced strawberries and pineapple. While the latter is not grown locally, I found a perfectly ripe one, imported from the Isle de la Réunion. I sprinkled the fruit with a little sugar and Armagnac and put a tablespoon of sweet wine into each melon half. Then everything went into the fridge until serving.

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