This time of year is just so good for kitchen spoils. So far this summer, we've picked strawberries from the garden, raspberries from the farm, and been given cherries from a friend's tree.

The cherries are sour which makes them a non-starter for eating then and there, juices dripping down our chins. Instead, we hatched plans. Last year, egged on by the kids, I made a cherry pie, all giddy at the prospect of something so authentically American, so culturally laden. They hated it. So the rest went into a Kilner jar of brandy and sugar, enjoyed when the months drew in and cold, dark evenings needed some pip-free pep.

This year, I had a hankering for a Bakewell. A quick internet scour found a few recipes, one of which made several individual-sized Bakewells that weighed in at a mighty 933 calories each. Nearly a thousand calories on a pie? I couldn't do it.

Instead, I adapted an old Italian recipe that uses half ground almonds, half flour, fruit and juice scattered on top, for a densely, fruity cake that's just the right side of sweet.

And such a feminine cake calls for pastel-coloured team mates. This summer tea party came together with a few classics – macarons, strawberries, Assam tea – as well as my favourite sweet sandwich, the strawberry and rose petal sarnie - recipe here (https://cookpad.wasmer.app/us/recipes/2357100-rose-petal-and-strawberry-sandwiches)!