How many times has your heart sunk when your dining companion informs you that they ‘don’t do puddings’? To be honest I check this first and pick my dining companions accordingly but Anna Higham aims to convert even these people. She is an award-winning pastry chef but these delicious recipes are not ‘cheffy’ or complicated. Based on seasonal fruits they are designed to be tweaked to suit the freshest fruit you can find and your individual preferences. In each one the fruit is the star, with the standard pudding ingredients of sugar, butter, flour and cream being used to make that fruit taste the very best that it can. The recipes require a little more effort than simply plonking the fruit in a bowl with the option a jug of cream but they are easily worth it.

This is an absolutely stunning cookbook. It’s divided into seasons, and then into key ingredients corresponding to that season. I tried the recipes under the strawberry section and made the best strawberry ice cream I’ve ever had. The recipes are for different components that then make up a dessert (for example, strawberry juice and chewy dried strawberries, sorbet and ice cream using the juice, and then a dessert combining all of these components). This has become one of my most prized possessions, and the oil paintings in it are beautiful. Definitely something I will be gifting others as well!