We’ve got lots of berries ripening in the garden – fat, juicy blackberries, late raspberries and blueberries on a bush given to us by friends visiting from the United States. The blueberry is still young so doesn’t have a lot of fruit on it yet. Rather than have the handful of berries vanish into a crumble (it’s too hot for crumbles anyway) I decided to make friands.

The berries added to these moist, almondy little cakes give you a sharp, fruity burst when you bite into them. Friands work equally well with a cup of tea or, served with fresh berries and a dab of crème fraîche, as a dessert.

You can ring the changes on the ingredients, substituting raspberries for the blueberries and blackberries, and swapping the ground almonds for hazelnuts. Apart from all that, what gives friands their unique taste is the beurre noisette, the nut butter, which tastes (well, duh) nutty.

Traditionally the cakes are oval-shaped but as few of us have special friand tins, small bun tins work perfectly well. They are very quick and easy to make and although they’re best eaten on the day they’re made, they freeze well.