Fold in the Flour ...

I'm a sucker for easy recipes - particularly when the finished product, sounds, looks and (more importantly perhaps) tastes impressive. So a few weeks back, when I was unexpectedly off work with a poorly Sam, and the TV had found it's usual home on Food Network, something called 'fig jam' caught my attention. Giada de Laurentis was making this concoction by simple simmering some figs - dried ones  - with some water, sugar and brandy. The mix was then pulverised in a processor with some toasted hazelnuts. I guess it's an Italian recipe, which Giada demonstrated by serving it as crostini, with a slice of Pecorino and a slice of apple. It's available from Food Network on line here . But when I made it, I used Calvados rather than ordinary brandy. I was also in a tapas frame of mind, so gave it a Spanish twist and served it with thin slices of Manchego. Although I also served thin slices of a Granny Smith's apple, I must admit I preferred it with

One of my strongest childhood memories is the ritual of our family's Sunday Tea, which always took a certain form. My nan would put the kettle on at just before 4pm, and a pot of steaming hot tea would soon be brewed. There were sandwiches, and always, always some form of cake. Quite often, if nan and mum had had a busy weekend, it would be provided by Mr Kipling. My brother and I looked forward to this with some enthusiasm, as there were quite often French Fancies and Vienniese Whirls, which were our hands-down favourites. We could leave the Battenburg Slices, and the jam tarts were often a bit too dry  for us (definitely not as good as homemade). But the soft sweet inside of an iced French Fancy (my favourite being the lemon yellow ones), and the moistness of the Viennese Whirls were something to savour. Of course, you can still buy these. But they just don't seem to taste the same somehow. So when Amy announced this week's Bake Off challenge as the Apricot Swiss