Bring another litre of water to the boil with the sugar, vanilla extract (or a vanilla bean slit lengthwise, grains scraped off into the water), star anise and mixed spice. Don’t be tempted to re-use the water in which you parboiled the peaches as it will have been contaminated with pesticides.

Plunge the peeled peach halves into the lightly bubbling syrup and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and leave to cool.

While the peaches are cooking, save the 12 best looking raspberries for garnish. mash the remaining raspberries with the back of a fork with the icing sugar and a squirt of lemon juice.

Using an electric mixer, whip the cream into a silky crème Chantilly. The top tips for achieving the perfect Chantilly are: 1. make sure the cream, bowl and whisk are all very cold. I place the whisk and cream in the freezer 20 min beforehand. 2. beat the cream at low speed first, moving in stages to high speed, and wait until the cream starts bubbling before adding the sugar (slowly) and vanilla extract. 3. stop once the whisk leaves well defined marks in the cream. Dip a spoon in it and turn it upside down. If the cream peak on the spoon stays up, it is ready. If not, give it another whisking. The Chantilly should only take 2-3 minutes to make. Don’t overbeat otherwise you will reach the consistency of butter.

Just before serving:

Pour some raspberry coulis in martini or wide glasses, place a good sized ice cream scoop on top and a peach half. Top with the Chantilly and a few fresh raspberries. Serve right away.

Cook the rhubarb with half the caster sugar and vanilla in a saucepan for 20 minutes, until tender. Whiz it smooth with a hand blender and let it cool.

Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until the mixture becomes cream coloured and doubles in volume. Gently fold in the rhubarb.

In a separate bowl, whisk the mascarpone and single cream together into soft peaks. If they are very cold they will whip more easily so place them in the freezer 30 minutes before using. Mix 1/3 of the whipped cream into the rhubarb and egg mixture then gently fold in the remaining. Pour the mixture into a container and leave it in the freezer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, whiz the strawberries and icing sugar together with a hand blender. Don’t try to make it absolutely smooth, it is always nice to find small bits of fruits in your ice cream. Take the cream out of the freezer and check the consistency. It should be soft but thick. If it is too liquid, leave it for another hour. Once it has the right consistency, pour the strawberry puree over and mix it imperfectly with the cream, making nice pink ribbons across the cream with the help of a spoon and making sure you reach out deep.

Place back in the freezer and chill for a few more hours or overnight.

Separate the egg whites from the yolks.

Beat two of the egg yolks with the cream, until reaching the consistency of thick stirred yogurt (best to use an electric whisk if you have one). Be patient, this can take a good 5 minutes.

Pick the mint leaves from the stalks and chop finely.

Beat the egg whites into soft peaks. You know you have reached this stage when peaks with a top that curls over are formed.

Add a ¼ of the cream mixture to the melted chocolate and mix with a spoon, then pour the remaining  mixture and stir in gently with a spatula.

Fold the egg whites into the mixture and about 2 tablespoons of the chopped mint.

Pour into individual serving glasses.

Serve immediately with fresh raspberries and a mint leaf on top (on the picture I used the tips of the sprigs), or store in the fridge for serving later. Enjoy!

Kids friendly version

If you are worried your children may find the mint off-putting, you can save some of the mousse before adding the mint for the adults.

To balance out the sweetness of the white chocolate, crush a few raspberries into a coulis with a sprinkle of sugar.

Then fill individual glasses by alternating dollops of mousse and a bit of the raspberry coulis.

Finish off each glass by making a couple of eight-shaped swirls in the mousse with the back of a teaspoon to make beautiful pink ribbons.

Serve with fresh raspberries on top. This dessert will not only be a visual feast for your highly discerning little customers, but will also be a guaranteed success! By the way, this can also be a lovely variation for grown ups.

Peel and chop the mangoes, and whiz their flesh with the sugar in a large bowl until obtaining a smooth purée. Transfer 1/4 of the mixture into a small container and reserve it  in the fridge for use at time of serving. You should be left with about 350 g mango mixture.

In another bowl, beat the eggs into an omelette with a fork and mix with the cream.

Stir the cream mixture into the mango purée until obtaining a homogenous batter. Pour it into individual ramequins.

Place the ramequins into a large gratin dish and fill it with boiling water up to about half the height of the ramequins.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the flans feel cooked in the middle (when gently touched, their center should feel set and springy). If their top starts to colour, reduce the heat to 160 degrees C.

Let the flans cool and store them in the fridge preferrably overnight, or at least 6-7 hours.

Serve chilled with a dollop of mango purée and a strawberry on top.

Peel the pears, slice them in 2 lengthways and core each pear half. Rub them with a lemon half to prevent them from browning.

Bring to the boil in a saucepan the water, sugar and vanilla extract. Add the pears and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until they are tender through (pierce them with a fork to check, it should enter the pear effortlessly).

When the pears are ready, take them out and reserve on absorbing paper. Keep 5 tablespoons of the syrup in which the pears were cooked for use in the chocolate sauce.

Dry roast the almond flakes in a large frying pan, shaking the pan regularly to ensure even roasting. When the flakes are nicely golden, transfer to a small bowl. Don’t leave them in the hot pan off the heat otherwise they will keep roasting and may burn.

Prepare the chocolate sauce (3 min – best done at the last minute):

Break the chocolate bar into chunks and place it in a small microwave-safe bowl with the butter and 5 tablespoons of the pear syrup. Melt the mixture in the microwave in 2 to 3 sessions of 30 seconds. Stir well after each session to even out the heat and help the chocolate melt. Dark chocolate does not take high heat too well so you don’t want to let the sauce bubble. If it does, or the consistency of the sauce starts looking grainy or splitting, stir in a bit of cold water and it will recover its smooth texture.

Prepare the Crème chantilly (5 min – Can be done ahead):

A key to success is to make sure the cream, bowl and whisk are all very cold before you start. I place the whisk and bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes beforehand, you can also swirl a handful of ice cubes in the bowl for a minute or so before pouring the cream.

Pour the cream into the bowl and whisk it at low speed first, moving in stages to high speed.  When the cream starts bubbling, add the sugar and vanilla extract. Stop as soon as the whisk leaves well defined marks in the cream. Dip a spoon in it and turn it upside down. If the cream peak on the spoon stays up, the Chantilly is ready. If not, give it another whisking. The Chantilly should only take 2-3 minutes to make, don’t overbeat it otherwise you will reach the consistency of yellowish butter.

Prepare the poires Belle-Hélène:

Place two scoops of vanilla ice cream in 4 individual glasses. Top each glass with two pear halves and pour the hot chocolate sauce liberally on top. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons almond slivers on each glass and add a heaped tablespoon of crème Chantilly. Finish by sprinkling the remaining almond flakes on the Chantilly.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Toss the pineapple chunks into the hot oil and sprinkle with the sugar. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring regularly to ensure even browning, for 15-20 minutes or until the pineapple is soft and caramelised. Halfway through, add the raisins.

Add the rum and cook for 3-5 more minutes or until all the rum has evaporated.

Serve immediately with a scoop of top quality vanilla ice cream.

Place the cream, almond milk, sugar, almond extract and vanilla paste together in a saucepan. Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and toss both half-pods into the cream mixture. Simmer for about 5 minutes until all the sugar has melted then turn off the heat and let the vanilla infuse for 3-4 more minutes. Scrape the seeds off the vanilla pods with a small knife and toss the seeds back into the liquid. Discard the half pods.

Meanwhile, sprinkle the gelatin over 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes or until spongy. Bring a saucepan filled with 4-5 cm water to the boil and take off the heat. Once the gelatin has swollen, place the bowl in the middle of the saucepan with freshly boiled water (make sure the hot water does not get inside the gelatine bowl, its purpose is only to warm the bowl up) and stir the gelatine until it dissolves. Never boil it, it can become stringy and won’t set as well. Once it has fully dissolved, stir the gelatine into the hot cream mixture. Both mixtures should roughly be a similar temperature.

Lightly oil 4 to 5 individual ramequins with neutral oil, such as sunflower oil. Pour the panna cotta into each mould and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours. To unmould, slide a thin knife between the panna cottas and the inside of the moulds and turn over. I quite like using a silicone muffin tray instead of moulds. Once set, the panna cottas stick well enough to their cavities not to fall when the mould is turned over. You then only need to gently push them out one by one by pressing on the back of each cavity. For a quicker solution you can also serve the panna cottas in their mould, in that case use glass ramequins or cocktail glasses.

Vegetarian (agar flakes) version:

Place all the ingredients together in a saucepan, finishing with the agar flakes Slice the vanilla pod lengthways and toss both half-pods into the cream mixture.

Let the flakes stand for 10 minutes in the liquid before heating it up. This is important as this will help the flakes dissolve. Then simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring at regular intervals until all agar flakes have melted. Scrape the seeds off the vanilla pods with a small knife and toss the seeds back into the liquid. Discard the half pods.

Rinse 5 individual moulds in cold water. Do not dry them, this will facilitate the unmoulding. Pour the panna cotta into each mould and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. See my notes above on unmoulding and  using a silicone muffin tray.

Fruit salad

Serve the panna cottas with a fresh fruit salad.

Winter option (pictured): peel and half the segments off a pink grapefruit (make sure to take the skins off, see this recipe for an easy and quick way to do this), peel and chop two kiwis and peel and half ten lychees. Mix and chill until serving.

Summer option: mix strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and chill until serving.

Beat the egg whites into stiff peaks. To give them maximum volume, start beating on medium-low speed until the liquid becomes greyish and bubbly, then slowly increase the speed of the mixer to high. Add the vanilla extract and the sugar slowly, beating continuously until reaching a stiff and shiny meringue.

Spoon 6 even-sized balls of meringue and poach them in gently boiling water for 2 minutes, turning over each ball halfway through. When ready, place them on absorbing paper and reserve. If you have a microwave, use this simpler method: stretch some cling film over a humid plate and place the balls on the film. Microwave on low power (350Watts) for 30 seconds. Check the whites, they should have densified a bit. If not, microwave for another 20 seconds or so on low power again, and reserve.

Prepare the chocolate sea:

Break the chocolate into pieces.

Bring the milk to the boil, add the chocolate and let it soften in the milk off the heat.

Mix it with the milk with a spatula until obtaining a homogeneous texture, stir in the sugar and bring back to the boil. This last step will make the chocolate thicker and more unctuous. Stir in a dash of whisky, if using.

Pour the chocolate into 6 glasses and add a floating island in each. Serve immediately.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter on low heat. Stir in the honey and sugar and take off the heat. With a spoon, delicately stir in the flour until obtaining a homogeneous mixture. Transfer to a bowl and store overnight in the fridge, sealed.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C

Line an oven tray with greaseproof paper.

Take the mixture out of the fridge and spoon out one teaspoon of the paste. Flatten it with your fingers as much as you can into a nice, slightly oblong shape. Place on the tray.

Repeat, you should get about 8 crisps.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and place the tray in the hot oven.

Bake for about 5 minutes until the crisps are nicely browned.

Take the tray out of the oven and wait for 30 seconds or so, until the crips are firm enough to be detached carefully with a soft spatula.

Press them with your hand on a rolling pin, wine bottle or juice glass to give them a nice, curved shape and let cool.

If not using right away, store in a tightly sealed cookie jar. They will keep for several days.

Put the dessert together:

Peel the shells off the lychees if using fresh fruits. Cut in half and remove the pits.

Spoon the yogurt into eight ramequins or transparent glasses, toss the lychees on top and drizzle one teaspoon of honey on each glass. Serve immediately with a crisp.

Squeeze the lemon juice in a large saucepan. Mix with 200g sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1/2 liter of water.

Wash, peel and quarter the pears. Remove the core and cut into thin slices (2-3 mm at the thick end). Place the slices into the saucepan as you are cutting them to prevent them from browning.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the pears cool down in the water.

Prepare the meringue:

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C.

Put the egg whites in a large, grease-free bowl with a pinch of salt. Whisk on medium-low speed until the whites turn into a grey foamy liquid, then slowly increase the speed. This will maximise the amount of air bubbles trapped in the whites and allow them to gain more volume. Beat at full speed until reaching stiff peaks (until the whites stand up in stiff, upward pointing peaks). Start whisking in the sugar, little by little, and keep whisking until the egg whites are stiff and glossy. The meringue should not move when you turn the bowl upside down.

Spread the meringue on an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, and shape it into a rectangle of roughly 40×30 cm, making sure the meringue is evenly spread and not thicker than 1/2 inch (less than 1.5 cms).

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the surface of the meringue is lightly golden and crisp and firm to the touch, but the inside is still soft. When ready, take the tray out of the oven and let the meringue cool down completely on the tray.

Prepare the chocolate mousse:

Cut the chocolate and butter into chunks and toss in a large, microwave-safe mixing bowl. Melt the mixture in 3 to 4 30 sec microwave sessions, mixing well between each to even out the temperature.

Allow the mixture to cool down to warm temperature and stir in the egg yolks.

Beat the egg whites into stiff peaks using the same process as for the meringue, adding the small amount of sugar at the very end.

Gently stir a third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the remaining whites using a soft spatula (or a wooden spoon if you don’t have a spatula).

Allow the mousse to set and thicken a little at room temperature, for 20 minutes or so, before spreading it on the bûche.

Make the bûche:

Drain the pears well in a colander. They should be at room temperature, soft and pliable.

Place the tray with the meringue on it so that it looks like a vertical portrait when you look at it.

Cover the meringue liberally with the chocolate mousse, leaving 2 cms clear along the short two edges. Expect to get leftover mousse.

Line the pears tightly on the mousse, their length parallel to the longer side of the rectangle. You should have just enough to cover the entire surface. With your hands,  press the pears gently into the mousse

Using the greaseproof paper under the meringue, lift the far end of the meringue and fold it towards the centre of the rectangle (it should fold towards you). Don’t worry if a few pears fall in the process. Gently peel the paper off the folded side of the meringue (don’t tear it) and let it rest back on the tray.

Now fold the end near you over the part you just folded, using the greaseproof paper. Do this slowly and without stressing the meringue otherwise it may tear. If it does, don’t worry. The next few steps will allow it to set beautifully.

Gently peel the paper off the top part, going as as far down as you can.

Lift back the two paper ends and join them on top of the meringue. Clip, staple or tape them together so that they hold the bûche in a nice cylinder shape.

Transfer to the fridge and set for at least 3 hours or overnight. The paper will allow the bûche to set into a nice, regular shape. If the meringue tore a bit when folding it won’t matter, the mousse will set in the cracks.

Just before serving,  unclip the paper and drizzle the bûche generously with icing sugar. Transfer it carefully onto a serving platter and decorate it according to your taste. I made a line of cocoa powder stars on top using a homemade paper cut out.