Sluttishly Sweet: Apricot and Almond Puffs

Here at Sluttery HQ, we don't generally think fruit is a pudding. Chocolate cake is a pudding. A desultory piece of fruit is not, and will never be, the correct way to finish a meal. Notable exceptions to this rule include baked apples, spiced baked oranges, and caramelised peaches, and now these apricot and almond puffs. Basically, if you add sugar to fruit and stick it in the oven, we'll wolf it down like it's cheesecake and beg for seconds.

These pastry treats work well as a light dessert, or as an easy light snack for friends coming round. Puff pastry is my all-time favourite pastry. It's like a party pastry! It looks so innocuous when you roll it out, then boom - it comes into its own in the oven.

Apricots are coming into season so should be easy to find. Choose ones that are fairly firm with a bit of give. Store them in the fridge if they're ripe, otherwise leave them out for a couple of days to ripen.

Apricot and almond puffs (makes 6)

You will need:

• Sheet of puff pastry
• 3-4 apricots
• 50g almonds
• 6 tsp caster sugar
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• Milk, to brush the pastry

Make it!

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7.
2. Roll out the pastry to around 3mm thick. Cut out discs of around 15cm/6 inches in diameter, either with a pastry cutter or by trimming around a mug or saucer. Place them on a lined baking tray and prick the middle with a fork a few times.
3. Slice the apricots quite thinly and arrange them on each pastry disc, leaving a small border. Brush the borders with milk. Scatter over the almonds, and sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar and half a teaspoon of cinnamon over each one.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Best eaten warm with vanilla ice-cream, but you can have them cold too.