Instructions: Dont underestimate the simplicity of fresh ripe fruit in season. Try it baked it takes on quite a different character. The warm tart flavours of the fruit with the sweet vanilla sugar are realty interesting and taste quite different from fruit eaten raw.

Buy some good quality plums apricots nectarines peaches pears cherries figs strawberries. The quantities are entirely up to you; bake as little or as much as you want. Wash the fruit and halve stone or core if necessary. You could add some lovely pink sticks of rhubarb washed and sliced or peel and slice some bananas. Place the fruit in a shallow heatproof earthenware type serving dish add a couple of drips of brandy if like and sprinkle with vanilla sugar (basically sweeten to your taste but if the fruit is naturally quite sweet then obviously use less sugar than if the fruit is very sour and tart). Preferably grill them or roast them in the oven at the highest temperature not too long just long enough to soften them slightly but still keep their shape (it should take roughly 4 minutes although rhubarb will take a couple of minutes more). Serve with some whipped vanilla cream creme fraiche vanilla icecream or mascarpone sweetened with vanilla sugar.

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