Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's raspberry almond streusel cake: 'A gorgeous, light, pretty tea-time cake.' Photograph: Colin Campbell for the GuardianI can't believe I haven't done it?before. In nearly seven years of writing this column, I've yet to devote one to raspberries. How can this be? They're one of my all-time favourite, top-five, couldn't-give-them-up fruits. In fact, I love them a?little more each year, that exquisite blend of acidity and sweetness, underpinned by that rosaceous aroma, seeming ever more pleasing. So it's time to give them their due – and without further ado, as the season is just getting into its stride. The summer fruit will continue well into August, and be replaced by autumn-fruiting varieties into October or November, if we're lucky.
Raspberries will never dominate the supermarket shelves as strawberries do, and they'll never be dished up in quite so many summer puds, because they are so incredibly tender and delicate. The window between perfect, sweet-tart ripeness and mushy, about-to-go-mouldy over-the-topness is tiny – just hours, sometimes. Which is why I urge you to harvest them yourself, either from a pick-your-own farm or, if at all possible, by growing your own. This could hardly be easier.
Raspberries can be planted anywhere between late autumn and early spring, which gives you plenty of time to decide which variety you'd like. Glen Moy, Glen Ample, Glen Prosen, Malling Jewel and Autumn Bliss are all excellent; look out, too, for yellow varieties such as Allgold.
Plants bought in the cold months will look unpromisingly twiggy and dry, but worry not: find a sheltered spot in full or partial sun, prepare the ground with compost and get them in. Or grow them in containers – up to three plants in a 40cm pot. In most cases, they'll need support when they start shooting forth in spring. Conventionally, they are tied to wires strung between posts, but they can be trained up anything: trellis, bamboo wigwams, chicken wire… Keep well watered, and feed if they're in containers. Summer-fruiting varieties produce fruit on stems that grew the year before, so you'll have to wait until the following year for those, but autumn varieties fruit on this year's canes.
If you grow your own fruit, you should get good quantities – even gluts at times. This is another reason to take the plunge. Raspberries in the shops are on the pricey side and will have you searching for recipes that make the most of a smallish quantity (this week's gorgeous savoury salad, say). A home-grown glut, on the other hand, is a great excuse to make jams, sauces and sorbets, all of which call for generous amounts of fruit. My favourite way to bottle a glut is to make a fridge jam (as mentioned in my strawberry feature a few weeks ago). Fresh, fruity and loose-textured, it functions as both a jam and a sweet sauce; you can even swirl it into ice-cream to make a?raspberry ripple.
Whether you're gathering hatfuls or buying handfuls, the simplest raspberry recipes are often the most pleasing. They're lovely for breakfast on plain yoghurt and trickled with honey. Or whizz a few into a?smoothie, throw some into a muffin batter or squish on to a pancake. Their sherbety tang fizzes beautifully with meringue, so crush the fruit lightly, stir with broken meringue and whipped cream, and you'll have an Eton mess that has the strawberry version licked.
A gorgeous, light, pretty tea-time cake – just the sort of thing to serve on your best china. Serves six.
100g soft unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
2 large eggs
100g self-raising flour
200g raspberries, plus extra to serve
Icing sugar, to serve
For the streusel topping
50g unsalted butter
100g plain flour
Good pinch of salt
25g caster sugar
50g toasted flaked almonds
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas?mark 4. Grease a 20cm diameter?springform tin and line its?base with greased baking?parchment.
For the streusel topping, melt the?butter in a small pan, stir in the?flour, salt and sugar to make a?crumbly mixture, then stir in the almonds and set aside.
For the cake, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of self-raising flour with each egg. Gently fold the remaining self-raising flour into the batter, then spread in the tin.
Scatter the raspberries on top, then cover with the streusel mix.
Bake for about 45 minutes, until a?skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin. To serve, dust with icing sugar and top with a few more?berries and perhaps a little whipped cream.
I have been dabbling in raw foodism, and came up with this: raspberries on a nutty crust with a luscious, avocadoey cocoa mousse. It's a?greedy, fruity pud, but it's dairy- and wheat-free, too. Serves four.
About 200g raspberries
For the crust
160g walnuts (or any nut, really)
120g pitted medjool dates
Pinch of salt
For the chocolate filling
2 large, very ripe avocados
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 lime
4-6 tbsp honey (or agave syrup), plus extra to serve
To make the crust, put the nuts, dates and a good pinch of salt in a?food processor. Process until it's all ground down finely – the mix should have the texture of coarse, damp sand. Press into four 10cm loose-based tartlet tins – use your fingers to form it into an even layer all round – then refrigerate for at least an hour.
For the filling, skin and stone the avocados and put the flesh in a food processor with the cocoa powder, a good squeeze of lime juice and three tablespoons of honey. Process to a velvety, thick puree. Taste, add more honey or lime juice as needed, and spoon into the tart cases.
Carefully ease away the sides of the tartlet tins (don't worry if there's a breach: the crust is easily repaired). If?you're feeling brave, use a flat, thin spatula to remove the tarts from the bases as well, or just sit them, still on their tin bases, on serving plates. Top each generously with raspberries, trickle over a little more honey and finish with finely grated lime zest.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's salad of raspberries, ricotta and air-dried ham: 'The flavour combo is bang on the money.' Photograph: Colin Campbell for the Guardian I love recipes that alliterate: raspberries, ricotta, rosemary, rocket… ham. Oh, well. But the flavour combo here is bang on the money. Serves two as a light meal.
2-3 handfuls rocket (about 50g)
About 150g raspberries
30-40g air-dried ham such as parma or serrano
About 65g ricotta
For the dressing
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
? tsp cider vinegar
? tsp honey
Sea salt and freshly ground black?pepper
Put the dressing ingredients in a?jam jar, screw on the lid and shake well to amalgamate. Spread the rocket over a large plate (or two smaller ones) and trickle a third of the dressing over it. Scatter the raspberries over the rocket, then tear the ham into shreds and add that, too. Dot the ricotta over the salad and trickle the remaining dressing over everything, making sure the rosemary is evenly distributed. Serve straight away.
Dangerously delicious. Serves four.
400g raspberries
100g caster sugar
1 large bunch mint, leaves picked (you need about 50g in all)
About 30 ice cubes
About 200ml good vodka
In a blender, puree the raspberries with the sugar and the roughly torn mint leaves. Leave for an hour or two, for the flavours to mingle, then pass through a sieve to remove the pips.
Crush the ice. If you have a very robust blender, it may be up to the job. Alternatively, put the ice cubes in a tough plastic bag or wrap in a tea towel, and batter them with a rolling pin. Divide the ice between four glasses (ideally, pre-chilled ones).
Pour 30-50ml vodka, depending on how strong you'd like your cocktail to be, into each glass, top up with the raspberry mint puree and give it a good stir. Drink straight away – with a straw, if you prefer.
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