Last summer I found this great recipe in a free magazine from our local Carrefour supermarket in France. I was drawn to the pretty pink dessert like a magpie to sparkly things (as is always the case with me and girly, summery treats) and painstakingly translated the recipe when I got home. I was planning to make it for my guests to enjoy with a glass of bubbly at my upcoming birthday BBQ. Unfortunately, however, I encountered two insurmountable problems along the way: the weather last June was about as good as it is now so my BBQ was rained off, and, more importantly, one of the ingredients turned out to be unavailable in the UK!! Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon the elusive missing ingredient - biscuits roses de reims - in a French supermarket last weekend. Et voila! I can now give this beautiful strawberry, vanilla cream cake a test run before summer finally decides to make an appearance... 

Finally, after harping on for weeks about how much I love The First and Last in Cambridge, I have found the time to have dinner at the great city centre pub and write about it! Hoorah! The perfect antidote to a long, hard day at the office, the food on offer was varied, interesting, and absolutely perfectly cooked. The generous portions and ingenious combinations of flavours and textures took us by surprise, especially considering the prices, and we gleefully worked our way through some delicious wines by the glass to complement each course.