Doesn’t this photo just say it all. Summer on a plate. I defy anyone not to dive in when a platter of these makes its appearance at any summer party. I can barely believe that these were an afterthought. They were the leftovers from a batch of puff pastry I made destined for savoury tarts for lunch. And while the pastry takes a little time to make (if not very much effort) it is also possible to buy good quality puff pastry from the freezer section of supermarkets. Or specialist bakers such as Baker&Spice in London. Make sure you go for the all butter kind.

Once you have your puff pastry, made or bought, these little temptations are simplicity itself to make, leaving you looking like you’ve just popped out to a fabulous Parisian bakery for the edible edification of your guests, even if you are in the middle of the West Country.

Or maybe not. Their official French name is Feuilletees, a version of the more well known mille-feuille (or thousand leaves). They are generally little individual sized portions of rectangles of puff pastry, brushed with an egg glaze and baked at 220*C for 12 -15 minutes, then split in half and filled with sweetened cream and fresh fruit. So far so good. But had these truly come from a French Patisserie I have no doubt they would all be perfectly uniform and would not dare to have a single one of their thousand layers out of place.

Mine, on the other hand, reflect their maker, far from perfect, wildly undisciplined, wandering off at a tangent (that’s what happens when you use scraps of puff pastry), and filled to bursting with sunshine, joie-de-vivre, a touch of tart sweetness, and a little bit of whimsy. The sunshine and happiness come from the fact that there is actually some sunshine today. Hooray! The tart sweetness comes from handpicked berries from the kitchen garden, and the whimsy (without which I would be lost) is the fragrant promise of fresh mint, the smell, rather than the taste infusing the whole.

Actually, they make me think of deck chairs and floaty dresses, glasses of Pimms and Sunday afternoon cricket. Not French at all then. But very very Somerset. There are some times when it is well worth being British.

This is my entry for Jeanne, Johannna and Andrew’s WTSIM… event. This month it is hosted by Jeanne and the theme is Berried Treasure. For once my only problem with entering an event was choosing what to post about. I can’t wait for the roundup as it s my considered opinion that you can never have to many things to make with berries.

This one’s for Marye, following her request for me to ‘post something yummy!’ And what could be more yummy than a chocolate profiterole. Okay, a whole pile of them! True! But only if you vote for me. Blackmail? I prefer to think of it as gentle persuasion.

First though, another huge thank you to all and sundry. A few of you may have noticed that I had a South African Blog Awards button on my sidebar. Well, Cooksister alerted me to them and linked to me as an alternative blog to vote for. As I am South African I put up the link and had a vote myself, but never actually expected anyone to vote for moi. Well, apparently enough of you have that I have been nominated in several categories and am a finalist in

Best Overseas SA Blog , along with two fantastic bloggers (and friends) Charlotte of Charlotte’s Web and Jeanne of Cooksister

Best SA Photographic Blog (??? Not sure who nominated me for that but on behalf of my much abused camera, appreciate it!)

Best New Blog

Best SA Blog about Food and Wine also along with the fab Cooksister, Mother City Living, and Wine Country

So now that I have an actual chance, I would really appreciate it if you would vote again as I’ve decided it would be quite nice to WIN a South African Blog Award. It’s pretty easy (voting, not winning), just click on the SA Blog Awards widget on my sidebar, my blog will be selected for your vote, you can add others if you like, then leave your email address (one round of votes per person) and click submit.

If you need any further encouragement I have linked to some of my favourite posts from my archives to refresh your memories:

Tea, Tartlettes and Yellow Cape Cobras

Split Personality

Tasty little Frangipane Tarts

On the banks of the Umgezi

Straight from the sea

A homecoming to remember

Oats and Honey, what more could you want

Green Living

Honeyed words

Always have a back up plan

and my first ever post, Breakfast in Somerset

and Apples & Thyme, the food blogging event I co-host with Jeni

And if that ain’t doin’ it for ya…

I make a mean profiterole…

…filled with vanielje scented chantilly cream…

… draped in chocolate fondant icing…

…and unfortunately eaten by others. This lot was for my daughter’s class bake sale at school this week. Never mind, they’re so quick and easy I think I’ll just whip up another batch for us. If you feel the urge to bake with me the recipe is here, or check out the VCKB. And don’t forget to vote!