Today, I have two sweet treats for lunch or for a picnic in the sunny weather. Raspberries are coming into season and I love their tanginess. For years, we have been getting ours from Clarke’s Fresh Fruit in Stamullan, Co Meath, and Pat supplies us with beautiful Tulameen raspberries. Clarke’s are a great Irish success story and are over 60 years in business.

For oats, I always recommend Flahavan’s, and with Greek yoghurt, I am a big fan of the 10% fat version. A spoonful of it with some lemon curd and raspberries will make a quick light dessert at any time.

Bakewell puddings and tarts have a great tradition and have been popular since the early 20th century when they were developed in Bakewell in Derbyshire, a market town not far from Sheffield in the UK.

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The story goes that a cook made a mistake and spread the almond paste or frangipane with the jam instead of putting it on top of the pastry and the result delighted everyone.

This almond mixture will keep well in the fridge – but the star of the show is the raspberries – so do be generous with them. It makes all the difference to this teatime treat. There’s no need to line or grease the baking sheet, as the pastry already has enough fat and there’s no sugar in it to make it stick.

For pastry, look no further than Mairéad Finnegan of Roll It Pastry in Kells. All of her pastry is made with butter, and with no additives – just the way her mother made it.

Raspberry, oat and yogurt muffins

Ingredients: Makes 12

375g self raising flour, sifted

150g light brown sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

3 Irish free range large eggs, lightly beaten

120ml Italian extra virgin olive oil

210g authentic Greek yoghurt (10% fat)

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp lemon curd

3 tsp whole milk

30g rolled oats with some extra for sprinkling

150g raspberries

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the flour, sugar, eggs, oil, yoghurt and vanilla, lemon zest and juice, in a bowl and mix until just combined. Gently fold through the oats, milk and raspberries. Using an ice cream scoop, divide the mixture between 12 muffin tins lined with paper cases.

2 Sprinkle with extra oats and brown sugar and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked when tested with a skewer. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

3 Serve each muffin with a dollop

of yoghurt and a teaspoon of lemon curd.

Bakewell slice. \ Philip Doyle

Bakewell slice

Ingredients: Serves 8

300g shortcrust pastry

A little plain flour, for dusting

50g butter, softened

50g caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

125g ground almonds

A few drops of vanilla extract

250g raspberries

50g flaked almonds

1 tbsp sifted icing sugar

Some lightly whipped cream, to serve

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/gas mark 6). Cut the pastry in half and roll out into two 28cm x 7.5cm (11in x 3in) rectangles on a lightly floured board. Place on 2 baking sheets lined with non-stick baking paper and prick all over with a fork. Bake for 5 minutes, until set but not coloured.

2 Meanwhile, using an electric hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Stir in the egg, ground almonds and vanilla extract to make a stiff paste.

3 Spread the almond paste on top of the cooked pastry bases, leaving a border around the edges. Gently press the raspberries onto the paste, scatter over the flaked almonds and sift over the icing sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed up and lightly golden. Leave on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool.

4 To serve, cut into slices and arrange on plates with dollops of lightly whipped cream.