THOSE blazing days of 2003 when you could sit on in the garden until after sunset sipping chilled wine seem a distant memory.

But in this uncertain summer, we can at least enjoy one sunshine treat soft fruit.

Now is the time to pot, poach, pulp and put in pies peaches, plums, nectarines, greengages and apricots, as well as all the berries from gooseberries to blackcurrants generally make the most of them while we may.

Plums seem quintessentially English, hanging heavy in the orchard, their deep Burgundy skins glowing on market stalls among the jewel colours of black and red currants, cherries and blueberries.

And did you know that the other names for bilberries are huckleberry and whortleberry?

I love plums poached in port, apricots glazed in tarts, home-made peach ice cream, and the old-fashioned puddings like gooseberry fool, cherry syllabub, apricot flummery or blackberry and apple pie.

I can still smell the aroma when my mother cut into one and see the purple juice running out to mingle with the custard.

Today's cooks are unlikely to have three days to spare or larder space to squirrel jars and jars of home-made conserves but, unlike my gran, we have freezers so we can store delicious fruit pies or stewed fruit.

But as the bard said "summer's lease hath all too short a date" so let's enjoy its bounty while we may, starting with a sponge pudding inspired by celebrity chef Gary Rhodes.

This recipe serves six people.

Steamed plum pudding with real custard

Ingredients

225g (8oz) caster sugar, 300ml (10fl oz) water, 750g (1.5lb) Victoria plums, washed.

For the sponge: 100g (4oz) unsalted butter, 150g (5oz) caster sugar, 1 vanilla pod, split, 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 200g (7oz) self-raising flour and grated zest and juice of half a lemon.

Method

Grease one 900ml (1.5 pint) pudding basin with butter.

Dissolve the sugar in the water, bring to the boil and boil for a few minutes to make a syrup.

Add the plums and cook gently for about eight to ten minutes until tender; cool and remove stones.

Cream the butter and sugar together until almost white, then add the insides of the vanilla pod and beat in the eggs and egg yolk.

Fold in the flour, lemon juice and zest.

Spoon some of the plums and syrup into the bottom of the basin. Cover with the sponge mix to come three-quarters up the sides.

Cover with buttered foil and place in a steamer for 60 to 90 minutes until cooked.

Serve by the slice with the reserved plums, reheated, spooned over, and some real custard.

Gooseberry fool topped with almonds

Ingredients

450g (1lb) gooseberries, 70g (2.5oz) caster sugar, 150ml (quarter pint) single cream, 1 medium egg and 1 egg yolk, half tsp vanilla essence, 285ml (half pint) double cream, 15g (half oz) toasted almond flakes and a few mint leaves

Method

Top and tail the fruit, place in a saucepan with 60g (2oz) of the caster sugar and two tbsps water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the fruit is very soft.

To make the custard, bring the single cream almost to the boil, lightly whisk the egg, egg yolk and remaining sugar together in a bowl, then stir in the hot cream and vanilla essence. Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently boiling water and stir the mixture until it thickens enough to thinly coat the back of a spoon.

Do not overheat or it may curdle. Remove the bowl from the saucepan, cover the surface with clingfilm to prevent skin forming, cool then chill in the fridge.

Pure the gooseberries in a processor, or sieve them, then chill. Whisk the double cream in a large bowl until it forms soft peaks. Mix the custard and fruit pure together, then fold it gently into the whipped cream. Spoon into glasses and chill for at least two hours. Decorate each glass with toasted almonds and a mint leaf.

Peaches in Grand Marnier with coffee ice cream

Ingredients

4 fresh peaches, 300ml (half pint) water, 100g (4oz) sugar, thinly peeled rind of 1 lemon and 2 tbsps Grand Marnier.

Method

Put the peaches in boiling water, leave to stand for two minutes, remove and skin with a stainless steel knife; halve and remove stones. Put the water, sugar and lemon rind in a pan, dissolve the sugar and bring to the boil.

Add the peaches and poach very gently for about ten minutes, until just soft. Drain carefully. Reduce the syrup to about one third by simmering rapidly, strain and stir in the Grand Marnier, pour over the peaches and chill. Serve with coffee ice cream.