The Last Bite: A whole new approach to making desserts through the year

Who’s the author? Anna Higham is the Executive Pastry Chef at The River Café. She has previously worked at Grammercy Tavern in New York and at the Michelin-starred restaurant Lyle’s in Shoreditch. Anna has a passion for seasonal fruits and exceptional produce.

What’s it about? As an award-winning pastry chef, Anna Higham knows a thing or two about making ingredients shine. Throughout her career, she has prioritised top-quality produce and is famous for championing seasonal fruit. Having spent a decade experimenting with the fundamentals of pastry – sugar, cream, flour, chocolate, and, most importantly, fruit – Anna intends to pass her knowledge on through The Last Bite, her debut cookbook. Divided by season, The Last Bite will take you from the first strawberries of June right through to the bright pink rhubarb of midwinter, with exquisite desserts designed to celebrate each crop. More than a standard recipe book, this is an in-depth lesson in fruit and pastry, providing the building blocks and principles necessary for readers to strike out on their own dessert-making adventures. You’ll find general rules for preparing each fruit, as well as base recipes for granitas, ice creams, caramels, pastries, and meringues. Intuition, improvisation, and creativity, according to Anna, should not be confined to savoury cooking.

Recipes we love: Raspberry ice-cream sandwiches, goat’s cheese and cherry tart, quince posset with chestnut meringue, gooseberry sherbet with fool and oat biscuit, and ricotta ice cream with magnolia syrup.

Perfect for: Fruit lovers, seasonal eaters, dessert enthusiasts, and anyone who enjoys mind-blowing flavour combinations.