Similar to rum baba but typically richer, savarin is a classic French round cake baked in a ring mould and soaked in rum or kirsch.

This version, however, is for all the family, and so peach syrup replaces the alcohol. Make sure you use ripe peaches – I recommend white ones rather than yellow, because they're sweeter and more elegantly flavoured.

Lastly, for the cake you'll need four savarin rings and for the creme Chantilly that fills the centre you'll need a piping bag with a nozzle – both are easy to find in cook shops or online.

...including black (the least tasty), red from Europe and gilt-head, which for my money is the best, distinguished by a gold band above the eyes and mouth.

All have coarse, succulent and plump flesh, and its low cost when compared to turbot or sea bass is another plus.

For the clams, I recommend the Manila variety, which are known in French as Palourdes. They have a pretty marbled shell and are excellent for steaming.