Grasp the rasps

For the mousse:

140g mascarpone

Seeds scraped from a vanilla pod or a few drops vanilla extract

160g double cream

3 egg whites

30g sugar

2 leaves gelatine

2 punnets Scottish raspberries

For the meringue:

2 egg whites

A very small pinch salt

65g caster sugar

1. Place the mascarpone and vanilla in a bowl and beat briefly with a spatula to loosen. If very thick, add a teaspoon of water.

2. Place a couple of dessertspoons of cream in a small saucepan and set aside. Whisk the rest of the cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Do the same with the egg whites and sugar in another bowl .

3. Meanwhile, soften the gelatine in ice-cold water. When totally soft, squeeze out excess water, place in the saucepan of cream and warm gently. Once the gelatine is dissolved, add to the mascarpone and fold into the cream then the egg whites. This can be stored in a piping bag in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

4. For the meringue: place the egg whites in a clean, cold stainless-steel bowl and add salt. Whisk steadily, adding the caster sugar a little at a time, allowing it to drift in as you whisk so it has all been added as you reach the end of the whisking process, forming firm, creamy peaks.

5. To make the meringue bases, spread parchment paper over a baking sheet, sticking down the corners with a little of the meringue mixture to stop it sliding. The shape and size of the bases is up to you: using a spatula, you can spread the meringue in neat rectangles, form discs or place in a bag and pipe it. Once the bases are prepared, bake them in the oven at 80ºC for two to three hours so they dry out slowly, becoming crisp but remaining pale. Check they’re done by carefully lifting one away from the paper with the help of a palette knife and tapping the underside – it should feel brittle and hollow. Once done, allow to cool totally then store in an airtight container for up to three days. Keep broken bits for sprinkling or for Eton mess.

6. Place one punnet of raspberries in a small saucepan and add 100ml water and 1tsp of sugar. Warm gently, allowing the fruit to break down, stirring occasionally to help the process. Press the mixture through a fine sieve to make a coulis and add a touch of water if it is too thick. Taste for sweetness then set aside.

7. Place a dot of the mascarpone cream mixture in the middle of each serving plate to anchor the meringue. Lay four meringue bases out on a chopping board. Pipe the mascarpone mix on to each base, in long straight lines or peaks, then press raspberries into the mousse mixture. Sprinkle a dusting of broken meringue pieces over the top if you wish. Now carefully transfer each meringue to a serving plate, drizzle some raspberry coulis over the top and serve at once.

Salad of goat’s cheese curd, beetroot, fennel and raspberry vinegar

Serves 4

2 heads raw beetroot Dash sherry or raspberry vinegar

1 bulb fennel

80g mixed salad leaves

1 punnet raspberries

200g goat’s cheese curd or soft goat’s cheese

5g each of tarragon, chives (cut into batons) and chervil to scatter over the salad

For the vinaigrette:

1dsstsp Dijon mustard

1 egg yolk

Pinch each sugar, salt and pepper

120ml raspberry vinegar

150ml rapeseed oil

120ml olive oil

1. Make the vinaigrette in advance. Place the mustard, egg yolk, sugar, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and whisk in the vinegar. Once well incorporated, whisk in the oils to emulsify, taste for seasoning and refrigerate until needed.

2. Place the beetroot in a pan of water, making sure it is well covered, season the water with salt and a dash of sherry or raspberry vinegar then simmer until tender. Once cool enough to handle, peel, cut into wedges and set aside.

3. Cut the fennel into quarters and trim out the root. Slice as thinly as possible then place it in a small dish. Toss in a little vinaigrette then refrigerate for up to 36 hours until needed.

4. Toss the beetroot wedges in a small bowl with some vinaigrette, season lightly and arrange on serving plates. Dress the salad leaves with a little vinaigrette, and arrange over the beetroot. Scatter the fennel around the plate followed by the raspberries. Scoop the goat’s cheese curd or cheese with a teaspoon, arranging three or four scoops per plate on top of the salad, then scatter some of the herbs over. Finally dress the plate with a little olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then serve at once.

The countryside here in Fife is criss-crossed by the polytunnels of fruit farmers, blurring the growing season by allowing the picking times to be stretched to an earlier start and a later finish.

I understand the reasons for maximising the season – I start enjoying local raspberries the moment they reappear – but that doesn’t change the fact that, despite the helping hand, it is the late-season raspberries which pack the sweetest taste and have the finest texture.

Raspberries may already be on the menu, but July is when I start to get truly hooked. I nibble on them as a snack, crush them with a sprinkling of icing sugar and some toasted almonds to spoon over yoghurt at breakfast or fold them through the creamy richness of fromage frais for an informal supper pudding. With warm shortbread or dolloped over slivers of ripe peach, they are an irresistible classic, and an Eton mess in which the traditional strawberries are usurped by raspberries is a revelation. As for chocolate and raspberries …

The biggest surprise comes from pairing raspberries with savoury foods. I sneak them into starters with smoked duck or Parma ham, or use them to perk up a warm goat’s cheese salad, and I have never bought raspberry vinegar since making my own: pop less-than-perfect rasps into a bottle of white wine vinegar, adding more when you can, and steep them for a few weeks.