Plum Jalousie

What is a jalousie, I hear you ask? Well, in culinary terms, it is a puff pastry dessert with a fruit and almond frangipane. The top layer of pastry is cut to resemble the slatted windows of the same name that you find in tropical plantation houses. This is such a doddle to make: cream together a couple of ounces each of soft butter, sugar and ground almonds with an egg to bind. Roll out a sheet of puff pastry into a rectangle. Spread the almond mixture on one half, leaving a little border all round, then top with some sliced, stoned plums (the English Opals are in the shops now). Brush the border with a little beaten egg or milk. Now with the remaining exposed side of pastry, slash it 7 or 8 times, leaving a border, and carefully flip over the filling, pressing the borders together. The filling will peep out of the slashes - it is meant to. Brush with more egg or milk, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes at about 170 until puffed, crisp and golden. Lovely Sunday dinner pud. You can vary the fruit, whatever you like. Rhubarb works, so does apple, nectarines, berries. Go with the flow.