Warm the oil, or a little pork fat, in a frying pan and cook the sausages, slowly, over a moderate heat. Let them brown nicely on all sides.

Put the prunes and sultanas into a sterilised jar, then pour over the muscat. Seal tightly and leave for a month before drinking. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the ground almonds. Break the egg into a small bowl and beat lightly for just long enough to mix the white and yolk. I find the mixing easiest using a food processor with a flat paddle. Add to the almonds and sugar, then introduce enough lemon juice, little by little, to bring the mixture to a stiff, smooth paste firm enough to roll. Cut the leeks into rounds about 1cm in length and wash them in plenty of cold water. Bring the butter and water to the boil in a wide pan with a lid, then add the leeks. Cover with a piece of greaseproof paper, or baking parchment, and a lid. The paper will encourage the leeks to steam rather than fry. Brush the surface of the cake with apricot or gooseberry jam (you need a tart fruit to contrast with the sweet icing), then lower the almond paste into place. Smooth flat with the palm of your hand or, using very light pressure, with a rolling pin. Possibly the best idea of all came about quite by accident. After a long day of photography for this book, I sat down with a glass of the apricot and fig liqueurs, accompanied by the plumped-up fruits. On the table was some gorgonzola, though it could just as well have been stilton, stichelton or any of the other blues. The marrying of the blue cheese and the velvety, wine-filled fruits was simply gorgeous. 5 November: Fire and baked pears

Hot smoked fish and leek pie

I rather like the pure, spartan effect of a cake covered only with marzipan. If you use golden icing sugar your paste will have a soft, honey-coloured hue, like that of antique linen. Even the most hardened minimalist will agree such a cake needs something in the way of decoration. Marzipan stars of differing sizes pressed on to the smooth almond paste can look suitably festive, especially if their edges are blowtorched here and there. The remaining fruit – bundles of joy, soft as a pillow, juicy as a xiaolongbao dumpling – should not be wasted. Lining the tin: Using the base of the cake tin as a template, cut a disc of baking parchment to fit neatly into the base. Now cut a long, wide strip that will fit not only around the inside of the tin, but a good 9cm above it. (For a 20cm cake tin that will be 66cm.) Place it around the inside of the tin.

Cut the leeks into discs 1cm in width, wash thoroughly, then put them in a deep heavy-based pan with the butter over a moderate heat. Let the leeks cook for eight to 10 minutes, covered with a round piece of greaseproof paper and a lid, so they cook in their own steam and soften without browning. While the butter and sugars are beating to a cappuccino-coloured fluff, cut the dried fruits into small pieces, removing the hard stalks from the figs. Break the eggs into a small bowl, beat lightly with a fork, then add a little at a time to the butter mixture, beating continuously. (If it curdles, add a little flour.) You can most certainly drink the mahogany-coloured liquor here, but I really make these marinated fruits as a little extra, something to serve alongside chocolate mousse or milky panna cotta. Put the granulated sugar into a medium-sized stainless-steel saucepan and add the maple syrup, white wine and aniseed. Cut half the figs in two, then put them into the pan. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and let the figs simmer for 20 minutes until soft and plump, and bloated with wine.Put the apricots into a stainless-steel saucepan. Using a vegetable peeler, slice thin strips of zest from the orange and drop them into the pan. Add the star anise, brandy and sugar and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Mary Berry says you need 675g of paste to cover the top and sides of the cake. My love of marzipan requires a slightly more generous layer. It takes 300g of almond paste to ice the top of a 20cm round cake. Less if you want a thin layer. The sides take a further 500g. Only you know how much you like almond paste. needle, into the centre. It should come out with just a few crumbs attached to it, no trace of raw cake mixture. Take the cake out of the oven and leave to cool before removing it from the tin. dried and vine fruits, the brandy and citrus zest and juice. Now mix the baking powder and flour together and fold them lightly into the mix. Slowly mix in the ground almonds, toasted hazelnuts and all the dried and vine fruits, the brandy and citrus zest and juice. Now mix the baking powder and flour together and fold them lightly into the mix. Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the top gently, and put it into the oven.

You will need a deep, 20cm-diameter round cake tin with a removable base, lined with lightly buttered baking parchment. I shall make a post each day and we can share our thoughts and feelings on the days recipes, sentiments and indeed Dear Old Nige himself. Let them rest for 5 minutes. Serve them with the vanilla ice cream. 12 November: A pot roast partridge Partridge does it for me. Expensive without being prohibitive, neat, lean and sweet-fleshed, they have a sense of jollity to them that I suspect comes from the carol. (There are no songs about a guinea fowl.)Covering the top: Roll out the remaining almond paste with a rolling pin on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Using the base of the cake tin as a template, cut a disc of paste that fits the top of the cake. Place the second sheet of pastry over the filling then press the edges of the two pieces of pastry firmly together to seal. It is important that they are well sealed, otherwise your filling will leak. Brush the top layer of pastry all over with the beaten egg, scatter with the nigella or sesame seeds then pierce a small hole in the centre with knife or the handle of wooden spoon. Place in the oven, the baking sheet on top of the hot, upturned one, and bake for 40 minutes till golden brown. fluff, cut the dried fruits into small pieces,removing the hard stalks for the figs. Break the eggs into a small bowl, beat lightly with a fork, then add a little at a time to the butter mixture, beating continuously. (If it curdles, add a little flour.) Making the paste: I make my own almond paste in a deep, wide mixing bowl, my biggest in fact. This is because no matter how careful I am, the icing sugar, when sifted, tends to fly everywhere. I do sift the sugar too.