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120g ground almonds

120g caster sugar

120g butter or margarine

60g self-raising flour

2 eggs

5ml almond essence

Bakewell Flapjack

The Coffee Loft always has a great selection of homemade sweet treats to choose from and this recipe, from Coffee Loft manager Ben, combines two British classics - the oaty delights of flapjack and almondy loveliness of a Bakewell tart.

Makes 9 Generous Squares

450g porridge oats

250g butter or margarine

250g golden syrup

100g demerara sugar

100g strawberry jam

30g flaked almonds

25g icing sugar

1 Grease and line 1 x 23cm square cake tin.

2 Stir 250g butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan on a medium heat until melted, then add the oats and stir well.

3 Pour into tin, spread evenly and cook for 20-25 mins at 180C.

4 While the flapjack is cooking, beat together the ground almonds, caster sugar, 120g butter, eggs and almond essence in a cake

Gardening tips

mixer, until light and fluffy.

5 When the flapjack is out of the oven and still warm, spread the strawberry jam over the top followed by the cake mix then sprinkle with flaked almonds.

Get your garden looking gorgeous for the summer months and beyond, with these top tips from Michael, our garden department manager.

• Perennials can be trimmed by up to half their height in early July to delay flowering and extend the season (the ‘Hampton Court Hack’ - so called as it is around the time of the famous flower show).

• Wisterias should be pruned twice a year (July/August and then January/February) to encourage reliable flowering. For the summer prune, cut back long new growth to around 5 or 6 leaves up the stems.

• If you didn’t feed your lawn in the spring, there is still a chance to do so (but not after August because the higher nitrogen content is not suitable in autumn). Bear in mind that the fertiliser needs to watered in, so this is best done before rain is expected.

6 Cook for 20 mins or so until lightly golden and the fork comes out of the sponge clean.

7 Sprinkle with icing sugar to decorate when cool and cut into squares.

• During late summer it is still possible to sow seeds of quickgrowing salad crops such as lettuce, radish, rocket and sorrel and then later (in September) crops like spinach, turnip and winter lettuce.

• Looking forward to 2024, bulbs and corms planted in autumn will bring colour to your garden in the spring and will be available to buy from August onwards - keep a lookout for your favourites and new varieties.