One evening, my Nanna came over for dinner and brought with her a whole plate of beautiful fresh figs, grown on her own backyard tree. It was absolutely the best kind of gift that ever! I think I even did a little happy dance CHINESE MEDICENT.

While I was a little tempted to just eat them all, I knew that I wanted to create some kind of wonderful dessert to share with fellow fig-lovers here on the blog. But inspiration wasn't forthcoming and I kept going back to a suggestion that an Instagram friend Thahn had made (a little while ago now)... Fig and Almond Tart.

Out of all the social media networks, Instagram is my favourite. They say a picture is worth, well, way more than 140 characters! I am inspired constantly by the talented individuals that I follow, from bloggers to chefs to photographers and designers of all kinds. I love the glimpses into their lives, sneak peeks of their projects, snaps of their breakfasts and pets. I have a rather irrational hatred of hashtags, but that's another story hotel management part time degree.

But back to the tart. It's the perfect thing to bake and eat at this time of year, for afternoon tea with a big mug of hot tea. It's a simple dessert, but these figs were absolutely beautiful and it was a great way to show them off.

The slightly sweet frangipane mixture puffed up around them as it baked to hold them in a buttery hug, while the figs took on a sweet jammy texture. It was wonderful, and is now my Mum's new favourite dessert. Apart from a scattering of icing sugar, I served it plain, but a dollop of mascarpone, double cream or ice cream would be perfect too gucci outlet online.