In his exquisite The French Menu Cookbook, Richard Olney has clear ideas and strong opinions about everything, including dessert. He believed that rich desserts should follow only the simplest of meals, whereas with most menus (meaning all the sophisticated menus in his book), something light, airy and playful is best. His suggestions read like a summer fruit poem: peach melba, apple mousse with peaches, apricot fritters dusted with icing sugar, strawberries in sweetened orange juice, strawberries in beaujolais, strawberry mousse with raspberry puree, iced cherries and fresh almonds. One of his late summer/early autumn menus also suggests fresh figs with raspberry cream (figues à la crème framboise), which is both fun to make (the red puree streaking through the cream for a raspberry ripple) and to eat.

An airy and playful pudding calls for an airy and playful biscuit. What better than lingue di gatto, or cat tongues, so called because of their flat, elongated shape. Made from butter, sugar, flour, and egg whites, lingue di gatto are not complicated to make, but do require a piping bag, which can be mimicked by a zip-lock bag – just remember to scrape the mixture into the bag first, and only snip the end off when you are ready to pipe.

This recipe is from Italian pastry chef Iginio Massari’s Non solo zucchero [Not Only Sugar] Volume 1, an invaluable step-by-step guide to short pastry, sponge cakes, butter masses, creams, cream puffs and meringues aimed at professional pastry chefs, but just as suitable (and revelatory) for enthusiastic but chaotic pastry cooks like me.

There are various ways to serve this pudding. Olney suggests a large serving dish, which, considering his warning never to put tomato dishes on a red plate or those including spinach on a green one, should not be pink. Olney arranges the chilled fig slices first, then pours the raspberry cream over the top, which baffles me slightly, because the cream is so thick. An alternative is serving in individual bowls, saucers or glasses: a spoonful of the raspberry cream first, then topping it with a small pile of fruit (figs, the whole raspberries you’ve set aside, plus redcurrants and mint leaves). The cat tongue biscuits can be stuck in the cream like fairy wings, put on the side of the plate, or passed around the table on a separate plate so everyone can help themselves.

Serves 8

4-6 ripe figs (pale green or dark purple)
250g raspberries, washed
250ml whipping cream
1-2 tbsp icing sugar
A few redcurrants
A few mint leaves

For the biscuits
50g soft butter
60g icing sugar
3 egg whites (50g)
60g plain flour, sifted
30g flaked almonds

Put the softened butter and icing sugar in a bowl, and use a spatula to mix them together. Fold in the egg whites, before adding the sifted flour and mixing again.

Scrape the mixture into a pastry bag with a smooth 10mm nozzle (or a zip-lock bag you can snip the corner from). On a baking tray lined with baking paper, squeeze out lines that are 10cm long, ensuring you leave 4cm between each one. Top each one with three or four almonds, then bake at 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5 for about eight minutes, until golden. Leave to cool a little before lifting on to a cooling rack.

It is up to you whether you peel the figs before you slice each one into four; chill. Set aside half of the raspberries, then press the rest through a fine sieve for a smooth, bright-red puree. Whip the cream until stiff, then stir in the icing sugar to taste and the raspberry puree for a mottled effect.

Divide the cream between four individual bowls or glasses, top with wedges of fig and a few raspberries, plus some redcurrants and mint leaves. Serve with the biscuits.