Summer has certainly ended. I find myself strolling through the crisp and foggy mornings, with a woolly hat atop my head. I am craving ladles of steaming tomato soup for lunch, and watching my breath as I speak in the cold air. Autumn is undoubtedly my favourite season. I love the chill. I love being bundled in blankets next to a delicious fire, staring out of the window at the grey. I love walks adorned with the reds and the golds and the rusts of the changing leaves. I love long wintry Sundays, baking comforting treats whilst the rain hammers on the roof. And that, is what I have for you today; a recipe drawn up as I pottered about my kitchen last Sunday.

A sticky, cinnamon coffee cake jewelled with dates and pecans. Enjoy big slabs washed down with piping swigs of tea and you have yourself, at least in my opinion, a perfect autumn afternoon.