Gooseberries require a little patience. Firm, pale and stubbornly sour, they don’t offer the easy sweetness of other berries, but give them something warm and soft to lean against, and watch them shine. Almond cream feels a natural companion: gently sweet and tender, cushioning the sharpness without dulling it. Baked in muffin tins, these small pies feel informal yet generous, plus all the components can be made up to three days ahead and assembled just before baking.

Individual gooseberry and almond pies

For the gooseberry compote
350g frozen or fresh gooseberries
70g caster sugar
Pared peel from 1 small unwaxed lemon
Scraped seeds from ½ vanilla pod

For the almond cream
125g room-temperature unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 small unwaxed lemon
¼ tsp fine sea salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100g ground almonds
30g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp almond extract

Put the flour, icing sugar, salt and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter, and pulse again until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Lightly whisk the egg, then weigh out 30g of it (save the rest for another use) and add this to the processor with two teaspoons of cold water. Pulse until the mix just comes together into a dough, then turn out on to a lightly floured work surface and gently shape into a ball. Wrap loosely in clingfilm, press into a flat disc and refrigerate for about an hour (and up to three days).

Meanwhile, put the gooseberries, sugar, lemon peel, vanilla seeds and empty half-pod in a small saucepan on low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat slightly, leave to simmer for six to eight minutes, until the fruit starts to collapse and the juices turn lightly syrupy, then take off the heat and leave to cool. (If using fresh gooseberries, add a tablespoon or two of water to loosen, if need be.)

Lightly brush a 12-hole muffin tin with melted butter and dust with a little flour, tapping out the excess. Roll the chilled pastry to 2-3mm thick, then use a 10-11cm round cutter to stamp into 12 circles (re-roll the pastry offcuts, if necessary). Gently ease the circles into the muffin cups, pressing them in gently to fit, then chill for about an hour.

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Line the pastry cases with baking paper or cupcake liners, fill with baking weights (I use raw rice) and blind bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove the liners and weights, and leave to cool in the tin.

For the almond cream, beat the butter, sugar, lemon zest and salt with the paddle attachment until pale and creamy. Turn down the speed to low and gradually add the beaten egg – the mixture may look curdled at this stage, but it will come together after the dry ingredients are added. Mix in the ground almonds, flour and almond extract, until smooth.

Spoon about 40g of the almond cream into each pastry case in the tin, to fill them by two-thirds. Top with about 30g of the gooseberry compote, scatter with flaked almonds and bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and just set. Remove, leave to cool briefly, then carefully lift the pies out of the tin and transfer to a rack. Dust lightly with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature with softly whipped cream or creme fraiche.