I tested one of those buffet dishes, an almond cake that any 8-year-old can do.

For dessert, there's a wonderful almond cake with - you guessed it - sliced figs.

Aside from a good buttery almond cake, most of the desserts are not worth the guilt.

A genoise is not the same thing as a pain de Gênes, which is an almond cake.

One is of a baker fulfilling an order for an almond cake by a few tourists at his bakery in the 1920s.

Also appealing are felt slippers (€6/£5) and almond cakes (from €1/84p upwards).

A buttery almond cake with lemon curd baked inside, however, is alone worth the cover price.

It could clean up the sweetness of a rich almond cake.

There was fruit and an almond cake and a plate of tiny dolci.

The last time was on a rainy day just before final exams when we shared a marvelous slice of almond cake together.