How to make earl grey-poached dried fruit

With soft fruits just out of reach, Julia Platt Leonard reaches for an easy store-cupboard sweet

(All photos Julia Platt Leonard)

April is a month of transitions. On the vegetable front, wild nettles, early radishes, the first spears of asparagus and jersey royals all make an appearance.

For fruit, there is rhubarb of course, but soft fruits like strawberries are still tantalisingly in the future.

So when it comes to fruit, it’s the ideal time to raid the kitchen cupboards and find some dried fruit for poaching.