Chocolate simply makes everything better! From a decadent Italian hot chocolate to the best brownies you’ve ever tasted, here are some of my favourite ways to use it.
Chocolate mousse has never gone out of fashion because it simply tastes so good (and is so easy to make). The trick to good mousse is keeping it as light as possible, so when adding the egg white and cream gently fold it in without stirring more than necessary, better to have a slight unevenness […]
Barbajada This traditional Milanese drink is the best mocha you’ll ever taste. It was created in the mid-1800s by Domenico Barbaja, a waiter at Café Cambiasi next to Milan’s famous La Scala Theatre. Traditionally it’s made with equal quantities drinking chocolate, coffee and cream (or milk). My recipe is inspired by Alessandro Pavoni’s decadent version […]
This American classic is one of the easiest sweet treats to make. The recipe could be written in one sentence: melt butter and chocolate, whisk eggs and sugar, combine, fold in flour and bake. The most delicious brownies I’ve ever had were made by Scottish food writer Sue Lawrence; they contained fresh raspberries and inspired […]
Choux pastry seems daunting until you make it and realise just how easy it is. It can be used for a whole range of sweet and savoury recipes, but classic profiteroles with chocolate sauce is my favourite. Profiteroles can be filled with whipped cream or custard … but it’s hard to beat really good vanilla […]
This is my version of the delicious unbaked slice I discovered years ago on a road trip through Canada. It hails from the town of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, but is popular throughout the country. It’s a simple biscuit base with creamy custard-flavoured filling and chocolate ganache topping – and it’s irresistible! Nanaimo bars are […]
Chocolate mousse has never gone out of fashion because it simply tastes so good (and is so easy to make). For something a bit different, I developed this two-tone version … but use this recipe to make just one colour if you prefer. The trick to good mousse is keeping it as light as possible, […]
Tiramisu Desserts don’t get much easier than this delicious combination of coffee-dipped sponge biscuits layered with mascarpone lightened with beaten eggs. Meaning ‘pick me up’ in Italian, tira-mi-su is a relatively new creation, first appearing in Treviso (near Venice) in the 1960s. It’s a great dish to have in your repertoire as it doesn’t require […]
For me recipes, especially desserts, have to be quick and easy … and it doesn’t get much easier than this mocha self-saucing pudding. This is a grown-up pudding with a hearty shot of coffee in it to balances the sweetness – use boiling water instead if you prefer a sweeter version. Dutch-process (or Dutched) cocoa […]
