These cakes are outrageously rich. Buy the best chocolate you can afford, as it will make a huge difference to the flavour. A word of warning: do make sure that your microwave is on the lowest setting and that you stir the chocolate every 10 seconds, as it can burn so...
A rich, indulgent dessert which shows a little quirkiness. It also feels a bit restauranty, so you may want to save it for when you have guests. On the other hand, you may feel as if you deserve it yourself, so go ahead. The muesli is actually crossed with a kind of...
Soaking prunes in brandy (we like to use Somerset cider brandy) makes this a great dinner party dessert, and it can be made the day before. Serve it with good-quality vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche. If you want to add a further touch, soak a few more prunes, say...
A very bad dessert, almost an overload of naughtiness, if there is such a thing. We have included cocoa nibs, which are roasted cacao beans; they are quite bitter, yet have a deep chocolate flavour that helps to give the base an intriguing taste. As there is no baking...
This is an amazing dessert; however, with this recipe you are entering a chef’s world: using caramel and roasting white chocolate. Those of you who have worked with chocolate before will know that it does not like extreme heat. However, the results are quite...
Scone-making requires a gentle touch. Any heavy handling will result in flat, dense scones, because it risks overworking the protein (gluten) in the flour and that makes the scones tougher.Don’t be a slave to this recipe; if you want to use dark chocolate, or to...
As the story goes, Solange Luyon (or Sally Lunn from an English tongue) was a young French Huguenot refugee who fled to Bath in the late 17th century and began baking the brioche-like buns that became her namesake. They’re very delicious and should be eaten the day...
Browning the butter first gives the filling a flavour which is rather intriguing, while adding the vanilla at this browning stage produces a more pronounced taste, too. We use some spelt flour in the cake batter as it gives a delicious background nuttiness which...
This recipe uses buckwheat flour, which is gluten-free (despite the deceptive name), making it a great cake for anyone with gluten intolerance. Pears have a delicate flavour, so it’s best to buy them ahead of when you want to bake and let them ripen in a fruit bowl,...
Parsnips may seem an odd ingredient for a cake but, if you think about it, they are actually quite sweet; we don’t bat an eyelid at carrots in a cake. We pair parsnips here with malty Horlicks and toasted hazelnuts. You could add a more formal touch by serving the...
