It’s not a fluffy, aerated type mousse, but a rich, solid one that I swear is a smooth as silk. The secret ingredient, which I defy anyone to identify if they’re not in the know, is olive oil — yes, that’s right: olive oil.

This recipe calls for Cointreau or Grand Marnier, but I think other liqueurs would work just as well, so I  plan to experiment with some different flavours next time round — a dirty job I know, but someone has to take one for the team!

Anyway, try it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients:
350g quality dark chocolate
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/4 cup orange liqueur

Method:

1. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, stirring constantly. You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave  — cook on high in 30-second bursts, stirring between cycles until chocolate is almost melted, then remove from the microwave and continue to stir until smooth. Set aside to cool.

2. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add yolks one by one, beating after each addition until well combined.

3. Add cooled melted chocolate to the egg mixture, beating as you go until mixture is smooth.

4. Gradually add olive oil and orange liqueur, beating as you go until well combined.

5. Spoon into small dessert glasses or dishes (or dainty teacups as a novelty serving idea) — you’ll only want very small servings, as it is decadently rich. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. Can be made the day before.

Serves 6.

If I had to pick my last meal, it would definitely have chocolate as an ingredient — and lots of it. Let’s face it; too much chocolate is barely enough!

One of my favourite winter ‘comfort food’ desserts is chocolate self-saucing pudding; an oldie but a goody. This one is an absolute corker — a coronary in every bowl!

Chocolate self-saucing pudding

Ingredients:
1 cup self-raising flour
1/4 cup cocoa, plus 2 tblspn extra
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
50g butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/4 cups boiling water

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius (160 degrees Celcius fan-forced).

2. Sift flour and cocoa together into a mixing bowl, then add caster sugar and choc chips and stir through.

3. Mix the melted butter and milk in a jug, then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir until combined and put into a greased ovenproof dish.

4. In a jug, combine boiling water, extra cocoa and brown sugar stir until combined. Pour over the cake batter — if you pour it over the back of a spoon, it won’t disturb the cake layer, giving a better-looking finished pudding.

5. Cook for about 45 minutes, depending on your oven. The pudding is cooked when the surface springs back when pressed lightly.

5. Let the pudding rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Transfer to bowls and top with cream or ice cream.

The cake has a German-style cake texture and is very moist, and because it contains buttermilk, it is quite moist and keeps well — that is, if there’s any left over at all!

You’ll find the recipe and detailed, illustrated instructions here on the Smitten Kitchen site.

I went looking for a recipe and, as is my usual practice, ended up combining a few recipes to make one that I was happy with — I hate doing that whole bain marie thing, so I wanted to be able to just cook it in the dish I was going to serve it in.

Here’s what I came up with and it turned out a triumph. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo, so we’ll just have to have it again so I can add a pic to this post. Ah well, a dirty job, but I don;t mind taking a hit for the team.

Ingredients
8 slices of stale bread (you can substitute croissants, brioche or panettone for the bread if preferred, but they are probably a bit too rich if you plan to serve the pudding with the caramel sauce below)
6 large eggs
350ml cream
250ml milk
Dash of vanilla (to taste)
1/3 cup sultanas
Castor sugar (add 1/4 cup of caster sugar to the custard mix for sweetness if you don’t plan to serve the pudding with the caramel sauce)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 195C. Grease a medium-sized baking dish (or line it with baking paper if it’s not a very sturdy dish to avoid it overcooking on the bottom and sides and then grease the paper). Lightly butter the bread slices on both sides.

2. Put eggs, cream, milk and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Add buttered bread slices to the mixture, pushing them doewn into the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for around 30 minutes until bread has absorbed some of the mixture.

3. Arrange half of the bread slices on the bottom of the dish, tearing slices where necessary to cover the base. sprinkle half of the sultanas over the bread slices, then pour over about one-third of the liquid. Add remaining bread slices in the same manner as before and sprinkle the remaining sultanas, pour over remaining liquid and dust with caster sugar.

4. Cook in the centre of the oven for 30-40 minutes until top is golden brown and the custard is firm. Serve with caramel sauce.

Caramel sauce

Melt 100g of butter in a saucepan. Add 1 1/3 cups of brown sugar and stir constantly until the sugar is melted and the mixture begins to caramelise.  Add 1 1/3 cups of cream slowly, stirring constantly over a low heat until the caramel sauce starts to thicken. Decant into a heatproof jug for serving.