Chocolate sauce
A thick, glossy chocolate sauce made from store-cupboard cocoa and milk, ready in under 10 minutes. Pour it hot over vanilla ice cream, or let it cool and spread it on cakes and puddings.
19 recipes that use cocoa powder, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Chocolate sauce, takes 9 minutes. It is most often cooked with butter, vanilla essence and milk.
Run out of cocoa powder? Drinking chocolate, same amount.
Got a few things in the fridge? Search by everything you have
A thick, glossy chocolate sauce made from store-cupboard cocoa and milk, ready in under 10 minutes. Pour it hot over vanilla ice cream, or let it cool and spread it on cakes and puddings.
Buttery cookies with chopped pistachios, crushed rice bubbles, coconut and a hint of chocolate, each topped with more pistachio. Crunchy outside and tender inside.
A chocolate pastry base topped with a chewy brown-sugar, coconut and mixed nut layer, then drizzled with dark chocolate and cut into squares. Rich and satisfying with a cup of coffee.
Pretty slice-and-bake butter biscuits with a chocolate and vanilla chequerboard in the middle, wrapped in a plain border. They take some patience to build, but the dough is simple and the result always impresses on a biscuit plate.
Soft-centred chocolate cookies with chopped roasted peanuts in the dough and more on top. Yogurt keeps them tender. A favourite with children.
A quick baked oat bar with coconut and a touch of cocoa and golden syrup, pressed thin and cut while warm. Crisp, buttery and very easy.
A chocolate cornflake base, a layer of peppermint icing (tinted green if you like), and a smooth topping of cooking chocolate. The book uses Scotbloc cooking chocolate; any plain cooking chocolate works.
An eggless coffee sponge made with condensed milk, split and soaked in a cocoa, coffee and brandy glaze, then filled and covered with vanilla whipped cream, flaked almonds and grated chocolate. A grand party cake; use brandy essence instead of brandy for an alcohol-free version.
A rich coffee and cocoa ring cake made moist with ground almonds and sour cream, spread with a coffee butter icing and toasted flaked almonds. Contains egg.
A small, moist chocolate cake made without eggs, using condensed milk and fresh orange juice and rind for a lovely chocolate-orange flavour. Serve with chocolate sauce.
A dark, moist eggless chocolate sponge, split and moistened with orange juice, filled and covered with whipped fresh cream, and finished with halved strawberries and grated chocolate. A show-stopping birthday cake.
An eggless, dark and spicy fruit loaf flavoured with cocoa, cinnamon and black treacle, with mixed nuts and dried fruit. It is brushed with brandy while warm and dusted with icing sugar. Serve in slices with fresh cream. Leave out the sherry and brandy for an alcohol-free loaf.
An eggless chocolate fudge icing made with butter, milk, cocoa and drinking chocolate. Coat the cake while the icing is still warm; it thickens as it cools and can also be piped.
A crunchy no-bake chocolate slice: crushed rich tea biscuits, cornflakes, rice krispies and shredded wheat, nuts and coconut are bound with cocoa, margarine and golden syrup, then covered with melted chocolate. It's sweet, crisp and chocolatey, like a homemade cereal bar. Makes about 50 fingers, ideal for parties and lunch boxes.
A modern layered barfi: a chewy base of dates, coconut, cornflakes, chocolate cereal and pistachio, a creamy top of condensed milk, cashews and almonds, and a marbled dark and white chocolate finish. It's rich, crunchy and silky all at once. Makes 35–40 rectangles; great for parties and gift boxes.
A crisp almond pastry case filled with a smooth chocolate mousse that's set with agar-agar instead of eggs or gelatine, so it's fully vegetarian. Light whipped cream is folded through and the tart is finished with chocolate curls. Serve chilled.
A smooth, rich chocolate mousse made without eggs or gelatine: milk, cocoa and dark chocolate are thickened with custard and set with agar-agar, then beaten with sweetened cream. It's silky, chocolatey and fully vegetarian. Serve cold, decorated with whipped cream and chocolate curls.
A frozen, Christmas-style pudding: a mould lined with vanilla ice cream and filled with chocolate ice cream rippled with rum-soaked dried fruit and nuts, then turned out and served in wedges with cinnamon whipped cream. It contains rum or brandy, and the book sets the fruit with gelatine, which is not vegetarian; the last steps give an agar-agar and an alcohol-free swap. Start it two days ahead.
A no-churn vanilla ice cream layered with home-made peanut crunch: roasted peanuts stirred into caramelised sugar, cooled and coarsely ground. It's creamy, crunchy and salty-sweet. Makes about 3 litres; the book also gives chocolate and cashew crunch versions.