This is my mum’s recipe for Marmite tart, which sounds kind of odd but is really delicious. It’s sort of a gourmet version of marmite and cheese on toast, I guess. By the time we could get a photograph half of it was eaten…

• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup and 1 ½ T melted butter
• ¼ cup grated cheddar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 free range egg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp Marmite

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix the flour and butter and then add the grated cheese. Mix together and then add the milk, salt and egg and beat to combine. Add the baking powder.

Pour into a greased pie dish and bake at 180C for 30 minutes.

Take the tart out of the oven and prick all over. Melt together the 1 ½ T butter and 1 tsp Marmite and pour over the warm tart.

I made this cake for my boyfriend’s birthday last year and this year. He loves dark chocolate, chilli and cakes that aren’t too sweet, so this is basically his ideal cake. The first time I made it exactly according to Dan Lepard’s recipe and it was a bit dry. I’ve increased the amounts of wet ingredients and this time round and the cake was perfect. I know the ingredients seem a bit strange – the tahini and salted nuts put me off initially – but they somehow all work together to make a intensely chocolatey, dense, moist cake.

I’ve made it with lime icing before, which is so delicious. The wonderful tartness of the fresh lime really complements the dark chocolate flavour. I couldn’t get hold of any limes the second time I made the cake so I used orange zest instead, and that worked well too.

• 200g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 75g cocoa
• 1½ tsp cinnamon
• 100g cashews
• 3 T tahini
• ¼-½ tsp chilli flakes
• 225g light muscovado or Demerara sugar
• 100g unsalted butter
• 100g dark chocolate
• 2 large free-range eggs
• 200ml cold full cream milk
• zest and juice of two limes or zest of two oranges

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4.

Line a round, 20cm tin with non-stick baking paper and grease the paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and cinnamon into a bowl.

Grind the nuts finely in a food processor, then add the tahini, chilli and sugar, and mix until combined.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan and add to the nut mixture along with the eggs. Beat until smooth. Spoon into another bowl, stir in the milk, sift in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Pour into the tin and bake for about an hour.

To make the icing you need:

• icing sugar
• luke warm water
• lime juice (fresh is the best)
• lime or orange zest (or both)

squeeze out the juice from two limes, and mix with icing sugar and the water until you get a thick paste.  I did not put quantities since you can make it as thick or thin as you like.  mix in a bit of lime or orange zest at this stage as well, before spreading the icing over the cake.  Whilst it is still wet, sprinkle some more zest on top.

I’ve been trawling the internet for the best and easiest chocolate cupcake recipe, and I think this is definitely it. Martha Stewart’s recipe for one-bowl chocolate cupcakes couldn’t be easier. A lot of cupcake recipes call for copious amounts of oil, but these use only three tablespoons of it, relying instead on yoghurt or buttermilk for moisture. Moist they are, and darkly chocolatey too.





Makes around 22 cupcakes.

• ¾ cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups caster sugar
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 large free range eggs
• ¾ cup warm water
• ¾ cup yoghurt or buttermilk
• 3 T canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the over to 180C. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

Sift together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix for about two minutes until smooth.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each two thirds full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tops spring back with touched with a knife.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before icing.

Simple icing:

• 2 cups sifted icing sugar
• 4 T melted butter
• 2 T milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and mix well until smooth. To make chocolate icing for some of the cupcakes, melt 3-4 blocks of dark (70% cocoa solids) chocolate with a teaspoon of butter, and mix into some of the vanilla icing.

I’ve tried to come up with a healthy(ish) chocolate brownie recipe and this is the result. It’s dark and chocolatey, not too sweet and not oily. I love chilli with everything, and of course it goes so well with dark chocolate. Here it gives the brownies a slight kick, but if you are afraid of heat you can leave it out. I’ve used Lindt dark chocolate here – try and use good quality dark chocolate, as it really makes a difference.

• 100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped roughly
• 120 g butter
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 4 free-range eggs
• 3 T agave nectar or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 100g chopped walnuts
• 10 pitted dates, chopped
• 3 T plain yoghurt

Melt the butter and the chocolate in the microwave on a low heat, stirring often so as not to overcook.  Mix well to combine, and then add the sugar. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla, agave or honey and yoghurt. Stir in the dates.

In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder and chilli powder. Fold into the wet mixture. Mix in the walnuts.

Pour into a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven at 180C for 40 minutes. Check that the brownies are done by inserting a toothpick into the centre. If it comes out clean, they are ready.