8 Desserts You Have to Try ...

1. Pistachio Macaroons with White Chocolate Ganache

This is not so much a dessert as an amazing biscuity treat. Serve them with coffee as the ideal end to a stylish dinner. The combination of sweet, creamy chocolate, crisp biscuit and chewy nut fragments is just so good. They’re the ideal combination of rich and light, and the variety of textures is absolutely perfect. Divine!

2. Chocolate Crème Brûlée

This is an exceptionally decadent take on the traditional dessert recipe and it really is as good as it sounds, ladies. That said, it is also unbelievably rich so if you’re thinking of serving it, keep the meal light. You might also want to open up your schedule for the next day; trust me, you’ll be keen to spend a good long time at the gym!

3. Cream Cheese and Dark Chocolate Brownies

This recipe is pretty popular nowadays, ladies, and for good reason. These great chocolatey treats include a slice of cream cheese either in the centre or laid on their surface. The result, in either case, is a brownie that manages not to be too cloyingly sweet. The cream cheese is sharp and clean tasting and combats the sickly sweetness that is always the danger of any brownie recipe. Serve traditional style with a scoop of ice cream or go for a dollop of delicious crème fraiche.

4. White Chocolate and Macadamia Blondies

These are basically brownies without the darker chocolate and for my favourite variation I must give credit to Nigella Lawson. Using white chocolate and macadamia nuts, her recipe results in that perfect soft, almost chewy texture that you absolutely want with a brownie, but it’s also not utterly achingly sweet. Take care to use only good quality white chocolate. The cheaper stuff will simply curdle in a strange way when you try to melt it.

5. Chocolate Tart with Sweet Chocolate Pastry

This is literally the ultimate in chocolate indulgence. It’s not for the slimmers among you either: most recipes use almost two pints of double cream and the best part of half a kilo of dark chocolate. For this reason, it’s not exactly cheap to make, so best save it for a special occasion. I’d strongly suggest you don’t serve it with ice-cream, girls: it’s simply too sweet. For a cleaner flavour, go for crème fraiche or simply enjoy as is.

6. Sticky Toffee Pudding and Real Vanilla Custard

Moist, dense and tooth-achingly sweet: sticky toffee pudding is the ultimate in comfort food. I love this dessert in winter to round off a warming supper – in fact, add a dash of whiskey to the syrup to maximise that well-fed glow. For best results, make your own custard. Shop-bought variations are almost never as good.

7. Apple and Blackberry Crumble with Double Cream

Yum! That pretty much sums this one up, ladies. I love cooked apples and the meltingly delicious berries. The smooth, yielding texture of the fruit against the soft crumbliness of the crumble is just divine. Douse liberally in cream to finish it off and don’t forget to add some delicious dessert spices to the fruity underlay.

8. Eton Mess

Eton Mess is not as well known as pavlova but, to me, it’s just so much better. It’s basically a combination of crushed meringue, sweetened vanilla cream (beaten till thick), berry pulp and whole berries. These ingredients are layered together immediately before serving and the result is absolutely heavenly. Ideal to finish off a late summer supper, this is a civilised, sweet and surprisingly light favourite of mine.

So there we have it, girls: 8 desserts you have to try. This is a list of my favourites; what are yours? Let me know; I’d love to compare notes!

Top Photo Credit: yomi955