Rosie says: “My friend Jess, a gorgeous all-American gal, made me my first ever Chocolate Cream Pie and I was forever hooked. It’s basically a cheesecake crust filled with a thick, moussey chocolate custard and then topped with whipped cream. I love how unashamedly indulgent it is. This makes a large pie – enough to do 12 people – but it keeps really well, and trust me when I say you would be sad if you didn’t have leftovers. Coffee is great here because it makes the whole thing taste really intensely chocolatey and the cardamom is a lovely background spice to lift and refine the flavours. For slicing this, heat your knife! I dip mine in hot water, then carefully dry it off – this will get you the best clean cuts.”

Serves 12

Ingredients

For the base:

• 250g (9oz) digestive biscuits (graham crackers)
• 250g (9oz) speculoos cookies, such as Lotus Biscoff
• 5 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
• 170g (¾ cup) butter, melted

For the filling:

• 4 egg yolks
• 175g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) caster (superfine) sugar
• 40g (scant ⅓ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
• 500ml (generous 2 cups) whole milk
• 250ml (generous 1 cup) double (heavy) cream
• 200g (7oz) dark (bittersweet) chocolate, chopped
• pinch of salt
• ½ tsp instant coffee powder
• ½ tsp ground cardamom (optional)
• 2 tbsp cold butter, diced

For the topping:

• 300ml (1¼ cups) double (heavy) cream
• 3 tbsp icing (confectioners’) sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)
• 2 tbsp whole milk

Make ahead: 

• You can make the biscuit base up to 1 day before you fill it.
• You can make the chocolate custard and fill the base up to 1 day before you serve it.
• Whip the cream and top the pie up to 2 hours before serving, keeping in the fridge until needed.

Substitutions:

• If you don’t want to use dairy, sub out the cream, milk and butter for plant-based alternatives.
• If you don’t like the idea of cardamom or coffee, use ground cinnamon or even a splash of amaretto for a nutty finish.

Scaling:

• You can halve this recipe for a smaller pie, it will fit well in a deep 18cm (7in) springform tin.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C/400°F/Gas 6).

Crush the biscuits and cookies to a fine crumb, either in a food processor or by bashing them with a rolling pin in a sandwich bag (my preferred, stress-relieving method). Mix the crushed biscuits with the sugar and melted butter in a bowl until they are the texture of wet sand.

Take a deep 23cm (9in) springform cake tin and invert the base, then cover it with a circle of baking parchment that is a couple of centimetres (one inch) larger. Close the tin with the covered upside-down base inside it and the parchment sticking out of the sides underneath – this makes it easier to get the dessert off the base when it is finished and easier to remove the paper, too.

Tip nearly all the crumb mixture into the tin, saving 3 tablespoons or so back. Use the back of a spoon to press the mixture into the base of the tin and part-way up the sides – I like the uneven line that you get by doing this. It won’t reach all the way to the top but it should make a pretty thick, sturdy base – you want about 2cm (3/4in) thickness on the bottom and 1cm (½ in) thickness on the sides. Use some of the mix you set aside to help build up the sides if they need it. When you are happy with the state of the base, pop the tin in the preheated oven for 10 minutes to bake, then remove and leave to cool completely.

To make the filling, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a large bowl to make a thick paste. Heat the milk and double cream together in a large saucepan until just steaming, then pour this over the egg-yolk mix, whisking well to combine. Return the hot milk and egg mix to your saucepan over a low-medium heat. The dessert needs your full attention at this point – so do not walk away now! Switch your whisk for a spatula and keep stirring gently, checking there isn’t any mixture sticking and overcooking at the bottom of the pan. Eventually all the bubbles on the top will disappear and it will start to thicken; this should take about 10 minutes. As the mixture thickens, switch back to a whisk to avoid any lumps. As soon as the mixture is thick and gently bubbling, remove it from the heat. You just made a crème pâtissière!

Add the chopped chocolate, salt, coffee powder, and cardamom and whisk to combine. The chocolate will melt and turn your crème pat into a glossy, chocolate delight. Finally, beat in the butter until fully melted and combined to make it extra silky. Pour the crème pâtissière into the base of your tin and smooth it out a bit if you like, then cover the surface with cling film (plastic wrap) to prevent a skin from forming. Pop it back into the fridge to set for at least 6 hours. Make sure your fridge doesn’t smell before you do this – if your housemate has left half an onion in there uncovered, or you’ve got some leftover fish curry hanging around, your pie will taste like it – so be very careful to keep your fridge clean and stinky things well contained. Nothing worse than a pudding tasting like old fridge IMHO.

When it’s time to serve, gently release your pie from the tin and transfer to a plate, sliding it off the base too (if you’re brave), but don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t – it will still taste and look great! Whip the cream, icing sugar, vanilla and milk together to super soft peaks – you want the cream to just be leaving thick ribbons on its surface, not even peaking really.

Top the pie with the cream, then sprinkle over the leftover biscuit base. Serve immediately!

Rosie says: “A hot sponge with custard is a very British thing I think. Steamed ones are particularly good but long-winded, so here we use a fairly standard cake batter baked on top of another very British thing – marmalade. The marmalade provides a sharp, sweet sauce for our sponge, but I recommend serving this with LOTS of hot custard for ultimate school-dinner nostalgia.”

Serves 6–8 generously

Ingredients

• 700g (1½ lb) marmalade
• finely grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange
• 250g (1¼ cups) golden caster (superfine) sugar
• 180g (¾ cup + 2 tsp) butter, at room temperature
• 250g (1¾ cups + 2 tbsp) self-raising flour
• large pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste or
• vanilla extract (optional)
• 80ml (⅓ cup) whole milk
• 4 medium eggs
• custard or double (heavy) cream, to serve

Make ahead: 

• You can make and bake the sponge up to 2 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. When you want to eat it, let the sponge come to room temperature before reheating.

Substitutions:

• Go wild with your marmalade options here – the possibilities are endless! Jam (jelly) would also work beautifully.
• Spice your sponge in any way you like – I used just vanilla but cinnamon or cardamom would be delicious, and even some fresh ginger grated in too.

Scaling:

• Halve the recipe easily to serve 4. The recipe is easily increased too, however, it is best not to bake a large batch in one larger dish, or it will take forever to cook – split the mix across several dishes instead.

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C fan (190°C/375°F/Gas 5).

Spoon the marmalade into the bottom of a 23cm x 28cm (9 x 11in) baking dish. Add 50ml (31/2 tablespoons) of boiling water and the orange juice to it and stir well to combine. Set aside while you make the sponge.

Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy; this should take around 2 minutes in a stand mixer or using a handheld electric whisk.

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl, then set aside. Mix the vanilla, milk and orange zest together in another bowl and set aside.

Add the eggs, one at a time, to the creamed sugar and butter, mixing well with the electric whisk with each addition. If the mixture looks at all split, add 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture.

When all the eggs are incorporated, add a third of the flour mixture and mix well, followed by a third of the milk mixture. Alternate until all the milk and flour mixtures have been incorporated and you have a smooth, fluffy cake batter.

Spoon the batter into the dish over the marmalade, aiming for a relatively even distribution. The marmalade will come up the sides of the batter but don’t worry – when it cooks it sinks and the sponge rises. Pop into the preheated oven to bake for 45–50 minutes, until the middle of the sponge is springy and a skewer inserted (not as far down as the marmalade) comes out clean. If the top is getting too dark, cover it with foil.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately or keep the pud warm until needed. Or, if baking ahead, leave to cool and then reheat covered tightly in foil in the oven for 20 minutes at 160°C fan (180°C/350°F/Gas 4). Serve with hot custard or cold cream.

Rosie says: “An absolutely golden piece of pub quiz knowledge that I will give you for free is that tiramisu means ‘pick me up’ in Italian. And if that isn’t appropriate for a date-night menu then I don’t know what is. It is an iconic pudding because it’s impressive but, in the same breath, kind of low key… It’s sponge fingers dipped in cold coffee and covered with cream cheese at the end of the day. I just really love a little sexy pudding moment on a date, something to get the pulse racing and sweeten up that potentially garlicky breath. Tiramisu is it!”

Serves 2, with leftover for the morning after 

Ingredients

• 180ml (¾ cup) fresh strong coffee or espresso, cooled – I like to use espresso powder for this
• 3 egg yolks
• 80g (scant ½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
• 350g (1½ cups) mascarpone
• 1 ½ tbsp marsala
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 175g (6oz) sponge fingers (you might not need them all)
• 2 tbsp dark cocoa powder

Make ahead: 

• I strongly recommend you make this the day before, it will set nicely and the flavours will mingle together in the fridge beautifully overnight. Having said that, here comes my age old warning to make sure your fridge isn’t stinky – it can and will affect the flavour of your pud.

Substitutions:

• If you’re worried about staying up all night (for the wrong reason), then use decaf coffee.
• The booze can be left out completely or play with it – Kahlua, Frangelico and Amaretto would all go beautifully with the coffee.

Scaling:

• For 4–6 people, double the recipe and use a 30cm x 20cm (12 x 8in) dish. For 8–10 people, tripling the recipe would mean using 1.05kg (2lb 6oz) of mascarpone, which is a bit of an annoying amount, so I’ve tested it with just 1kg (2lb 4oz) and it works perfectly. You may need extra soaked sponge fingers for the top layer, so increase that by ½ for each doubling of the recipe.

Method

Make your coffee or espresso first and then leave it to cool. Espresso powder is great for this as it has a much stronger flavour.

Pop the egg yolks into a bowl with the sugar and whisk with a hand-held electric whisk for about 5 minutes until the mix is thick, glossy and very pale. Add the mascarpone and Marsala and whisk again until smooth. Give your beaters a little rinse and dry.

In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then use a metal spoon to fold them into the mascarpone mix. You will end up with a lovely thick and floofy (a technical term) cream.

Mix the cooled coffee with the rum in a separate dish. Take each sponge finger and dip it into the coffee mixture for around 4 seconds, then transfer to a 22cm x 16cm (8½ x 6¼in) dish. Lay the soaked sponge fingers side by side in your dish – you will need roughly 6 for the first layer. Spoon about half of the mascarpone cream on top and level out with a spatula.

Using a sieve, dust the top generously with cocoa powder – you want a nice, thick coverage. Repeat the layering process with the second round of sponge fingers, although you might need a couple more this time – the dish will be slightly wider at the top. Pop the remaining mascarpone over the top and smooth out again but DO NOT dust with cocoa yet. The cocoa will bleed too much in the fridge as it sets and it won’t look good when you reveal it. Cover the tiramisu in cling film (plastic wrap) and pop in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to serve, remove it from the fridge and dust with cocoa powder. Use a knife and a spatula to get a couple of nice wedges out, or don’t even bother, just give your date a spoon and dive in together.