Mary Berry’s Best Chocolate Desserts

How lovely to come home to this wonderful indulgent chocolate pudding with an even richer chocolate sauce. It's so simple to make, just throw everything into a bowl. Two large eggs, 125 grams of baking spread and caster sugar, 25 grams of cocoa powder, 100 grams of self-raising flour and some vanilla extract. So one teaspoon like that. Now with an electric hand mixer I'm going to bring it all together. It's all one chocolatey colour. Even if you never make puddings you've got to admit that's pretty easy. My simple trick for turning it out later is to butter the bowl and lay in a square of baking parchment. Just put dollopfuls one after another till you've got a clean bowl. Making puddings reminds me of being very young and helping. All one waited for was to get to the bowl before my brothers for a good lick. Cover with some pleated foil and it's ready to steam. I've got another nifty trick to help lift out the bowl later. If you get a bit of foil and then fold that in three, put that like that and then I can easily lift that over. Fill the pan so the water comes halfway up the pudding bowl and steam on a gentle simmer for an hour and three quarters. What? I hear you cry. Not enough chocolate? Well here's the simplest sauce I know. Heat 150 ml of milk and the same amount of double cream and break up 300 grams of dark chocolate. I have a husband who can find chocolate anywhere. You could call him a chocoholic. So I always have a secret supply in the drawer with my tights that I know I've always got some. When the cream and milk is bubbling at the edges, take it off the heat and then add all the chocolate at one go. Let it melt and voila. That will just pour over the pudding. There's plenty there for everybody. Even my husband. Now that pudding should be ready. There we are. My little handles will help. Fingers crossed. That's it. Oh I'm quite pleased with that. All it needs now is that hot chocolate sauce. Here goes. Looks a bit of all right doesn't it? My steamed chocolate pudding smothered in creamy chocolate sauce. Easy to make and even easier to eat. I don't think anyone could say no to this. It is absolutely beautiful. My first tip is not to butter the base of the tin. I've got non-stick paper, a bigger circle than the actual tin and I just put that in, fix it with the spring form and that won't move. It stays quite firm. This little trick will make it easy to serve later. Start by melting 135 grams of chocolate with 100 grams of butter and two tablespoons of golden syrup. Mix that together and because the chocolate's hot the butter will melt straight away and it gives it a great shine. What you can see is very luxurious. Now for the crunch. 165 grams of nice biscuits. Now these are not the digestive biscuits that we so often use and instead of bashing it with a rolling pin I'm just going to break it into little pieces like this. It's a bit like rocky road. Coat the biscuits with the melted chocolate. I want to keep nice chunky pieces and it's lovely when you come through the base of the mousse to have these little white pieces. Then I'm going to tip that into the base and then just spread that just up to the edge, not firmly up the sides. Smells lovely and chocolatey. Give it 30 minutes to chill. Now for the topping. Beware it makes an awful row. Whiz 180 grams of chocolate to a fine powder. Then gently pour in a light sugar syrup that's been brought to the boil. It will melt the chocolate instantly. That is absolutely perfect. It coats the back of the spoon just as I want it to be. And here's a real treat. Some velvety Irish cream liqueur. This is sheer luxury. There's four tablespoons. That's it. There are no eggs in this recipe. Instead fold the mix into some lightly whipped cream to create the mousse. A little at first. It's going in beautifully. That's it. Then the rest. Delicious. I'm just going to scrape down in there so we get every drop in. You can't have a bit of runny chocolate can you? And just go on folding that in until it's all one colour. The mousse is now ready to go onto the chilled base. Gently peel away the paper. Then put it back into the tin. A clever way to ensure the chocolate base doesn't stick when serving. So now ready to pour this lovely boozy mousse. It's going round like a ribbon. That's it. Chill in the fridge overnight. But if you're very eager to eat it just pop it in the freezer. That's it. Lift that up and then it will come off so easily. Look at that. Decorate with whatever you like. I'm using shop-bought truffles for a little glamour. Now for the finishing touch. This is an absolute knockout. Very decadent and something to have as a real treat. It's rich and indulgent and you're going to enjoy every single mouthful. This tart is so quick to make because the base is made with digestive biscuits instead of pastry. We often do digestive biscuit crusts but this one's got chocolate in it which makes it beautifully firm. Also makes it much easier to get off the base. Firstly melt 75 grams of butter and then add 50 grams of dark chocolate. It's got to the stage of just being runny. That's it. Not a lump inside. Add the smooth mixture to the crushed digestive biscuits and give it a good stir. Then I'm going to put it into the base of this flan tin. Then with a spoon just press it down all the way around and push it into each of these little indentations. That will help when it comes to turn it out. Pop the base into the fridge and while it chills start on the coffee and chocolate filling. Add 250 ml of double cream to 350 grams of dark chocolate and 50 grams of butter. Real butter no substitutes and then I've got some strong coffee. It's a heaped teaspoonful of coffee and a tablespoonful of hot water. There are a lot of very rich ingredients in there so when the time comes a small slice. Place the bowl over a pan of hot water and carefully melt to a smooth and creamy texture. Just look at that. It looks like a pair of shiny boots but always see your face in it. When it's cooled stir in 200 grams of creme fraiche and pour over the crunchy biscuit base. Sheer indulgence. Chill until the filling is firm and remove from the tin. Magic. Finally spoon on some whipped cream and finish with a sprinkle of delicate chocolate shavings. So that's my wonderful chocolate cappuccino tart. Such a treat and so indulgent. Who doesn't love a chocolate brownie? I've got the ultimate recipe here. It is very very rich, gooey in the middle. It's got a crust on top. It's very very good. All made in one bowl. This is a no mess, no fuss treat. Just pure indulgence. Start by melting 360 grams of dark chocolate with 225 grams of butter. Just go on pressing against the side, mixing that until it'll run smoothly. It's got a lovely shine to it. Then add 225 grams of light muscovado. It's the perfect sugar to give the brownies a really gooey centre. Then I'm going to add four beaten eggs. In it goes. I've done a lot of baking in my life and I find it's the thing that I go and do when I've got time on my hands. But most importantly of all, if you make good bakes, you're a friend of so many. That's perfect, absolutely smooth. Then in goes the self-raising flour, just 75 grams. You add it at the end because the chocolate was fairly warm and it wants to have cooled down. Beat that in and it wants to go in smoothly. That's beautifully smooth, no sign of any flecks of flour. A teaspoon of vanilla extract will add to those rich flavours. Vanilla and chocolate go very well together and it gives a really lovely flavour. Finally, 75 grams of dark chocolate chips. This is the perfect indulgent chocolate brownie and just to come across those few lumps of hard chocolate is lovely. No dividing up needed, simply pour into a greased lined tin, 30 by 23 centimetres. And if you think there's lumps in there, it's not, it's those chocolate chips. This gloriously gooey mix will need a little encouragement to make it level. Into the corner over here, that is perfect. Pop into an oven, 160 degrees fan, for about 45 minutes. I've been drawn in by the smell of chocolate and the time is up for the brownies. Just look at that, a perfect brownie. Should have that lovely shiny top. Don't worry about the odd crack, part of its charm. Wait for it to cool before sharing, it'll be worth it. This reminds me of feeding my husband Paul and our boys when they played cricket in the village. We wives would all do it together, it was all a social thing, great fun. So cut it into 24 and then just cut these across little pieces because it really is very, very rich. It's melt in the mouth, it couldn't be more chocolatey. Rich, gooey and totally irresistible, this is a treat that goes a long way, perfect for sharing. This really is the ultimate brownie. First of all I'm going to make the two sponges. I have five egg yolks in here, adding an extra egg at this stage helps to give volume. Add 75 grams of caster sugar and whisk until the mixture thickens to a lighter colour. That looks just about right, you see it's holding its shape a little. There's no flour in these sponges, instead I'm using 150 grams of ground almonds, followed by 180 grams of melted plain chocolate. Every scrap of chocolate going in there. At this stage the consistency is stiff, there is stiff but all one colour and the chocolate is well incorporated. Five whisked egg whites will make the sponges light as a feather. To begin with I'm just going to slacken it down with that. Now I'm going to add the rest of the egg white and gently fold that in so that the egg white can be the raising agent. Simply divide the mixture between two greased and lined 20 centimetre tins. A little bit more to come out, just make sure I don't waste any of it. They'll need 30 minutes in the oven 180 degrees fan. And now I'm going to make my sensational truffle mousse filling. Whizz up 180 grams of plain chocolate until it's finely chopped, almost like a powder. That's it. Add 150 ml of sugar syrup, simply sugar dissolved in boiling water. And while it's still hot, add the egg yolks. Because this is a treat, a tablespoon full of brandy or rum. Then quickly whizz it together. The heat of the syrup will cook the egg yolks. That's just perfect. This will now make a lovely chocolate mousse. All I've got to do is add the whipped cream. So I'm going to put a little in just to start with. That'll just slacken it down a bit. That's it. And then the rest in, in one go. Just fold it in fairly gently. If you're careful it keeps the air in. Look at that. Perfectly smooth, rich, creamy, chocolatey, hint of brandy. Right, the sponges have cooled and I've lined a deep 20 centimetre tin. It's time to layer up. Turn it over like that and just slip it in and then press it down quite firmly so that it touches the edges and none of this drips down the side. Now on goes this truffle mousse. Pour it in. Looks like velvet. On goes the top. Just slip that in carefully. Down it goes. Quite a tricky procedure but it does make it look very professional. A light dusting of cocoa powder but I'm not done yet. The mousse needs to set in the refrigerator minimum six hours or overnight before we serve it. Time for the big reveal. Now this really is exciting and I'm seeking perfection as you know for a very special occasion. There it is and you should see the beautiful filling around the outside and gosh there's a lot of filling and a little bit of that lovely cake. All that's needed are a few whipped cream rosettes around the edge and for the pièce de résistance some luxurious shop-bought truffle pieces. Well I'm pretty proud of that. I think it looks amazing and in our house chocolate is top favourite. My husband absolutely loves it and funnily enough he doesn't listen to everything I say but I've only got to say chocolate and he lights up. Let's see if it looks as good inside. Going through like butter. Wow. How's that for a slice? I'm not going to drop it. It is generous with truffle mousse and that beautiful moist sponge. Let's put it on the plate and see. Is it the mousse that I like best? Is it the cake? I like the lot. Absolutely delicious. That would be the star of any occasion.