Dates

This decadent chocolate coffee cake layered with vanilla mascarpone cream piled high with sweet syrupy marsala-soaked dates is almost too beautiful to eat. Almost.

If you have an electric pressure cooker you won’t need to reduce the heat to stabilise pressure, your cooker will automatically stabilise itself. Always check with the manufacturer’s instructions before using. Recipe not suitable to freeze. Note

You need six 30cm (12-inch) squares of unbleached calico and six 1m (1 yard) lengths of kitchen string. Note

This pudding recipe is suitable to freeze. Note

Top puddings with a slice of glacé orange. It is available from gourmet and health-food stores. If the six 30cm squares of unbleached calico have not been used before, soak them in cold water overnight. The next day, boil them for 20 minutes then rinse in cold water. Puddings can be cooked in two boilers […]

Rice paper is a fine, edible paper; contrary to popular belief, it is not actually made from rice, but from the pith of a small tree that grows in Asia. Rice paper can be found in specialist-food stores and some delicatessens. Note