Chocolate Dessert

To start off, you need to make two lots of biscuit dough, one flavoured with vanilla, the other with cocoa. For the vanilla dough, mix one batch of flour, icing sugar, butter and salt with the seeds from the vanilla pod and rub together.

Work the mixture until it warms slightly and turns to a firm dough.
For the chocolate dough, mix a second batch of flour, icing sugar, butter and salt, only this time replace 25g flour with 25g cocoa. Work together in the same way.

Line the base of two round 18cm sponge cake tins with a disc of nonstick paper and heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted)/350F/gas mark 4. Meanwhile, get on with the cake mix – melt the chocolate, then beat in the oil, cream, sugar, honey and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir together the cocoa, flour and baking powder, and sift in. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for around 25 minutes, until a skewer pulls out with just a few crumbs sticking to it.

Line the base of an 18cm square tin with nonstick paper, pat the vanilla dough evenly into it, then flip it out on to a worksurface. Repeat with the chocolate dough, then lightly brush water on top of one sheet of dough and squarely lay the other on top of it. Use a rolling pin to seal, then cut into thirds.

Brush each third lightly with water and stack in alternating chocolate and vanilla layers. Wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Cut lengthways into 1cm slices, moisten again and stack alternately in layers. Wrap and chill once more, then cut into 0.5cm chequerboard slices. Lay on a tray lined with nonstick baking paper and bake at 160C (140C fan-assisted)/320F/gas mark 2½ for 20-25 minutes, until crisp and barely golden.

While the cakes are warm, make the syrup by stirring the icing sugar and vanilla with 25ml boiling water. Prick the cake tops, spoon over the syrup and leave to cool in the tin, covered with paper or clingfilm.


For the frosting, melt the chocolate and butter, stir in the honey, bourbon and sifted icing sugar, leave until cool, then beat in the sour cream. When the mixture firms slightly, beat again, sandwich the cakes together with it and spread the rest over the top and sides.

For the mousse, briskly stir the egg whites and sugar over a gentle heat until about to set and piping hot (this kills any bugs), then whisk to a thick, light meringue.

Melt the chocolate, stir in the brandy and boiling water, fold in the meringue, spoon into ramekins, cover and chill to set. Serve with the biscuits for dunking.