It was Valentine's Day yesterday, and the lovers among you may well be reading this post with a half-eaten box of chocolate truffles by your side.

I was taken aback yesterday when my daughter rang to ask whether the box of truffles she'd sent me had arrived. Having spent years in the Dordogne, I'd half-forgotten the existence of the chocolate variety and thought she'd bought a box of the Perigord's black diamonds.

Cue a few hours of fatherly concern as I tortured myself trying to work out where on earth she'd got the money to buy not one truffle, but an entire box! When the postman did arrive with a box of chocolate truffles, I was relieved, but also mildly disappointed.

At least,  was disappointed before I realised that the chocolates were all handmade.

280g of your favourite chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
284ml double cream (this is the standard 'large pot' size)
50g unsalted butter

1. Chop or break the chocolate into small pieces and put aside in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
2. Combine the butter and double cream in a heatproof bowl. Put the bowl over a small saucepan with a small amount of water in it - making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl - and melt the butter into the cream over a gentle heat, stirring regularly.
3. When the butter-cream mix is simmering gently, remove it from the heat and pour the mixture over the chopped chocolate, stirring until the chocolate has been melted by the heat of the mix.
4. Chill the mixture for at least 4 hours.
5. Using a standard teaspoon, scoop out the chocolate mix and roll it between your hands to create a ball. This gets quite messy - you can coat your hands with a flavourless oil to stop the chocolate from sticking to you. Pop each ball onto a plate or baking tray covered with a sheet of greaseproof paper and repeat until the mixture is finished.
6. Once shaped, you can cover the truffles in anything you like - desiccated coconut, chopped nuts, edible glitter, sprinkles, etc. - by rolling them in your choice of coating and returning to the sheet of greaseproof paper.
7. Keep the truffles refrigerated; they should keep for up to four days in a sealed container.


[Note]: If you want to flavour your truffles with liqueurs, fruit juices, or the like, add 2tbsps of the liquid of your choice (I recommend Chambord raspberry liqueur and Frangelico hazlenut liqueur, either together or separately) at the end of step 3.

Last month, a neighbour lent me her school cookery book from the 1950s.  It is a wonderful guide to the basics of French cooking, and contains dozens of recipes that should be preserved for posterity. The book builds on previous recipes, assuming that students will work their way through from start to finish. Flipping through, the recipe for friands caught my eye - it requires a portion of puff pastry (covered earlier in the book), some ham, and a half portion of mornay sauce (also covered in a previous chapter). Later in the book, basic preparations for preserves, tarts, pâtés, and stews all build on the skills learned earlier. To cook your way through the book, from start to finish, is to get an education in traditional French home cooking. Unfortunately, I won't have access to the book for long enough to copy it out - and translate it - in full. I do, however, have time to present some of the greatest hits in the form of forgotten classics.

I'm not quite sure what makes this cake Mexican, but I suppose you could always add a few chili peppers to the icing...

4 eggs, separated, plus 1 yolk
125g sugar
90g flour
80g melted butter
35g cocoa powder
chocolate buttercream icing (make a standard buttercream, but add cocoa powder)
chocolate icing
3 tbsps apricot jam, melted

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a sponge tin.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mix and stir.
3. In a separate clean and dry bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Using a metal spoon, fold the whites into the yolk mixture.
4. Finally, stir in the melted butter.
5. Bake the mixture for 40 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and allowing to cool completely.
6. Once the cake has fully cooled, slice it across the mid-section so you have two layers of cake. Fill the cake with the chocolate buttercream icing and stack the layers on top of each other.
7. Using a pastry brush, cover the cake in the melted apricot jam.
8. Once the apricot jam has dried, cover the cake in chocolate icing.

2 eggs, separated
75g melted butter, kept warm
75g sugar
75g grated chocolate
50g flour

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Grease a ring mould.
2. In a large bowl, combine the grated chocolate and sugar. Sieve in the flour and stir in the melted butter.
3 Add the two egg yolks to the bowl and stir well.
4. In a separate clean and dry bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.
5. Fold the egg whites into the batter, and pour the mix into the greased ring mould.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, and then turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool.

Serve as it comes, or wait for it to cool completely and then frost with a buttercream icing. You can fill the centre with creme patissiere and fruit for a more decorative finish.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this. You stumble off a trans-Atlantic flight, eyes redder than should be possible, and all you want is a shower and a sleep. But your diary says you're booked for dinner that night, and - worse! - you've promised to bring the dessert course.

Fortunately, my wife has a simple recipe up her sleeve that takes a few minutes in the kitchen and a few hours' chilling - just enough time to sleep while the pudding finishes itself.

Last night's dinner was a birthday celebration, so I decorated the chocolate pots with indoor sparklers. They are entirely optional, but a lot of fun, no matter how old you are.

200g good quality dark chocolate
300ml single cream
1 tsp vanilla essence (or substitute with almost anything - I used caramel syrup, but liqueurs would work well)
1 egg
pinch of salt

1. Break the chocolate into chunks and put in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stirring occasionally, allow the chocolate to fully melt. Once melted, put aside for about 10 minutes to cool slightly.
2. Add the cream bit by bit, stirring constantly. I added about 100ml at a time. When you're adding the cream the chocolate might take on a slightly lumpy consistency. Don't worry about it - if you keep stirring, it will all come out right in the end.
3. Once the cream has been added, stir in the vanilla essence (or caramel, or alcohol), the pinch of salt, and the egg. Keep stirring until everything has been fully incorporated and the chocolate has a glossy sheen.
4. Spoon the mix into decorative glasses or ramekins and leave in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours. Just before serving, you can roughly crumble some biscuits over the top for a bit of crunch should you wish.
Serves four.