Things I love: chocolate pudding. Things I also love: removing the stress from baking. This recipe combines my two loves into one easy, glorious, winter dessert. It’s essentially a riff on a soft-centred chocolate pudding (aka fondant or lava cake). But instead of stressing about cooking it too much or too little, or about unmoulding, we’re just baking and serving individual portions.

Technique of the month: Aerating eggs

You may find many recipes that begin with mixing eggs and sugar together until they’re light and fluffy. Why? For two key reasons. Firstly, it will aerate your batter and create structure. Think of it in terms of a sponge cake: if you don’t properly aerate your eggs, you’ll end up with a dense pancake instead of a light and airy sponge. Secondly, aeration gives your bakes a glossy, meringue-like top. Melt-and-mix brownie recipes usually have a dull and thin crust. But recipes that begin by aerating eggs and sugar will have a thicker, glossier finish.