Extra Chocolatey Cookies

Melt 120 g of the chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave to cool to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Cream the butter and sugar with electric beaters until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is fluffy. Beat in the cooled melted chocolate, then the egg and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a separate bowl, then add the to the chocolate mixture and mix to a smooth dough. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate.

Roll into walnut-sized balls and arrange on trays lined with baking paper, leaving plenty of space between the balls as they spread while cooking. Press the balls down with the back of a fork and bake for 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Makes 32

Rich Chocolate Ice Cream

Scrape out approx. 1/4 of the seeds in the vanilla pod and in a small pot, pour in the cream, milk, add the vanilla and gently bring it to the boil, then turn it off.

In a bowl, stir in the eggs and the sugar and gradually pour in the milk and cream mixture. Once it’s well mixed, strain the mixture into another bowl and add the chocolate, stirring it into the mixture so it melts.

Once the chocolate has mixed through, set the mixture aside to cool down. Once cool, churn the mixture in an ice cream machine according to its instructions.

After churning the ice cream, pour it into a tray and leave it to cool in the fridge

Make 1.25 litres