Dessert cakes

If you want different recipes for the celebrations, this is one of them – a traditional Christmas log with two very special fillings: a chocolate mousse and prunes with Armagnac. Equipment and preparation: You will also need a Swiss roll tin 32x23x1cm/13x9x½in, lined with silicone paper (baking parchment), cut and folded to give a depth of at least 4cm/1½in.

I love it with peaches or apricots in summer, in spring it's good with rhubarb, and in autumn I use half blackberries and half apples. I have used an excellent ready-made custard myself, but if you want to be more purist and have the time, you can try my Traditional English Custard recipe (See our Cookery School Video on this page), and go the whole hog.

This makes it extra specially soft and luscious I think blackcurrants make the very nicest ice cream – smooth, rich and velvety. This is one of those oh-so-simple-but-oh-so-good desserts that offers precisely the right background to vivid, rich fruit like blackcurrants.

You can now watch how to make Chocolate 'Surprise' Cup Cakes in our Cookery School Video, tap the image to play This is the easiest chocolate recipe ever invented – I first made a more basic version on children's television. Yes, this is the one where the nation ran out of liquid glucose, because of (it has to be admitted) the power of television.

This black forest cake recipe delivers a classic version of the original cake with whipped cream frosting and sour cherries. Though much debased by many frozen versions, the original Black Forest gateau, way back in the Sixties, was a delight: a soft, light concoction made with seriously dark chocolate and morello cherries.

This striped sponge roll is filled with lemon mascarpone James Martin’s easy lemon drizzle cake recipe, taken from his cookbook Sweet, is perfect for afternoon tea with a proper cup of tea, or to surprise your mum on Mother’s Day. A Crunchy, Chewy, Soft Lemon Meringue filled with Freshly Whipped Cream, Lemon Curd, Passion Fruit, and some Freeze Dried Raspberries to decorate.

True, the amount of rose petals I strew on top makes it look as if you might just as well wear it on your head as eat it, but it's the sort of cake that invites exuberance. I've been bold with the amount of rosewater here but, with the pears and pistachios, it strikes only the most fluttering of floral notes.