Just before Christmas, while watching a TV cooking show, my attention was drawn to a quite simple recipe for Swedish chocolate cake. I was intent on making this presently, because everybody in my family is a fan of chocolate. "Presently" turned out to be too optimistic, as I had to search for the recipe in the recesses of the internet. Found in a Lidl cookery book and printed, it went into my collection of recipes.

In my opinion, this cake is another type of brownie. It melts in the mouth and tastes best just after baking – still hot. According to the recipe, you should sprinkle the cake with caster sugar. I made chocolate glaze. Adding juicy fresh fruit also hit the spot.

Ingredients:
200g of butter
200g of chocolate
200g of sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar
250g of flour
chocolate glaze and fresh fruit for decorating

Do you like cakes and desserts which don't need baking? Baking is for me always hit and miss. Sometimes, even though you do everything according to the recipe, the cake is too dry or underdone. Gas ovens bake things differently from electric ones, so following old recipes is a toss-up.

Today's proposal is a caramel-banana cake with chocolate and whipped cream. When I make this dessert again, I will spread the cake with plum stew. I think that the slightly sour taste will go well with sweet caramel and banana.

The recipe comes from www.kuchnialidla.pl

Ingredients:
300g of biscuits
150g of melted butter
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
400g of fudge
120g of dark chocolate
200g of mascarpone cheese

Though Valentine's day is behind us, today I would like to share with you a recipe for cookies in the shape of a heart. Maybe you need to apologize to somebody, maybe you would like to raise somebody's spirits, or maybe you just like to have some nice, afternoon coffeecakes. It is really difficult to resist the temptation to eat all of them.

Ingredients:
150g of butter
125g of sugar
200g of flour
1 egg
1 tablespoon of cocoa
0.5 teaspoons of baking soda
150g of cherry confiture

Heat the oven up to 180C.

Today I would like to share with you my version of a Norwegian dessert called Tilslørte Bondepiker. Literally translated, its name means "rural girls in veils". In Sweden it is known as Änglamat.

Tilslørte Bondepiker is a layered dainty prepared with braised apples (you may also use plums), a layer of whipped cream, a crunchy layer of fried breadcrumbs, another layer of whipped cream and a thin layer of crumbs on the top.

In my version I used oat-nut cookies instead of breadcrumbs. On the top of the dessert I put a bit of ice-cream instead of whipped cream.

Traditionally this dessert is served in transparent glass bowls, cups or big glasses to make it possible to appreciate its grand look.

You should remember to prepare Tilslørte Bondepiker just before serving, so the layer of cookies stays crunchy.

Ingredients (4 portions):
4 apples
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
250ml of 30% sweet cream
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
200g of cookies
4 ice cream balls

Chocolate and nuts is a perfect duet. If we add an orange, we get a feast for the senses. On a grey sad afternoon, make some chocolate-nut cookies with a hint of orange. Now you need only a good book or movie and a cup of hot tea, and you can stand up to the rainy weather beyond the window. I don't recommend putting all of the cookies out at once. It may turn out that you haven't got any left before the end of the first chapter of your book.

In the recipe for cookies there is brown sugar. Don't leave it out. The brown sugar enhances the taste of the chocolate and orange combination.

Ingredients:
300g of wheat flour
75g of graham flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt
200g of butter
200g white sugar
100g brown sugar