Normally, you need to make chocolate mousse a good few hours, or better still a day, before you want to eat it, so that the egg yolk sets and the whisked whites permeate everything with air bubbles. Forget that: here we have no yolks, no whites, no whisking, no waiting. Lack of raw egg, incidentally, also means that you might be happier giving this mousse to small children, though I certainly feel they shouldn’t be the only beneficiaries.

Serves 4-6

150g mini marshmallows

50g soft butter

250g good dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces

60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle

1 x 284ml tub double cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan.

2 Put the saucepan on the hob, over heat, though keep it fairly gentle, to melt the contents, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.

3 Meanwhile, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick, and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.

4 Pour or scrape into four glasses or ramekins, about 175ml each in capacity, or six smaller (125ml) ones, and chill until you want to eat. The sooner, the better!

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