Ok its time to introduce you to Son No 2, Stephen, its a gorgeous day, I have taken my Friend to Hospital, all the housework & washing are done, so time for a sit down in the garden & do some Blogging.

Stephen came into the world on the 25th April 1990 in his usual way in rather a hurry. I went into labour at 3am and by 5am Stephen had arrived. He wasn’t waiting for anyone or anything. I think you can tell a lot about how a child will turn out by the way they enter the world, 20 years on and nothing has changed, Stephen is always in a hurry and doesn’t wait for anyone!
Stephen even though has the lovely traits that his Brothers & Sister have of being gorgeous, kind & loyal, then breaks the mold and throws it away, don’t take this the wrong way, I love him to bits, but even Stephen will agree that he is unique to say the least. Stephen is loud, you always know when he is home, he acts first & thinks later, which I will go into later on in future Blogs, he is always there for you, will do anything for you, but he is what I would call a “Bad Boy”! The handsome, naughty boy that all the girls love, but know they shouldn’t really.
Anyway here is the pudding I made for Stephen’s 20th Birthday this year, it is so amazingly simple but so yummy, hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Buon appetito.
Tartuffo – Serves 12

180g Chocolate (the best dark chocolate you can find) finely grated
300ml double cream
150g icing sugar
Line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin or small loaf tin with cling film.
Melt the chocolate by placing it in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Meanwhile lightly whip the cream with 50g of the icing sugar.
Stir in the remaining icing sugar into the melted chocolate and leave to cool slightly.
Gradually fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream, then pour the mixture into the cake or loaf tin. Refrigerate until firm. Slice & Serve.
Lining the tin with the cling films helps you remove the Tartuffo from the tin when it has set. Leaving the melted chocolate to cool slightly will help prevent the cream from collapsing.
I served this with Chocolate Mint Cookies, but you can serve it with what ever you want, fresh berries, Limoncello whipped cream, what ever takes your fancy.
Chocolate Mint Cookies – makes 26
100g soft butter
150g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
150g flour
35g cocoa powder (I use Green & Blacks)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
200g dark chocolate chips (if you can’t get chocolate chips just grate any chocolate)
For the Glaze
75g icing sugar
1 x 15ml tablespoon sieved cocoa
2 x 15ml tablespoons boiling water
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
Preheat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4
Cream the butter & brown sugar (I use my Artisan/free standing food mixer for this), then beat in the vanilla extract and the egg.
Mix the flour, cocoa and baking powder in a bowl and gradually beat in to the creamed mixture. Finally fold in the chocolate chips.
Using a rounded 15ml tablespoon measure, spoon out scoops of cookie dough and place on a lined baking sheet, leaving a little space in between each one.
Bake in the oven for 12 minutes and then let them sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Its an idea to put the cooling rack on some newspaper or kitchen towel if you are using the glaze as it will catch any drips.
Put the glaze ingredients into a saucepan and heat until combined.
Using a teaspoon, zig zag the glaze over the cooling cookie.
These cookies are so easy to make and full-proof, just wish I had the ingredients in to make them, I would knock up a batch for when the Children get home. Anyway I hope you enjoy them.