I've been slack on the blogging front lately. I've been playing with lots of recipes, but haven't been able to get anything to a level where I'm happy sharing it here. In the meantime, here's an overdue post, the dessert from our early Christmas dinner.

This dessert took a bit of assembly, but the result is rich, decadent, and visually impressive.

Decadent chocolate mousse with macerated berries

Serves: 5-6

Macerated Berries
I'm afraid I can't give too much precision here, because I was anything but precise, but the basic idea was:

• 1 punnet raspberries
• 1 punnet blueberries
• 1 punnet blackberries
• 1 punnet strawberries - quartered
• White sugar to taste
• Vanilla to taste

Mix all the berries in a bowl, sprinkle with maybe 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla. Feel free to add other flavourings if you like, a splash of liqueur would go well. Stir gently, cover with clingwrap, and put in fridge, at least for 2 hours and preferably overnight, stirring every now and then if practical.

The berries will soften slightly, absorb the vanilla flavour, and create a deliciously sweet berry syrup.

Mousse
The mousse component was Miyoko Schinner's Ultimate Chocolate Mousse, which I can vouch for as being excellent. I used Green and Black's 70% dark chocolate (vegan and fairtrade), and the full 1 cup of coconut solids still resulted in a very dark and rich mousse - perfect for my tastes, but still a bit too strong for Hunter.

Refrigerate the mousse for about 15-30 minutes before assembly - if it's too runny, it will run down around the berries and cover them, but if it's too stiff you won't be able to get smooth layers.

Assembly
In a glass of choice (I used a tumbler, but a martini glass would work also), spoon a layer of mousse into the glass, add a layer of berries with some syrup, another layer of mousse, and another layer of berries.

I found it better to make fewer thicker layers, as if I tried to make my berry layers too thin, the mousse ended up largely hiding the berries. I also didn't refrigerate the mousse before starting, which I think was part of my problem, the last one I made had much more defined layers, but also a rough top, so feel free to play around with it and leave comments on what did and didn't work for you.

Ridiculously simple stewed apples

This is so simple that it doesn't really even qualify as a recipe. Yet the first time I tried making stewed apples, I Googled it and got bad advice and ended up having to drain my boiled, overly sweet apples. So these instructions may be of use to someone.

Make up a big batch (I did 5 large apples), and eat them for dessert as is, or with ice-cream and/or custard. Alternatively, I'll be referencing these instructions in a few up and coming posts.

Stewed apples

Ingredients

• Apples

That's it, really. You can use just about any type of apple. I usually use whatever apples have been forgotten in my fridge for a few months and are suspected to be beyond eating fresh. You shouldn't need any sugar, but feel free to add a bit if you think it's needed.

Method

1. Peel, core and chop your apples. If you miss some peel, it's fine, and if your apple chunks are different sizes, this is also fine, as it will give you some textural variety. Add to a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water, just to stop it sticking.

2. Cook over low heat, covered, for about 30 minutes depending on desired texture, stirring occasionally

3. Leave to sit uncovered for about 5 minutes to allow the apple to reabsorb any excess liquid