Chocolate mousse + chocolate crisps

Hello everyone, I had a funny experience last night. I thought I was running late for a party that started at 5.00 when I arrived at the front door of my host's place at 5.45. Turned out that she had changed the start time of the party to 7.00, and had told everyone else but me! So I was put to work immediately and to my great delight I got to help the caterer when she arrived. I also spotted some beautiful home grown cherry tomatoes in the kitchen, sitting by a lovely looking jar of home made pesto, so I made myself useful by cutting off the tops of the tomatoes, scooping out the flesh and turning them upside down to drain before delicately filling them with the pesto. That's a really easy and effective plate to take next time you are wondering what food to contribute to a party!

To thank my host I made a batch of these chocolate crisps. Again, this is a really quick and easy thing you can whip up to take to a dinner party to go with coffee, or as a gift for someone wrapped in clear cellophane. The recipe comes from the September 2007 edition of delicious magazine, in which they are paired with chocolate mousse. Chocolate mousse you ask? I'll also give you my favourite chocolate mousse recipe this week. It has been around for years so I don't know its provenance. It's the kind of recipe that people pass around to each other as it's so delicious and always a hit whenever I make it.

Have a lovely week, love from Jane xx

Chocolate crisps

What you need:

• 3 tablespoons Nutella
• 100g white chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cornflakes, crumbled into rough crumbs

What you do:

1. Carefully melt together the Nutella and white chocolate in the microwave (do it on medium heat in one minute bursts, so you don't burn the chocolate)
2. Stir in the cornflake crumbs.
3. Pour the mixture onto a 30cm sheet of baking paper, top with another sheet of baking paper and use a rolling pin to gently roll out the mixture until it's quite thin (about 2-3mm thick).
4. Place on a tray in the fridge to harden for two hours and then break into shards.
5. If you like, you can carefully warm up some more white chocolate and some cream in a saucepan on top of the stove, and when it's runny, drizzle over the crisp to decorate. Return to the fridge so it can harden before breaking into shards.

Chocolate mousse
Serves four (and can easily be doubled or tripled)

What you need:

· 2 eggs (separated)
· 200 ml/1 cup whipping cream
· ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
· 1 x 100g Toblerone

What you do:

1. Melt Toblerone in the microwave – be careful not to burn it.
2. Mix in the egg yolks and the vanilla. Let it cool slightly.
3. Whip cream until stiff. Fold into chocolate mixture.
4. Whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold into mixture.
5. Set in the fridge – overnight if possible.