Chocolate brownies? I could never resist.

Oh Nigella, why do you make such wonderful cakes?

Every time I try one of Nigella Lawson’s cake recipes, they're just amazing and I wonder why I don't get her books out more often.

But I'm often left quite annoyed as I’m trying to keep my figure at the ample, middle age spread it already is.

This afternoon, as I threw away the last of my batch of moist chocolate cupcakes after they finally went too dry to even perk up in the microwave, I dug out Nigella’s ‘How to be a Domestic Goddess’ in search of a good cake.

Now, I’m not usually that much of a fan of chocolate, I have to be in the mood, but my husband would climb a Swiss mountain just for some Toblerone. So, a chocolate brownie it was to be today. To make it more acceptable to us both, this was dessert to round off a weekend dinner with the chocolate ice cream in the freezer I made last week. Double chocolate, I know, I’ll force myself to eat it.

Anyone who has seen Nigella Lawson on TV or read one her books will know that she doesn’t do plain and simple. Indeed, the brownie recipe in ‘How to be a Domestic Goddess’ was definitely not plain. A rich, gooey brownie sandwiching tangy cream cheese. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it and I had to try it when I trimmed the edges . . . crusts are obviously the chef's perks, just had too much of it!

A wonderfully decadent, gooey and sour flavour that almost sticks to the roof of your mouth. Imagine that feeling of when you were little and ate too much Easter chocolate and put that in a cake, wow. Luckily, the ice cream helped to level out the cake as I’d cut quite large portions. What a way to finish a meal.

Thank you again, Nigella. I heartily recommend you at least get this book out of the library if not add it to your own collection.