Easy to eat, pizza is a popular. Although its not to be recommended for eating after a huge meal, there are times when nothing will do but to have a dish of chocolate. Perhaps best of all is to have it at teatime. Here are two scrumptious versions to choose from.

Chocolate Pudding: Blend 70 gms (2 1/2 ozs) of powdered chocolate such as Hershey's with a little milk, and add to 20 fl ozs (2 cups) whole milk, 200 gms ( 1/2 cup) sugar, and 1 vanilla pod split open lengthways into a non-reactive pan and bring slowly to a simmer. Remove from the heat.

In the meantime, whisk 10 gms corn flour with 5 fl ozs ( 1/2 cup) of milk, a pinch of salt, and 3 large egg yolks. Add to the saucepan, put back on the heat and stir until it thickens, reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Pour into 4 pudding cups, cover with food wrap, allow to cool and put in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours. Before serving add 1 Tbsp of whipped cream, a strawberry or two and a tiny shake of powdered chocolate.

Try the HK Football Club's version if you want to see how it is done professionally.

If you're on a roll with making sweet things, try this luscious chocolate cake to make an impression on your significant other.

Preheat the oven to 75 degrees C, gas mark 4. Break 1 lb dark chocolate into pieces, add 1 stick unsalted butter and heat in a double boiler - or a heatproof bowl over hot water until it melts, make sure the top bowl doesn't touch the hot water and that no steam escapes into the chocolate.

Meanwhile, separate 8 large eggs and whisk the yolks with 150 gms (3/4 cup) granulated sugar until the mixture turns light yellow. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to keep the eggs from scrambling with the heat of the chocolate - then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture. Stir gently and pour into a greased and floured cake pan, ideally the kind that unfastens to let the baked cake out. Bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a metal skewer or a sharp bamboo stick inserted into the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, that's about 20 to 25 minutes. Let the cake stand inside the pan for around 10 minutes, then remove the sides of the pan. Now you can serve it as is, or get as creative as you like by adding a dusting of icing sugar over a template of a heart or anything else you like. Add maraschino cherries or serve with slices of peaches or kiwi fruit or whip an 8oz carton of double cream until it becomes light and fluffy, gradually fold in 1 heaped tspn of confectioners (icing) sugar and slowly add 1 Tbsp of Grand Marnier liqueur - mixing all the while.

Serve the cake topped with the whipped cream and if you intend to use fruit add it on the side , so that the juice from the fruit doesn't make the cake soggy.

A glass of Icewine from Canada, a Malvasia Bianca dessert wine from Italy or a sweet champagne go down well with this.

On the other hand, if you have a developed palate for wines, leave out the cream and fruit and serve the chocolate cake with a good Pinot Noir - some of the best of the New World come from the Willamette Valley, Oregon, the Russian River Valley, in California, or from Martinborough, Waipara or Central Otago in New Zealand.

(HK Edition 05/28/2011 page4)