Easiest ever cakes and cocktails

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If you want to whip up a sweet treat or fancy tipple but haven’t got much time, our nifty hack videos are for you. Learn how to make a 10-minute lemon cheesecake, a delicious chocolate orange cake, tasty cherry fudge and two super-easy Guinness cocktails. It’s everything you need for an impressively easy night in with friends!


Points to remember:

Chocolate cake

  1. Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 4. Grease an 18cm spring form cake tin with butter and line with baking parchment. Double line the outside of the tin with foil.
  2. Put 100g butter and 200g dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until the mixture has melted then take off the heat. In another large bowl, beat 4 eggs with hand-held electric beaters until doubled in volume then fold the melted chocolate mixture into the eggs then stir in the zest of one orange.
  3. Pour the mixture into your prepared tin then place the tin in a deep roasting tin and half fill with boiling water. Carefully place in the over and bake for 20-25 mins. Allow the cake to cool in the tin then place in the fridge for at least 1 hr or overnight. Take it out of the tin just before serving and top with slices of orange.

Quick choc-cherry fudge

  1. Put 25g butter and 250g dark chocolate together in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second blasts until melted and smooth. Stir in 150g caramel and 30g dried sour cherries then pour into a cling film lined square cake tin. Leave to chill in the fridge for 2 hrs before cutting into pieces.

Easy lemon curd cheesecake

  1. Grease an 18cm loose bottomed cake tin with butter and line the base with a circle of baking parchment. Crush 150g caramelised biscuits (we used Lotus) in a food processor until fine then press them into the base of your prepared tin. In a large bowl stir together 397g condensed milk, 300g full fat cream cheese and juice of 2 lemons then pour into on top of the biscuit base. Smooth over to level the surface.
  2. Put 4 tbsp lemon curd into a piping bag and pipe different sized circles all over the top. Use a skewer to create a swoosh on each of the circles to make a paisley-style design. Chill the cheesecake in the fridge for 2-3 hours or ideally overnight before serving. 

Guinness martini 

  1. Pour 50ml dark rum into a jug with a handful of ice and add 25ml cold espresso coffee, 25ml vodka, 25ml crème de cacao and 100ml stout. Stir with a long spoon until the outside of the jug feels cold then strain into 2 martini glasses and serve. 

Guinness black Russian

  1. Pour 25ml coffee liqueur, 25ml of vodka and 100ml cola into a tall glass with ice. Stir gently just to combine, top with 100ml stout and a wedge of lime to serve.  

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