Dids – a stand-alone that never fails

Alternatively there are “stand-alone” dessert recipes that never fail. A pud that's designed to assemble easily with ingredients that you've made yourself and, more to the point, made ahead gets my vote. You don't want to be messing around in your kitchen when you've got your nearest and dearest arriving – time is precious – as we've all discovered in recent months.

I know this dessert works and ticks the boxes mentioned above. Our friends were arriving from the USA and we hadn't seen them for ages so I didn't want to waste time faffing. It was good fun – I'd made all the elements ahead and assembled the dessert just before serving - it went down so well they took photographs. Of course you can assemble ahead – it depends how big a party you're planning!

Here's my invention. It's my answer to trifle which I've disliked since I was a kid - for me it's up there with sago and semolina – horrid! The combination of chocolate and orange is another perfect marriage, so, if you'd like an antidote to trifle too, this could be the answer :

Sticky Toffee Orange

Make a cake – a cake that will freeze well – a sticky toffee loaf cake

Cut into slices – 1.5cm approximately and then into small cubes –

place in a sundae dish – warm the cake if you wish

Make a toffee sauce – one that will freeze

use the sauce warmed to drizzle over the cake (or over ice cream)

Chop walnuts, add a knob of butter to a frying

pan, sprinkle with sea salt flakes

use to sprinkle over the cake and toffee sauce (or

add to the sauce poured over ice cream)

Segment a large navel orange and reserve the juice too

That's the theory, stand by for the recipes!