Silent Nights

Treat your loved ones to some quiet time this Christmas by gifting them a hot cup of cocoa and a slice or two of chocolate bundt cake PEPPERMINT HOT CHOCOLATEServes 6 200g dark chocolate 600ml milk 150ml double cream 6 peppermint candy canes Break the chocolate into chunks and put it in a pan with the milk. Gently heat, stirring until all the chocolate has melted. Continue heating until the milk is steaming, then remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Divide the hot chocolate between 6 mugs, add sugar to taste and hang a candy cane on the edge of each. Pass the mugs round and get everyone to stir their hot chocolate with their candy cane – letting as much of the sweet peppermint dissolve as they choose. CHOCOLATE & ALMOND BUNDT CAKEServes 12 to 16 180g butter, softened 225g caster sugar ¾ tsp almond extract 180g plain flour 2tsp baking powder 75g ground almonds 3 large eggs 2tbsp milk 3tbsp cocoa powder 100g dark chocolate chipsHeat the oven to 180˚C/ fan. Cream the butter and sugar together; stir in the almond extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and almonds. Beat one egg at a time into the butter mixture, adding a spoonful of the flour mixture in between. Then fold in the remaining flour mixture and stir in the milk. Finally add the cocoa powder, mixed with 3 tbsp hot water to make a paste, and add the chocolate chips. Pour the mixture into a prepared 1.5-litre bundt tin and bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Dust with a little icing sugar to serve.