I hope you all spent a fabulous Easter with your family, ate delicious roasted lamb, drank  some fruity wine and indulged in things you gave up for Lent. Our Easter felt a bit more like Christmas, waking up to at least 15cm of fresh snow each morning. Great for everyone who can ski – spring skiing is the best. Not so fun for people like moi who are one-armed and banned from all winter sports. I did make good use of my ski pass though and soaked up some sun on the top of mountains. Wonderful.

Need an idea of what to do with some left over chocolate bunnies? How about trying this classic, adapted from an Italian chef – Gennaro Contaldo. It’s one of the last desserts I made for my father and to my  (and his) surprise he declared it better than his beloved Stalden chocolate crème (a Nestlé dessert classic for the true Swiss). Now, my friends, trust me when I say that is a compliment. See for yourself.

Chocolate Amaretto Pudding

Serves 3

You’ll need
250ml milk
0.5 tbsp flour
1 tbp caster sugar
Seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod
50ml Amaretto
50g dark chocolate (at least 50%), finely chopped
25g butter, diced
20g amaretti biscuits, crushed

1. Over low heat, warm the milk in a saucepan.
2. In a second small saucepan, mix the flour, sugar and vanilla seeds. Stir in the warm milk, until smooth. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring continuously.
3. Whisk in the Amaretto. Continue stirring over low heat until your mixture thickens. This could take a few minutes, don’t lose patience.
4. Once thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate and butter until smooth.
5. Divide between 3 serving bowls and, if serving warm, let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. If serving cold, let your pudding cool before placing in the fridge for at least 5 hours.
6. Top with the crushed amaretti biscuits to serve.