Chocolate soup

Serves 4-6

250g/8oz whipping cream

250g/8oz chocolate (70 per cent cocoa content)

250ml/8fl oz water (or fruit purée)

Melt the chocolate and place in a blender or bowl. Warm the cream, and, if desired, infuse with herbs or spices (mint, ginger, cardamom or chilli work well). Add a third of the cream to the melted chocolate and blitz or beat with a whisk until it becomes an elastic, shiny emulsion. If the chocolate becomes thick, add more cream and keep mixing. Eventually it should resemble mayonnaise.

Next, slowly add the rest of the cream and the water. It's important to go slowly, mixing all the time, to retain the binding properties of the emulsion. It will feel very thin, but keep slowly adding all the liquid. Rest in the fridge for an hour or two (or overnight). When ready to serve, blend with a hand blender or whisk to create a foam, and serve with ice-cream or fresh fruit, or just as a chilled drink.