Don't Sweat the Aubergine

orange mousse: introduce the grated zest of an orange. This mousse is meant to be bitter. I think that it would be a shame to sweeten it.
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WHY YOU DO IT
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    1 • Separating eggs . See point 5, here .
    2 • Melt the chocolate, don’t cook it . If the chocolate becomes too hot, it becomes grainy. This method of melting it is the easiest to control, I find.
    3 • Whisking whites . See point 6, here .
    4 • Beating in a portion of egg white helps to loosen the chocolate/butter mixture, so that you can fold in the rest of the white gently (see below). It cools the mixture, too. If the chocolate is hot when you add the egg yolks, it will seize up, and the mousse will not be light.
    5 • You’re trying to maintain the foam, which would be destroyed if you merged the white and the egg/chocolate/butter mixture too vigorously.
LEMON MOUSSE
    This mousse is gorgeous. It has a delicious balance of citric acidity and sweetness, as well as a lovely, foamy texture.
    The egg white cannot sustain the foam on its own, because of the lemon juice, and needs the assistance of gelatine. Tricky stuff, gelatine. The trick here – not one about which recipes are very helpful – is to blend the gelatinous mixture and the egg white at the right moment. Do it too soon, and the mixture separates and sinks; too late, and the mixture is too well set to be blended.
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HOW TO MAKE IT
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    For 4
    2 tsp gelatine, or 2 sheets of leaf gelatine 1
    3 eggs, separated 2
    150g caster sugar
    2 lemons, juice and grated zest
    125ml double cream
    Put the gelatine (leaves or powder) in a small saucepan, and sprinkle over just enough water to soak it. Leave for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl, and beat them with a wooden spoon until they turn pale yellow. Beat in the lemon juice and zest.
    Put the saucepan with the gelatine on to a ring on the hob at its lowest setting. As soon as the gelatine turns watery, take it off the hob and stir until it completely dissolves – overheating disables its thickening qualities. Add it to the egg and lemon mixture, stirring gently but thoroughly.
    You leave this mixture until it starts to set. How long is this? Recipes tend to sidestep the question. I find that after an hour in the fridge, the mixture still swirls in the bowl, but is no longer runny. This seems to be the moment one wants.
    Whisk the cream until it thickens, but stop before it becomes stiff – the transition is rapid, so take care. In a separate bowl, and with a separate – or at least clean – whisk, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. 3 Fold into the whites the cream and the egg yolk mixture, which should have the consistency of a collapsing jelly. Again, perform the action gently, but do so until the mousse is thoroughly blended.
    Spoon the mousse into a bowl, cover with cling film, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.
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HOW YOU DO IT
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    1 • Gelatine . For advice about quantities, see here .
    2 • Separating . See point 5, here .
    3 • Whisking the whites . See point 6, here .
Cheesecakes
    My favourite pudding. Hence my self-indulgence in giving several recipes here.
    It must have a good base, one with a crunch to contrast with the smooth, often tangy filling. The proportion of butter I give – higher than in many recipes – helps to bind the crumbs. Even so, you may find that the base of a baked cheesecake is more crumbly than one that is simply chilled.
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HOW TO MAKE IT
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THE BASE
    150g digestive biscuits
    75g butter
    Line and grease a 20cm springform cake tin, or grease a 20cm flan dish (see point 2 here ).
    Blitz the biscuits to crumbs in a food processor; or put them in a plastic bag and set about them with a rolling pin. Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a saucepan, and stir in the crumbs.
    Tip the buttery crumbs into the cake tin or flan dish, spread them out, and compact them with the back of a spoon. Put the tin/dish into the fridge or freezer, to allow the base to firm up while you make the filling.
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VARIATIONS
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    Use chocolate digestives. Or plain digestives, with a tbsp of cocoa powder. Or ginger biscuits.
LEMON AND LIME CHEESECAKE
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HOW TO MAKE IT
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    For a 20cm springform tin or flan dish
    filled with biscuit base ( see here )
    142ml double cream
    200g full-fat cream cheese
    397g tin condensed milk
    Juice and zest of 1 lemon
    Juice of 2 limes, zest of 1
    Whisk the cream until it thickens, but not until it goes stiff; it should be thick but still