It seems that for a while now meringue rolls have been everywhere. They follow me around and turn up at every corner. I confess I have been meaning to make one for the longest time but, for some reason, suspected the whole affair would be messy, time consuming and generally difficult. Luckily, it is neither of those things. Making a meringue roll is surprisingly easy, quick and is ideal when you want to impress with minimal consumables. Unlike its relative – Pavlova – which usually requires upwards of an hour of slow baking alone, this meringue roll only needs 25 minutes in the oven. Strictly speaking, this roll comes together in less than an hour. And the hardest thing about it is finding an alternative that can be equally stunning and indulgent.

Arguably, there is not a single person who is – or has been – in Russia who doesn’t know about “Napoleon” cake. Along with the notorious honey cake, these two are easily the best examples of Russian desserts. Traditionally, “Napoleon” is made with crispy pastry layers smothered in pastry cream. But I am a firm believer that while classics are great, they should never stand in the way of creativity and experimentation. So with that in mind, I propose you try this little variation – a chocolate “Napoleon” cake.

While it might be unusual to dive into variations before tackling classics, this mixed berry tiramisu is just too good to be kept secret. Apparently so good that a friend who picked it up for takeaway asked for a fork to go so she could eat it on the way. And since I am already married to probably the only person who believes berries don’t belong in desserts, you will be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t love this combination. This berry tiramisu is also one of the simplest things to make.

I had no cheesecakes in my childhood. Doubtless they were out there but the closest thing to a cheesecake we had where I grew up was a tvorozhnik. As the name suggests, it was made out of tvorog (white soft cheese, something between cottage cheese, ricotta and yogurt). Back then it tasted wonderful. For anyone who didn’t know better, that is. Otherwise imagine a cold dense grainy cheese pie with no crust and you might get the gist of it. S’more is another combination that has come into my life fairly recently. I wasn’t even aware of its existence until I was old enough to watch and remember movies where s’mores were somehow referenced. In fact, I only probably fully developed my liking for s’mores after meeting my husband, who loves everything chocolate. So to honour these two discoveries, I give you s’more mascarpone cheesecake.