What kind of things do you raid the fridge for in the middle of the night? What are those little comforting things that you love to eat the most? If you think about it, most of what you want to eat isn’t a meal at all, not even close, just a few bits and pieces that take care of that little craving. A chunk of chocolate, a slice of cheese, a few cookies and a glass of milk, nothing of which can hardly even be classed as food at all, yet all things that make us probably that bit happier than we were five minutes before that.

For me it has to be that chunk of chocolate or a quick cheese and ham sandwich. I remember a friend of mine used to love warmed-up French fries in the morning that were leftovers from an after-pub fish-and-chips bonanza. Another friend used to raid the fridge for raw bacon and sausages.

Maybe we chefs have got it all wrong, concocting all these elaborate menus that we think really mean something and could put us in a class higher than all others. Maybe we should just stick to cheese on toast and some cold chicken sandwiches. Even if people don’t say so, chances are they would be much happier with their comfort food during that miserable cocktail evening.

Ok, I wanted to ramble on this week about quick and simple desserts. Things that even your dad could make if he could be bothered, but things that could really mark a great end to your monotonous day. Even something as simple as a piece of drippingly ripe fruit or a good thick layer of butter and jam on toast. Both of which I’m happy to call a pudding, especially late at night. My philosophy of puddings is pretty much anything sweet that you could spend the whole day waiting for.

Here are a few ideas for you to have a go at. No recipes this week; I think a full recipe after writing all that I have would be shameful.

Buy a simple plain cake; roughly dice it up and pour some of your favourite liquor ? something like Peach Schnapps or any fruit liquor would be good, but nothing coffee or chocolate, fruit juice if you must; chop a few strawberries over the top and slap on a dollop of the best vanilla ice-cream you can find. You can either eat it as it is, or if you really feel like taking a risk, slap it in the microwave (yes, ice-cream and all) for a couple of minutes and have it hot.

Here is a great one for you to try, a bit of an old favourite back in the UK and something I can remember making at school. Firstly, whip some fresh cream; then put some orange juice in a bowl; throw in some booze as well if you want (I know I obviously would). Then you will need to get yourself a packet of ginger biscuits. One at a time, dip them into the orange juice and spread on a layer of cream one after the other. Keep stacking them in a line next to each other, biscuit, juice, cream; biscuit, juice, cream?. When you are done, cover the whole thing with the rest of the cream and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. This is important because the orange juice and a little of the cream will soak into the biscuit.

Last but not the least, this has to be the simplest of chocolate wonderland I can imagine. Split a whole banana down the middle with the skin in place; put a cinnamon stick inside and push in some brown sugar, a couple of bits of butter and a few chunks of chocolate. The more bitter the chocolate, the better for me. Wrap the whole thing in foil and put it in a hot oven for about 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven, allow it to cool for a couple of minutes then eat the contents hot, straight out of the skin, with vanilla ice-cream.