Mrs. Doubtfire's chocolate sponge: the art of frugal trickery

call this a Mrs. Doubtfire dessert. If you have no inkling about the art of patisserie you can still surprise your guests.

This principle works with almost any commercially available ready-made dessert. The principle is that anything can be improved with:

• chocolate,
• nuts,
• berries/fruit,
• alcohol.

The original product, a one-quid sponge from Lidl, which by the way does carry some better quality products than most mid-range chains, already contained chocolate. I only had to add

• some peeled pistachios,
• some pitted cherries,
• a glub rhum,
• a sprig of mint - I was in a rush so I totally forgot to add but I know you won't!
  

This way you achieve the sour-and-sweet balance, the alcohol cuts off any last trace of greasiness and the nuts add the crunch and the flavour. I have been practising this kind of trickery for about 15 years now and it never fails to impress.