Mascarpone or soft cheese

If you make the chocolate cake on page 84, you might be left with some extra cheese. Here are five ideas for using it up.

Stir the mascarpone into a tomato pasta sauce with a handful of basil before tossing through cooked pasta.

Beat fresh pesto and parmesan into the mascarpone, then spread this over a sliced baguette for a cheesy snack with a hint of garlic.

Whip a shot of cooled espresso and

3 tbsp icing sugar into the mascarpone and serve with chocolate cake or tart.

Bake a carrot cake, then beat honey and orange zest into the mascarpone to ice it. Decorate with chopped nuts.

Mix chopped leftover herbs with crushed garlic, seasoning and some mascarpone, then spread under the skin of a whole chicken and roast.