Here is another desert, which will knock your friends off their feet. If you have a very large freezer and you have time, say a week or even two ahead of your party, you could make a chocolate mousse cake, made the same way as a regular mousse, but frozen with ice cream on top. It is very easy. You can serve just the frozen chocolate, sliced like a cake with a scoop of your already made ice cream on top, mint for decoration... Or you can make a fresh batch of ice cream and when the mousse is frozen, pour the ice cream on top of it; you will now have a very rich and beautiful desert in two colours! You should do this in a spring form, otherwise you will spend all evening trying to get it out and your temper will definitely get the best of you! I suspect that is the reason we serve desert last.

Into a small pot, over a very LOW flame, dump 25 grams of margarine; let it melt. Add 6 table-spoons of water and 1 large tablespoon instant coffee. Melt together and keep mixing. Yes, you could boil some water, dump the coffee into it, and then measure 6 tablespoons...absolutely...but why? Now, add: 200 gr. very good dark eating chocolate. Yes, you can use your 'micro' for the 'melting'. I do not have one and will NOT have one! But if you are used to yours, by all means...To crush the chocolate, take a hammer and smash the still wrapped chocolate; you can also just smash the still wrapped chocolate on your counter! It is very satisfying

Stand there and keep mixing; do not move away; it may burn if you do, and no; I have never used a double boiler for things like that. Rubbish! Just keep on mixing, because if you do not, you WILL have a bloody smelly-burned mess. Just sip on whatever you are holding in one hand, and slowly keep on moving the things in the pot with the other, until they all become a lovely smooth chocolaty mess.

Take it off the fire. Add rum, cognac or Grand Marnier to the pot; safe way to be right about the amount, is to place the bottle over the pot and s-l-o-w-l-y count: one-two.-three! Mix well. Let it rest, while you take 5 large eggs; separate them, whites into the bawl of a mixer, yolks back into the shell and stand them up in the egg-carton; you do not want egg yolk running down your cupboards. Now: add the egg yolks to the chocolate, ONE at a time beating with a whisk after each addition. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Fold them gently into the chocolaty-mess; well, NO! Actually, you add the chocolaty-mess to the egg whites. Thank-you! Quite right! If you want to serve it as a mousse, pour slowly into lovely goblets and put them on a tray and into the fridge. Slip a sheet of foil over them all to keep them covered. This can be made, as close as two days before your 'event'. Depending on the size of the goblets, you may have 6 or 8 delicious special deserts. It is quite rich, so a small goblet is just right.

If you wish to have the frozen cake, pour the mousse into a spring form, 10-inches, or 26-cms across bottom and freeze it until its frozen solid. Now, make a fresh ice cream, (the citrus one! But do NOT add the Grand Marnier; you have it in the chocolate mousse, already... enough!) pour over the frozen chocolate mousse, cover, refreeze again; it will keep until you want to use it. You should get 10 nice portions out of that.

When ready to serve, release it from the spring form, place WITH the base of the form on a large plate, cut into wedges and serve at the table. It is very impressive! Remember the sauce of crushed fruit (red?) and sprig of mint (green?) - must look as great, as it will taste! Serve it out in the kitchen, easier I think, and let one of the guests help you serve