Stick this in your pie-hole.

Only a dung beetle could have failed to notice that there is a slight bit of favouritism with the nineties, as far as "trendiness" (whatever that concept actually means) is concerned right now. In my neck of the woods, you can't walk 50 metres without hitting some denim shorts, Fred Perry shirts and a loafer or two. And that's just the boys.

(Image courtesy of the V&A)

Enter Patrick Cox.

Cox's Wannabe loafers were first created for Autumn/Winter 1993-94, and became so popular that he even had to put a doorman outside his London store for a bit of crowd control. They've been redesigned every year since, changing colour or design features. However, one could hardly say that demand for them has remained as high as that first bout of mayhem. This in mind (I'm guessing. Disclaimer: Not actually claiming to read Patrick Cox's thoughts.), the designer has turned his creative attention to the world of cupcakes. Yes, cupcakes. The logical progression, n'est-ce pas?!

Teaming up with master patissier Eric Lanlard, the two have created a marvellous offering with a rather splendid name two "Cox, Cookies & Cake" anyone? There's lots to choose from - raspberry compote cupcakes, Nanaimo squares based on Patrick's mother's own recipe, or erm, Bum Cake. Wonder how Mrs. Cox feels about sharing a menu board with that beauty. Hmmm. With prices starting at just £2.50, its a pretty cheap way to get your fix of Cox. Ho hum. Available from their Soho shop, map here. All food images from coxcookiesandcakes.com

When you feel like you're hungover but you didn't drink last night...

Had serious chocolate cravings last night, so much so that I was almost tempted to bake up a storm to quell the pangs. There are sometimes when cheese and crackers won't suffice, although this usually keeps my food monster at bay.

However, our kitchen facilities here are somewhat limited (read: all knives are blunt and the oven only works on the second Tuesday of every month. If even.), and every time I bake here I get so frustrated I just end up in a bad mood for the rest of the night. Anyway, should you be in a kitchen that is moderately better equipped than mine, and I don't doubt that you are, this chocolate cake recipe is to DIE for. Seriously, you'll want to have its babies.

You'll need: 1 pound soft butter, 1 pound caster sugar, 6 eggs, vanilla essence and 1 pound cocoa/ self-raising flour mix (I usually use a 40:60 ratio, also ake sure you use cocoa and not drinking chocolate, as this will be too sweet.)

1. Preheat oven to 180C (Sorry not sure what Fahrenheit conversion is, but I guess this is easily googled!), and grease a round 6-inch baking tin.
2. In the mixer, combine the softened butter with the sugar until both have combined into a fluffy mix. Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk together.
3. Slowly introduce the eggs to the butter-sugar mix. I usually do this in 4 stages, but it’s not really important as long as you don’t bung them all in there at once. Add 2-3 drops of vanilla essence at this stage also.
4. Sift the flour mix into the bowl, trying to break up any lumps you see. Using a wooden spoon, gently fold the flour into the mixture. You don’t need to do this too long, just enough to combine them. Try to keep your touch light to incorporate as much air into the cake as possible.
5. Bung in the oven and bake for 25 - 30 mins. Serve after cooling with whipped cream. Et Voilà!

* I'd love to pretend that the picture up top represents my culinary efforts, however the reality of the situation is depicted below. Aesthetically pleasing it may not be, but I can assure you an artery-blocking, sugar high inducing good time was had by all...