These impressive one-bite treats are incredibly easy to make and are especially good if you’re feeding a crowd and want dessert to be of the ‘just-pop-it-in-your-mouth’ variety.

The tiny filo cups are made by Athena and can be found in most good supermarkets in the freezer section (the link has a store locator).

They’re versatile so I suggest you stock up and keep a stash in your freezer. I always keep a box or two handy and fill them with a variety of ingredients (depending on the occasion) such as tiny hardboiled quails eggs, hollandaise and a smidgeon of wild-mushroomy ‘Duxelles’…or perhaps lightly steamed asparagus tips with a lemony mayonnaise and shaved Parmesan; or traditional English mincemeat (a Christmas treat), topped with a dollop of brandy butter or whipped cream that’s been lightly sweetened with a splash of Grand Marnier and a touch of powdered sugar. The sweet and savory possibilities are endless.

Filo cups come ready-baked but in this case I put them in the oven for a bit to increase their toasty-crispness (they have instructions on the box), before piling in the rich chocolate cream filling and fruit.

You can assemble them a few hours ahead; just keep them chilled in the fridge and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Anyway, here’s how to make the most luxurious chocolate ganache and BTW, it doubles as the perfect frosting/filling for all your  cakes and cupcakes that scream for some major chocolate enhancement. The quantities below will fill 50 filo pastry cups, so adjust accordingly.

If I have any ganache left over, I freeze it for another time or polish it off with a spoon.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY FILO BITES

(Enough for 50 small filo pastry shells)

Ingredients for the chocolate ganache filling:

12 ounces of good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli

8 fl oz (225ml) of heavy/double cream

3 tablespoons of Grand Marnier

Then…

50 fresh raspberries and powdered sugar to finish

Action:

Put the chocolate chips in a large bowl. Heat the cream over a medium-high heat until it just comes to a boil; take it off the heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate – stir it well until the chocolate has completely melted and you have a thick glossy cream. Whisk in the Grand Mariner (or whatever else you prefer, liqueur-wise) then set aside to cool.

It can be made ahead to this point.

Once the chocolate mixture is cool, whisk it until you have a light, mousse-like bulk.

Spoon a heaped teaspoon of the chocolate ganache into each filo cup, top with a fresh raspberry and dust with a little powdered sugar just before serving.

Any unlikely leftovers will be good for a few days; just keep them covered in the fridge.