Get the recipes Celebrity chef James Martin shared his love of puddings with a comprehensive guide to desserts, puddings and cakes.

In this article

Episode one Episode two

Episode three Episode four

Episode five Episode six

Every week James visited places from his culinary past to show the source of his best dessert recipes, before returning to his kitchen to cook his favourite sweets, helped by the talents of Will Torrent, his assistant chef.

The location provided the theme and in the first episode James returned to where he grew up and first started cooking, Castle Howard in Yorkshire. So the first week’s theme was Best of British.

James attempted to save some British classics and went out to test desserts such as spotted dick, junket and Sussex pond pudding on the general public to see if they recognise them.

Recipes from episode one

• Apple and blueberry pie
• Custard with thyme
• Caramel banana shortbread
• Sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce
• Carrot cake with mascarpone and candied carrots
• Lemon curd syllabub

James returned to his old catering college in Yorkshire and themed his puddings around the classic desserts he learned to make there. Along the way James also challenged his friend and fellow pupil, the Michelin-starred chef Andrew Pern, to a 'cooking showdown' and attended the British heats of the World Chocolate Masters to see the best chocalatiers in the country at work.

Recipes from episode two

• Chocolate profiteroles - watch a video of Lesley Waters making profiteroles
• Passionfruit and custard soufflé
• Classic lemon tart
• Hot chocolate fondants with summer berries and mint froth
• Slow-roasted peaches with orange caramel sauce

James visited Morfudd Richards who sells organic ice creams from her van. James and Morfudd gave themselves a mission - they wanted to see if they could encourage children to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. They tested their creations on school kids before revealing to the children what they were eating.

Recipes from episode three

• Lemon meringue pie
• Instant banana ice cream
• Fresh mango sorbet
• Spicy plum crumble
• Raspberry marshmallows
• Apple and toffee muffins

This week James explored some restaurant classics. He took Will to the first restaurant he worked in, 190 Queen's Gate, which at the time was run by Antony Worral Thompson. James also visited the Berkeley hotel in London, which has reinvented the afternoon tea with pastries inspired by the catwalk, and he found out what heritage fruit is all about.

Recipes from episode four

• White chocolate, whisky and croissant butter pudding
• Baked chocolate mousse with candied fennel
• Puff pastry and raspberry stack
• Délice au cassis
• Peach and champagne jelly

James revisited the restaurant where he made his name as a head chef, Hotel du Vin in Winchester. He met one of the most exciting chocolatiers in the country, William Curley, who showed him that Japanese cooking is currently what's hot in the world of desserts. Then he took a trip to Lucy's on a Plate in the Lake District, where the only thing on the menu was sweets, sweets and more sweets.

Recipes from episode five

• Black Forest gateau
• Jellied raspberry and vodka terrine with lime syrup
• Ginger and syrup cheesecake
• Apple and thyme tarte tatin with honeycomb and walnut ice cream
• Strawberry and cream cake

In the last episode of the series, James got back to basics, demonstrating the simple skills needed for good old-fashioned home-baking. He put a traditional cook up against a 'scientific' one to find out which method made the best cake, before testing them out on the experienced palate of Harrods’s food buyer. The show climaxed with dinner at James’s with his assistant chef Will and some friends.

Recipes from episode six

• Baked chocolate and orange cheesecake
• Quick basil and summer fruit pudding
• Pancakes
• Baked parkin with roasted rhubarb
• Apricot and almond biscotti with limoncello