Marcus Wareing's chocolate pots with salted caramel centre and banana ice cream

I had the pleasure of cooking a dessert for the Queen's 80th birthday some years ago and it was a massive honour although a little intimidating.

I am hugely proud to be British and use British produce wherever we can. This country offers a diverse range of ingredients that depend on seasons but are truly fabulous especially in June when we will be celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. A dish fit for royalty or our Queen is tricky – I imagine she likes good home cooking like the rest of us. Nothing too fussy but with good flavours.

I remember the Silver Jubilee in 1977 and one of my favourite desserts at the time, being a child, was a simple banana split. This dish is slightly reminiscent of this old British classic. It is very simple to make and perfect for a dinner party or family celebration – and possibly even the Queen. I am looking forward to the jubilee weekend when I will celebrate being British!

The addition of the ice cream works really well with the richness of the chocolate, but if you don't have time to prepare your own in advance then a classic bought vanilla would also work.

Makes 8-10 100g pots

For the salted caramel insert
glucose syrup 125g
caster sugar 180g
whipping cream 170ml
unsalted butter 75g
salt 7.5g

For the chocolate mixture
whipping cream 250ml
whole milk 200ml
vanilla pods 4, pods split and seeds scraped out
egg yolks 5
caster sugar 50g
Valrhona 70% dark chocolate 450g, broken up

For the banana purée
caster sugar 260g
fresh, overripe bananas 1.6kg, chopped
crème de banane 125ml
dark rum 65ml

For the banana ice cream
full-fat milk 500ml
whipping cream 500ml
egg yolks 9
caster sugar 165g
banana purée 400g (from recipe above)

First make the salted caramel inserts. Soak the glucose and sugar with a little water and put on a high heat. Once dark caramelisation is reached, slowly incorporate the cream. Keep simmering the mixture until the ingredients are fully combined and a thick consistency is achieved. Whisk in the butter and salt, then strain through a sieve and chill. Once cold, divide the mixture into 10g lumps, then shape into balls and set in the fridge until needed. You can freeze any remaining mix to use for another occasion.

To make the chocolate pots, bring the cream, milk and vanilla to the boil. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a separate bowl, and pour in the hot cream, to temper (stabilise) the mixture. Pour back into the pan and cook until the mix coats the back of the spoon. Pour through a fine sieve over the broken-up chocolate. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes for the cream mix to melt the chocolate, then mix till smooth.

While the mix is still warm, spoon into small pots suitable for the oven, ensuring the mix is as flat as possible. Allow 15 minutes to semi-set.

Push a caramel insert into the centre of each chocolate pot and freeze. When ready to cook, place in a preheated oven at 180C/gas mark 4 for 6 minutes.

To make the banana purée, lightly caramelise the caster sugar, add the chopped bananas and cook out until the banana starts to break down to a purée. Add the crème de banane and rum and cook further until a thick purée is formed. Purée in a blender and push through a sieve (using the back of a spatula or a ladle) to remove all lumps.

To make the banana ice cream, bring the milk and cream to the boil. Whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a separate bowl, then pour in a little of the hot milk and cream mix. Whisk back into the pan and keep over a low heat, stirring until the mix coats the back of a spoon. Add the banana purée then sieve to remove lumps, and chill.

Serve the pots with the banana ice cream or a classic bought vanilla.

Marcus Wareing runs Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, London SW1 and the Gilbert Scott, London NW1; marcus-wareing.com, thegilbertscott.co.uk

Clare Smyth's wild strawberry and lemon balm Eton mess, with strawberry ripple ice-cream sandwich

I can't think of a more iconic summertime dessert than the Eton mess. It's so quintessentially British, evoking images of freshly cut lawns and white tablecloths at royal events. The real beauty of an Eton mess, though, is that you can make it as simple or complicated as you want; when the strawberries come into season and are sweet and fragrant, they really need very little more than some fresh cream and crisp meringues to make them sing.

However, to elevate it to three-star standard, I like to tart it up a bit by adding the wild strawberries and surprising elements like the ice-cream sandwich, which is a lovely nostalgic nod to the baked Alaskas we enjoyed as kids – who couldn't be excited by blow-torched ice cream? It also provides a different texture in the mouth. The lemon balm has a wonderful, distinctive flavour of minty lemon, and adds a punchy freshness that cuts through all the creamy elements. This version of the Eton mess was something I initially made as a pre-dessert in the restaurant, but everyone who ate it loved it so much we kept it on the menu as a proper pudding. People even phone up ahead of their meal to check it's on the menu, which is the best testament I could ask for. You can use decent quality vanilla ice cream and strawberry sorbet in place of these home-made versions.

Serves 6

strawberries 1 punnet
lemon balm 1 bunch
wild strawberries 1 punnet

For the dried meringue
egg whites 75g
caster sugar 150g

For the Italian meringue
egg whites 100g
sugar 150g
water 50ml

For the strawberry sauce
fresh strawberry purée 250ml
sugar 20g

For the vanilla cream
vanilla pod ½
crème fraîche 50ml
lightly whipped cream 50ml
icing sugar to taste

For the almond biscuit
sugar 40g
butter 50g
cream 20ml
pectin powder 1.5g
glucose syrup 20ml
nibbed almonds 50g

For the vanilla ice cream
milk 250ml
cream 250ml
vanilla pods 2 whole
egg yolks 110g
sugar 60g

For the strawberry sorbet
fresh strawberry purée 500ml
water 200ml
sugar 100ml

To make the dried meringue, whisk egg whites until they start to turn white. Add sugar gradually and continue whisking until stiff peaks form, then spread the mixture on to a baking tray and bake at 85C/gas mark very low for 4 hours or until dry and crispy. Then break up in to small pieces.

To make the Italian meringue, start whisking the egg whites. Put the sugar and water in a pan and bring it up to 113C. When the eggs start to turn white, quickly pour in the sugar syrup, whisking until it forms smooth soft peaks. Allow to cool then put in a piping bag.

To make the strawberry sauce, bring the purée to the boil, add the sugar and reduce by half until it is a thick sauce.

To make the vanilla cream, mix the vanilla seeds into the crème fraîche and then fold in the lightly whipped cream. Add icing sugar to taste.

To make the almond biscuits – I make two 3cm-thick biscuits for each sandwich, all together about 12 – place all the ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and chill. When cold, spread the mixture thinly on a baking tray and bake at 180C/gas mark 4 for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Cut into fingers 3cm wide by 10cm long.

To make the vanilla ice cream, put the milk, cream and vanilla pods into a pan, and heat to infuse. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale, then pour on the hot milk and mix together. Pour the mixture back in the pan and cook at 84C, then cool down the mixture in a bowl over ice until cold, and churn in an ice-cream machine, following the manufacturer's instructions. Or you can use decent quality vanilla ice cream.

To make the strawberry sorbet, mix all the ingredients together and churn in an ice-cream machine. Or you can use decent quality strawberry sorbet.

To assemble the strawberry ripple ice-cream sandwich, take a piping bag and pipe two lines of strawberry sauce inside it, one along each side. Then add the vanilla ice cream in the middle of the biscuit and place in the freezer to set.

Take one finger of the almond biscuit and pipe the ice cream in a spiral motion along it. You should have a ripple effect. Place the other finger on top, then place back in the freezer.

Mix together the vanilla cream and dry meringue pieces, and put in the bottom of a glass bowl. Cut up the strawberries and lemon balm. Mix together with the wild strawberries and a little sugar, if necessary, then place on top of the meringue. Scoop in some strawberry sorbet and pipe the Italian meringue on top. Take a blow torch and toast it like a Baked Alaska. Place the ice-cream sandwich at the side of the bowl and garnish with some more wild strawberries and lemon balm sprigs.

Clare Smyth is head chef at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London SW3; gordonramsay.com/royalhospitalroad