Mix together the cocoa, flour and baking powder, making sure there are no lumps. Fold this dry mixture into the wet one.

Whisk the egg whites into stiff peaks, then gently fold them into the batter. Once you have a smooth batter, pour it onto the tray and bake in an oven preheated to 170°C for about 20 minutes.

Let the sponge cool completely. If you'd like neat, round desserts like mine, get ten stainless steel rings ready, about 8 cm in diameter – or more if you go for a smaller size.

Once the sponge has cooled, use the rings to cut out rounds and leave each one sitting at the bottom of its ring.

Beat the curd cheese with sugar, cream and softened butter until smooth and light. Spread this mixture over the sponge in each ring and smooth the surface.

There are several ways to go here – a crisp chocolate layer, a more liquid chocolate glaze, or an extra-rich, thicker chocolate topping.

If you'd like the chocolate a bit runnier, which I'd actually recommend, use 200 ml of cream to 100 g of chocolate.

Bring the cream to a boil, take it off the heat and add the broken-up chocolate. Let it sit for about five minutes without stirring. Then take a whisk and gently stir until you get a smooth, glossy chocolate mixture. Pour it over the prepared desserts.

Chill for several hours, ideally overnight, in the fridge. Before serving, carefully run a knife around the inside of each ring to loosen the dessert, then slide the ring off.

If you like, you can line each ring with food-grade acetate strip or semifreddo film before layering the dessert. This makes it much easier to lift out later.