We were quite excited by the reference to the custard-like Italian dessert in the name of this dish, but after following the recipe we ended up with a dense brown brick rather than the light, creamy dish we were hoping for. The AI also seems to have confused itself by adding cream cheese instead of cream in the method. Amazingly, however, this was probably the highest rated concoction in the taste tests.

Spiced apple crust

Leftovers: Christmas cake, mince pies, sherry, marzipan

Steps: Mix ingredients well, with sugar mixture in the saucepan. Add apple, vanilla, blend in bourbon [for some reason the AI substituted sherry for bourbon]. In large bowl, whisk together with crumbs and cinnamon. Stir in flour, both yeast, sugar and salt to taste and flavour of batter. Set in baking pan over two-thirds full. Sift 1/2 cup of flour and spread the hot honey into the first layer of batter. Beat butter, egg whites, cream, chopped walnuts, and apple juice and the remaining tablespoon of flour at medium speed. Stir in M&M's and 1/3 cup flour. On a floured surface, roll out dough and place on floured baking sheet then brush top(s) with a little flour or ground almonds if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Additional ingredients added by AI: Apple, vanilla, bourbon (optional in place of Sherry), flour, honey, egg, walnuts, yeast, sugar, apple juice, salt, butter, M&M's

This was probably the most controversial of the dishes the AI came up with and also the most baffling of all the cooking instructions. Following the method it outlines resulted in a batter rather than a pastry, so we ended up with something topped with a candy studded Yorkshire Pudding. While this was well liked when reasonably fresh, as time wore on it quickly turned to cardboard.

Spicy seafood casserole

Leftovers: Smoked salmon, cheese, nuts, prawn cocktail

Steps: In a skillet, heat oil, add bay leaf and onion. Saute onion and pepper until soft. Crumble finely diced salmon and add to the onion and pepper - stir to combine. Cover and cook over low until salmon is tender. Season to taste. Add shrimps and cheese into oyster pan, reduce heat. Makes enough sauce as cheese gravy.

Additional ingredients added by model: chili peppers, cilantro, onion, oil, bay leaf

We decided not to cook this one. It looked about as close to a bout of food poisoning as we were prepared to get. But we can imagine the result at least looking like a casserole, if a strange tasting one.

According to Willis and her colleagues, however, as time goes on the machine-learning model will improve with time. They have been working on the technology for around a year now. And it is worth remembering that professional chefs spend years learning the art of combining ingredients and flavours. The recipes dreamed up by Forage were more like something a student might create shortly after leaving home for the first time.

The Forage algorithm was also originally designed to work with basic ingredients rather than the leftovers of other dishes, which may also explain why some of the dishes it came up with are not so easy to cook or eat.

It often failed to give specific measures for ingredients or temperatures when cooking – elements that are important to dishes that rely on fine-tuned chemistry to work, such as in many cakes and pastries.

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