Chocolate Cloud Cake for Birthdays or New Years Eve

We had a wonderful evening yesterday. If you cannot be with your family because you have to work or they are far away there is nothing better than spending Christmas with friends. It was my friend's birthday so we had a double celebration.

Happy Birthday Christine!

After sipping mulled wine and snacking on cheese and crackers we had:

wild mushroom soup

bigos

sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi

potato salad and turkey followed by this wonderful chocolate cake

There is no flour in this cake which creates intensity in every bite and the use of bittersweet or dark chocolate makes it very decadent and the fruit and whipped cream say perfection in every bite!


Make it for your New Year's Eve and everyone will love it. It is relatively quick to prepare as well.

Chocolate Cloud Cake from "Nigella Bites" by Nigella Lawson

For the cake:

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 whole eggs and 4 separated

1/2 cup of sugar

grated zest of one orange

For the topping:

2 cup mixed berries (I used blackberries and blueberries and some pomegranate seeds)

2 cups whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9 inch springform cake pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. 

Melt the chocolate in the microwave and add the butter letting it melt in the chocolate.

Beat 2 whole eggs with 4 egg yolks and 1/3 cup of the sugar, then add the chocolate mixture and the zest of an orange.

In another bowl beat the egg whites with the rest of the sugar until peaks hold stiff and mix in with the chocolate mixture.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes .

Let it cool and gently remove from the pan and place on a plate of your choice.

Place the fruit on top and whip the cream with the sugar, vanilla and spoon on top of the cake. I sprinkled some cocoa powder and shavings of dark chocolate. 

ENJOY!

If you have a crowd bigger then 4 I suggest making 2 of those. They will disappear quickly.

Judy Garland Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day today, eating leftovers, not doing too much cooking or cleaning, enjoying their presents, hanging out in their pajamas and reading a good book, magazines or watching some good tv or a movie for example The Family Stone, made me cry few times. Such a good movie. It seems that I tend to cry watching movies way more since becoming a mom.

We want Christmas to be perfect, we want perfect food, perfect families, perfect gifts but noone is perfect. This movie talks about family and love and issues and simply life in an amazing way.

And until Next Christmas!