Chocolate understands, it doesn't ask silly questions - a cake for when you're feeling down

I call this cake the bomb. Because it really is a bomb, a pure chocolate bomb that will tickle your toes and hit all the right spots whenever you're craving chocolate and feeling slightly down. It's rich, so much; and moist and more-ish, it's dense and heady scented, it's dark and mysterious and entrancing. It's a cake not made for the everyday nibble, nope. This is one of those party cakes, meant for a special gathering, a time together with those you love and long to see seated at your table, the meal spreading over long conversations and laughter. It is a cake to moisten up those dinner parties when you might have indulged in one sip of wine too many and are feeling a slight buzz. It's a cake to drown sorrows in, as well.

I kind of drowned the sorrows of my own stupidity in it, as I'm still pinning for the loss of all that hardwork and trying hard to rewrite all I already had. I confess I was feeling rather frustrated as I milled through a certain chapter, certain I had already added so much information to it, sure that I had previously written one of those killer dialogues - I suck at dialogues, so whenever I manage to write something I'm happy with, it's always with an enormous sense of relief. I lost that killer dialogue, and there was no way my brain was going to recapture it once more, it's the kind of stuff that only comes about once in a lifetime, if you know what I mean. A rare occurrence in my eyes, so to say, as I always feel like my dialogues are unrealistic and stupid.

So I was feeling rather disheartened, as I went through it again, and tried to at least remember what I had added and that was of paramount importance - let me clarify that the second volume of this vampire series has been written like, four or five years ago, and as I wrote the first volume recently, a lot of things ended up being different from what I had originally penned down those years ago, so corrections were a must. - I was feeling like it was all for nothing, and it was a waste of my time, and I was wallowing in a pool of self pity, until the bomb came along. Well,it wasn't only the bomb that came along, though that first bite into it surely helped, but a trip down to a shop where I found this cake stand I used in these photos and that set my heart on fire, taking my mind off of my woes for a spell.

Only very rarely do I indulge in buying stuff with my food styling and food photography in mind, I have plenty of props that aren't even props but serve very well as. Only once in a while I cross paths with stuff I cannot turn my back from, and disaster is sure to ensue. This was not quite one of those. This cake stand has a story behind it - when do I not have a story to tell? - and it's a story that remounts to a few years ago, when I was browsing through a magazine (El Mueble, one of my faves) and came across a photo of a cake stand very similar to this. Well, from that day forward, I coudn't get it out of my head, and I longed for something like this. I actually bumped into something similar sometime time around 2006, but it was rather expensive and although with a heavy heart, I did not bring it home with me. Cue in my trip to a store where this little lady was waiting for me! It was quite affordable, under ten euros, so I had to bring it home!

It's one of those moments where I find the universe proving to me that not getting what I want at the first go is actually for the best, as something better is probably going to ensue. The first cake stand like this one did not have the dishes, it was only the structure, and it was so expensive, this one was a fourth of the other one's price and had these beautiful crystal clear dishes that are photo worthy on their own! Score, right? So with that in mind, I dove back into my novel and began anew with the rewritting of the whole chapter I had lost. Turns out I ended up changing the story quite a lot - it focus the past of one of the characters - and am feeling happier for it, it seems to make much more sense and flow much better with the rest of the narrative. What I cannot come to terms with is all the research I lost on the French Antilles during the 1700's and the research I had on Louisiana Voodoo, Vodoun and Obeah...

Seeing that there's nothing to it, I must get on with once more researching those items and trying to not put in too many mistakes into my novel - there's bound to be a few, I know! - as soon as I can, since I'm on a countdown to leaving for my Summer hols. And boy, do I need a few weeks away, indulging in a more temperate climate, salads galore, grilled meats and fish, yogurt dips, freshly baked bread and cool drinks. Not that I don't have some of these right here, but everything tastes different when you're on hols, and it feels different when you're away from your routine and your days and your daily chores - well, not getting far from those, when do mothers and housewives get to indulge in real vacay??? But before I leave, there's still a lot to do, and a lot to share and so I must get a move on and leave you the recipe for this heavenly cake.

It's such an easy cake, really, no trouble at all, and it ends up being refreshing enough, as I kept mine in the fridge. It goes so well with a scoop of mascarpone and berry coulis icecream, and a sprinkle of red berries, the tartness in these complementing the chocolate to perfection. So here's the recipe for this delicious chocolate flourless cake:

• 120 gr dark, bitter chocolate - use good quality chocolate, 70% cocoa
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder - use a good quality one, no sugar added

Start by turning on the oven at 180º and greasing a pan - I used a round pan for aesthetics only. Cut the chocolate into chunks and melt in a bain marie with the butter. Mix in the sugar, stirring until it's well combined. Bring it off the bain marie and add in the beaten eggs. Make sure the mix is thouroughly combined. Finally, add the cocoa and stirr until it's completely been incorporated into the mix. Pour this batter on the oven pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Let it cool completely before unmoulding, and serve with a scoop of icecream! I hope you enjoy it, remember chocolate understands and doesn't ask silly questions!!