Mmmmmm, cake!

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Happy summer solstice!  Today I want to acknowledge a few birthdays and brag a bit about a cake I made for one of those birthdays.  There will be pictures.

June 19: Happy birthday to my favorite mother-in-law, Lynn!
June 20: Happy birthday to the best mom I could ever hope for, Liz!
I am so lucky to have you both in my life.  I hope you both had wonderful birthdays :)

Tomorrow marks the birthday of one of our bunkhouse-mates, Kayla (happy birthday Kayla!).  To celebrate, I decided to make a flourless chocolate torte.  I've had these before, they're dense and chocolatey and absolutely melt in your mouth, and I really wanted to try it out.

 First step after preheating the oven: build yourself a double boiler and melt ALL the things!

It. Was. Amazing.  Make it.  Right now.  Go, do it.  A nice, crisp crust forms on top as it cools, and the inside is moist and dense and soft.  I prefer to eat a small slice just because of the richness of the cake; I also advise pairing the cake with ice cream and/or cold milk.  I hope you all enjoy it!

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Ingredients

  • 4 oz. (1/2 - 2/3 c.) bittersweet chocolate (I used chips)
  • 1/2 c. unsalted butter
  • 3/4 c. sugar
  • 3 large eggs
    • This.  This is what you could be eating.
  • 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 deg. F, and grease or butter an 8- or 9-inch round pan
  2. Make your double boiler; I used a metal mixing bowl stacked on a small pot with simmering water
  3. Melt the chocolate and butter in the double boiler, stirring, until smooth
  4. Remove top bowl from the heat and whisk in the sugar
  5. Whisk in the eggs
  6. Sift cocoa powder into the mixture and whisk until just combined
  7. Pour batter into pan, bake 20-25 minutes
  8. Allow to cool; dust additional cocoa powder or powdered sugar on top for decoration.  Serve with ice cream, milk, and/or fruit.
Finally, because it's Alaska and weather happens here and I'm a meteorologist, I've got to post this picture.  We've had a storm moving in the past few days, and I caught this picture last night on my walk home.  I love the look of the clouds flowing over the mountains!


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